Victorian Era Gender Roles

Men's and Women's Roles in the Victorian Era

• Men's and women's roles became more defined during the Victorian period than at any other time in history.
• Women worked alongside husbands and brothers in family businesses in earlier centuries, but in the 19th century, middle-class men commuted to work, leaving wives, daughters, and sisters to oversee domestic duties.
• Women were seen as passive, physically weaker, and morally superior to men, making them best suited for domestic duties.

Women's Education andIntellectual Pursuits

• Women were poorly educated and barred from higher education, as it was considered unfeminine and potentially damaging to their ovaries.
• Instead, women were coached in 'accomplishments' like painting, music, and foreign languages.
• Doctors believed that too much study could turn attractive young women into 'dried-up prunes'.

Women's Participation in Public Life

• Women were excluded from public life, barred from universities, professions, and voting in elections.
• If they worked due to adverse family circumstances, jobs were low status and ill paid, with governess being one of the few options.
• Working-class women started work around 10, often in domestic service or factories, and continued until marriage or old age.

Marriage and Women's Destiny

• Marriage and having children were seen as women's destiny, and the main goal of a woman's life.
• Single women were pitied and attracted social disapproval, despite women outnumbering men by a considerable margin in 1850.
• A young girl was not expected to focus on finding a husband, as being 'forward' suggested sexual appetite.
• Girls usually married in their early to mid-twenties, with grooms typically five years older.

Sexual Double Standards and Prostitution

• Young men often resorted to using prostitutes, leading to the spread of syphilis and other sexual diseases.
• Many men unwittingly passed on infections to their wives.
• In the marriage service, women promised to 'obey' their husbands, who could legally force sex and beat them if they refused.
• If a woman tried to run away, the police could return her to her husband.

This quiz explores the changing roles of men and women during the Victorian period, from working alongside each other to separate spheres of work and domestic duties.