Title: Gender, sex, and subordination in England, 1500-1800
First published: 1995
Description: Men and women in early modern England lived their lives within a social and gender framework inherited from biblical times. Patriarchy - the social and cultural dominance of the male - has long been a fundamental feature of western civilisation, yet has only recently begun to be systematically investigated by historians. This book is the first attempt to provide a rounded portrait of its workings over a long stretch of the English past.

Fletcher's account draws from a vast range of sources - literary, medical, religious and historical - to investigate the mechanisms through which men and women interpreted and understood their social worlds. He explores the early modern view of the body, of sexual desire and appetites, and of gender difference. He looks at the nature of marital relationships, and shows how subordination was implemented and consolidated through church, school, home and community.

And he exposes patriarchy's tragic consequences: smothered opportunity, crushed sexuality, and a pall across many women's lives.

Yet, over these three centuries, the conventional foundations of male superiority came under acute pressure. Fletcher reveals the depth of male anxiety in the face of women's volatility, verbal assertiveness and alleged vibrant sexuality, and shows how the gender system began to be transformed as men sought to detach it from its biblical foundations and inculcate gender identities on something like their modern ideological basis.

This revolution in the entire premise upon which gender was grounded is fundamental to an understanding of the structure of English society today.
Subjects: England, Sex role in literature, Sex role, Social conditions, History, Patriarchy, Conditions sociales, Małżeństwo, Patriarcat (Sociologie), Patriarchaat (sociologie), Gender Identity, Socjologia, Życie seksualne, Rôle selon le sexe dans la littérature, Kobieta, Mężczyzna, Rôle selon le sexe, Histoire, Sekserol, Great britain, social conditions, Great britain, history, Women, great britain, Sex customs, Great britain, history, tudors, 1485-1603, Great britain, history, stuarts, 1603-1714, Great britain, history, 1714-1837, Great britain, history, 18th century, Great britain, history, 19th century
Places: England
Time periods: 17th century, 16th century, 18th century
LC classification: HQ1075.5.E5 F54 1995