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When men are asked about the characteristics of an ideal woman or girlfriend, what will they say? A survey was done by a television show in China. They randomly pick some men on the street and ask them about the ideal girlfriend in their mind. According to the survey, there are forty-five percent men think that an ideal partner should be a good, ethical wife and mother. This is the most common and popular requirement. Another thirty-two precent men required for the characteristics such as femininity, gentle, and amiable; ten percent men wanted thrifty and like-minded women. Yet, beauty, intelligence, high education, and successful career are minor issues in the result of the survey. (Yi) Agreed with Arthur Brisbane's saying, knowledge and education is necessary and meaningful for women. As shown in the result, there are still a small percent of men who eagerly want a highly educated wife. Not only in this survey, but also in the real life, people seem to care more about their first sight and feeling of a woman, which would be her moral behavior, and not her intelligence level. There is no doubt that education in general is essential for women, but if you go specific, women's moral education weights more than intellectual education.
The influence of women's moral education started early in the history. Chinese early moral education of women was about obedience and staying lower in position, and of course, other morally favorable behaviors such as being honest and humane. In the palace, older female servants trained the younger ones how to behave properly in front of the emperor, in order to avoid torture and death. They were not allowed to look straight into the nobles' eyes while talking to them; they also could not turn their...
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...a woman's moral education through their ways to eat, sit, stand, and talk. Didn't your mother warn you that don't make noise while having soup? Especially if you are a girl, you ought to behave as a lady. All of these behavior rule from your mother are come from their moral education, and, hopefully, you will pass these moral habits on to your children. Education in general, which means both moral and intellectual education for women is influential and important. Additionally, women deserve more moral education because that makes better women, better children, and eventually, better society.
Works Cited
Yi, Shu. "Ideal Women." Yi Shu's BLOG. Sina, 21 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Bloch, Ruth H. American Feminine Ideals in Transition: The Rise of the Moral Mother, 1785-1815.
No.2. Vol.4. Feminist Studies Inc., 1978. [101] of 100-126. eBook.
Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print. The. James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer. Notable American Women, 1607-1950.
Lessons for Women was written by Ban Zhao, the leading female Confucian scholar of classical China, in 100 C.E. It was written to apply Confucian principles to the moral instruction of women, and was particularly addressed to Ban Zhao’s own daughters. As her best remembered work, it allows the reader insight into the common role of a woman during this fascinating time-period. The work starts off by Ban Zhao unconvincingly berating herself, and claiming how she once lived with the constant fear of disgracing her family. This argument is rather implausible, for the reader already knows the credibility of Ban Zhao, and how important her role was in ancient China.
Ban Zhao wrote Lessons for a Woman around the end of the first century C.E. as social guide for (her daughters and other) women of Han society (Bulliet 167). Because Zhao aimed to educate women on their responsibilities and required attributes, one is left questioning what the existing attitudes and roles of women were to start with. Surprisingly, their positions were not automatically fixed at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Ban Zhao’s own status as an educated woman of high social rank exemplifies the “reality [that] a woman’s status depended on her “location” within various social institutions’ (167). This meant that women had different privileges and opportunities depending on their economic, social, or political background. Wealthier noble women would likely have access to an education and may have even been able to wield certain political power (167). Nevertheless, women relinquished this power within the family hierarchy to their fathers, husbands, and sons. Despite her own elevated social status, Ban Zhao still considered herself an “unworthy writer”, “unsophisticated”, “unenlightened’, “unintelligent”, and a frequent disgrace to her and her husband’s family (Zhao). Social custom was not, however, the only driving force behind Zhao’s desire to guide women towards proper behavior.
Welter, Barbara. "The Cult of True Womanhood." The Many-Faceted Jacksonian Era: New Interpretations. Contributions in American History, number 67, Edward Pessen, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
In this essay, we will examine three documents to prove that they do indeed support the assertion that women’s social status in the United States during the antebellum period and beyond was as “domestic household slaves” to their husband and children. The documents we will be examining are: “From Antislavery to Women 's Rights” by Angelina Grimke in 1838, “A Fourierist Newspaper Criticizes the Nuclear Family” in 1844, and “Woman in the Nineteenth Century” by Margaret Fuller in 1845.
For over centuries, society had established the societal standard of the women. This societal standard pictured the ideal American woman running the household and taking care of the children while her husband provided for the family. However, between 1770 and 1860, this societal standard began to tear at the seams. Throughout this time period, women began to search for a new ideal of American womanhood by questioning and breaking the barriers society had placed upon them.
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” Nineteenth Century Literature March 1966: 102-106. Jstor. On-line. 10 Nov. 2002.
Moran, Mickey. “1930s, America- Feminist Void?” Loyno. Department of History, 1988. Web. 11 May. 2014.
Cott, Nancy F.. 1975. “Young Women in the Second Great Awakening in New England”. Feminist Studies 3 (1/2). Feminist Studies, Inc.: 15–29. doi:10.2307/3518952.
When one thinks about female traits or characteristics within the Asian culture you are likely to think of obedience and even docility. This can especially be true of Chinese women. Why is this? Where did this behavior and belief system originate? Many scholars and cultural behaviorists would argue that Ban Zhao and Confucius played a pivotal role in this behavioral construct. Confucian teachings are the foundation upon which much of Asian society and culture have been erected. Confucius’ teachings focused on the importance of family dynamics and the need for children to obey and serve their parental figures. Confucius also stressed the need to exercise restraint and to treat others as you would have them treat you. Ban Zhao was the
Rappaport, Doreen. American Women, Their Lives in Their Words: Thomas Y. Crowell, New York 1990
...were taught only what they needed for their daily life (Biale pg.35). Yet the controversy as to whether or not women may engage in study of Torah for its own sake continued in the post-talmudic sources (Biale pg.35).The Sefer Hasidim calls for teaching women the legal aspects of Torah so that they gain comprehensive and detailed command of the Halakhah (Biale pg.36). The Shulhan Arukh begins by acknowledging that a woman who studies Torah gains some reward form heaven, so there can be no question of a transgression (Biale pg.37). A woman's reward is lesser than a man's because when she studies Torah she does it of her own choice, presumably for some personal gain or satisfaction, while a man does it because he is commanded (Biale pg.37).
Xin Ran meets with a college student who gives Xin Ran a definition of a “good woman”. The good Chinese woman is conditioned to behave in a “soft, meek manner” (42). She then goes on to say that the bad woman, or the mistress, is a woman a man despises and that is why he does not marry her. This idea of a good woman is a topic that is explored by a lot of literature. Looking at Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
The expectations held by a society define the roles of its members. While many factors influence the parts individuals play in their cultures and communities, education has always been the crucial element in the establishment of social roles. Education was the catalyst which changed women's roles in society from what they were in the late 1800s to what they are now.
With the new laws, women were granted the right to take care of young daughters, but not sons (Buckley 101). This act clearly indicated the moral influence that a woman had at home, while a man’s dominance was in the field of politics and in trading areas. There was a clear differentiation between gender-based ideologies. Isecke notes that Women largely applied the concept of moral motherhood so as to be granted social justice over the years that followed. This marked a new milestone in the way women were viewed in the society. More attention was paid to them and their influence towards the society was largely appreciated.