THE CHANGING FAMILY   

  The mid. 1800s  

  

 

PREMARITAL SEX AND MARRIAGE  

• By 1850, old traditions of marriage no longer mattered among the working class

-became romantic

• Economic consideration were most important in the middle class

• Mothers payed special attention to their daughters

-men were also watched but by the time they reached their adolescence they had sexual experience

• From 1750 to 1850 there was an illegitimacy explosion

CONT. •Regions not experiencing urbanization and industrialization ,religious communities and certain churches as well, did not go through the illegitimacy explosion •More babies were beginning to be born to married women

-however, many women were still getting married pregnant • in 19 c. many single pregnant women got married

- not getting married was unacceptable and this helped economically and helped create stable relationships in working class

PROSTITUTION

• Paris Alone, 155,000 women were registered as a prostitute in 1871-1903o 750,000 women suspected as prostitutes

Men of all classes visited prostitutes “My Secret Life”, a volume autobiography of an

sexual adventurero Reveals the dark side of sex and class in urban society

Men purchased prostitutes before and after marriage For young women, it was like a domestic service, not

permanent employment

  

KINSHIP  TIES

newlyweds wanted to live near their parents often in the same neighbourhood extended family could help in times of need relatives could watch children so that both parents could work to earn needed money

GENDER ROLES AND FAMILY LIFE :

•Industrialization and the growth of cities greatly affected  married women •-most women at the time were married -many women were the "stay at home moms "during the 1850s, the preindustrial pattern of both a man and wife  working together began to decline -less women began to work in factories after factory owners stopped employing whole families

GENDER ROLES AND FAMILY LIFE (CONT.)

•society developed a strict division of  labour -man was normally the wage earner while the women worked at home -husbands were unsympathetic and hostile towards their wives  -women suffered severe prejudice when they wanted to enter "a mans employment"   -women were paid less and lacked legal identity could not own property

CONT....AGAIN)

•middle class feminists began the campaign for equal rights for women

-they tried to give women more opportunities for work - in 1882,married women were given right over property - more women could find white caller jobs after 1880

- turned their attention to suffrage

AND YET AGAIN, ANOTHER CONT...

•some women had important roles in their finance      -Englishmen gave their wages to their wives to manage - managing a home was complicated        had to economize, raise their kids, and shopping for the family

SOME WORK WOMEN DID

Taking care of their family and making bread

CHILD REARING

•new medical theories increased concern for children -parents believed that any abnormality they had would be given to their child

couples were worried about their child obtaining unhappiness and many other things including bad sexual behaviour

CONT.• parents were extraordinarily concerned about their child’s

sexual behaviour and success

-masturbation was not allowed and many thing (clothes, change in diet, etc.) were made to avoid this behaviour

-gender roles made relationships in a household and a great amount of pressure was committed to make offspring successful

the end!