Separate Spheres ideology

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'''Separate Spheres ideology''' (also the '''Cult of Domesticity''' or '''Cult of True Womanhood''') is a [[sexist]] [[ideology]] defining and prescribing [[gender]] roles that arose during the [[Industrial Revolution]] in [[Europe]] and [[America]]. The prescribed roles are familiar &mdash; the man brings home the bacon while the [[Kinder, Küche, Kirche|woman stays home to bring up the baby]].

==Origins==
Although what is known as the Separate Spheres ideology came about during the Industrial Revolution, the idea that women were more suited to the domestic sphere has a long tradition in Western thought. [[Aristotle]] divided community into the ''oikos'' (family or household) and the ''polis'' (the city-state or political community) and argued that women should stay in the damn 
kitchen
 ''oikos''.<ref>Vernon L. Provencal. [http://www.mun.ca/animus/2001vol6/provencal6.htm The Family in Aristotle]. ''Animus'', vol. 6, 2001</ref> During the Middle Ages, however, these "spheres" were not seen as entirely separate as many jobs (e.g., farming, craftsmanship) were done in or near the home. While a [[gender]]ed division of labor existed, it was not as explicitly prescribed as it would later become. The separation between the two spheres became more prominent among the merchant class during the 14th century.<ref>Arlene Sindelar. [https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/3783/09.10.11.html?sequence=1 Review of ''Medieval Domesticity: Home, Housing and Household in Medieval England''.] ''The Medieval Review'', 9.10.11</ref>

=="Different but equal"==
The phrase "different but equal" can describe "gender equality" that actually espouses gender inequality &mdash; usually through the enforcement of traditional gender roles, much as "Separate but equal" was used as an excuse to segregate blacks into inferior facilities and accommodations. Sometimes this appears in religious terminologies, such as [[complementarianism]] &mdash; a [[Christian]] doctrine that says that, although men and women have the same "worth" in the eyes of [[God]], they must assume totally different roles, with the man as breadwinner and the woman as a homemaker. It has also made its way into more secular advice, such as in [[John Gray]]'s famous 1992 book ''Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus''.

==Industrial Revolution (19th century)==
Following the aforementioned trend, the Separate Spheres ideology during the 19th century became more common among the middle and upper classes. The trend of industrialization fueled the rise of this ideology as men increasingly left home to work in factories. Alexis de Tocqueville noted this during his time in America, writing: "In no country has such constant care been taken as in America to trace two clearly distinct lines of action for the two sexes and to make them keep pace one with the other, but in two pathways that are always different."<ref>Alexis de Tocqueville. [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/ch3_12.htm How the Americans Understand the Equality of the Sexes.] Chapter XII in ''Democracy in America''.</ref> The historian Barbara Welter defined the four traits of the "Cult of True Womanhood":
*Piety: Religiosity in women was valued, and they were thought to be more 
credulous
 [[religion|religious]] than men.
*Purity: Women were to keep themselves "[[Purity culture|sexually pure]]" and avoid horrid things like [[slut|enjoying too much]] [[sex]].
*Submissiveness: Women were to obey their husbands and not get too [[feminism|uppity]] about anything.
*Domesticity: Women's place was in the 
''oikos''
 home.<ref>Barbara Welter. [https://webstorage.worcester.edu/sites/thangen/web/Shared%20Documents/Welter.CultTrueWomanhood.pdf The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.] ''American Quarterly'', vol. 18, no. 2, 1966.</ref>

==20th century==
Separate Spheres ideology had become firmly entrenched in society during the 19th century and remained so into the 20th century. However, the nascent [[feminism|women's liberation movement]] of the late 19th-early 20th century began to challenge it. Probably the most famous deconstruction of domesticity was Betty Friedan's 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique''.<ref>Katherine M. Osburn. [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=3698 Review of Horowitz, Daniel, Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: The American Left, The Cold War, and Modern Feminism.] H-Women, H-Net Reviews. January, 2000.</ref>

==Religion and pseudoscience==
[[Religion]] and [[pseudoscience]] were and still are, used to [[rationalization|rationalize]] the exclusion of women in the public sphere. As noted above, the connection of women to religiosity plays a role in this. [[Ephesians#Ephesians 5:22|Ephesians 5:22-24]] is a common invocation: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." On the pseudoscience side of things, forms of [[biological determinism]] have been the weapon of choice.<ref>[http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/truewoman.html The Cult of Domesticity and True Womanhood], Catherine Lavendar, College of Staten Island Library</ref>

==See also==
*[[Kinder, Kuche, Kirche]]
*[[Separate but equal]]

==External links==
*[http://www.nd.edu/~cvandenb/sepspheres.html Collection of paintings from the 19th century illustrating the Separate Spheres.]
*[http://americainclass.org/the-cult-of-domesticity/ The Cult of Domesticity], America in Class
*[http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/gender-ideology-and-separate-spheres-19th-century/ Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century], Victoria and Albert Museum
*[http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/farrell2.html Separate Spheres: Victorian Constructions of Gender in Great Expectations], Victorian Web

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Discrimination]]
[[Category:Gender]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]

Categories: Discrimination, Gender, Sexism, Purity culture