Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Classical Theory

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Essay

Andrea Castro

Soc 351 Classical Theory

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born feminist theorist in the mid eighteenth century. She focused largely on the gender inequalities within society. She shared views with other famous theorists and implemented their ideas in her own beliefs. Many of these beliefs and ideas are seen in today’s society. Topics like gender inequality, are often discussed today and woman are still fighting for equal pay. One point that Gilman makes is that traditional families are “inherently problematic because it makes women economically dependent on men.” (Appelrouth, Edles 2012). As I read this I thought of my grandparents on my mother’s side, both of whom are deceased. Gilman’s thoughts on women’s economic dependence exemplified how my grandparents lived and how their relationship contributed to the infamous social gender norms. My grandfather was a diesel mechanic and the breadwinner of the family. My grandma eventually had six kids including my mom. My grandfather always worked and made enough to support the whole family. My grandmother stayed at home taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning. As much as she would not be the person to admit it she was dependent on his paycheck. Without it, they would

Her passage that discussed corsets correlate with the lives of many women. Just as the corset has constraints women also had/have them. Women have forever been inferior to men, or at least that is what society has popularized over the last few centuries. I’m sure I have a ton of personal examples for this, but really all we have to do is take the time to very briefly study traditional families to see that many women still act as the homemaker of the family. While this is not always the case, as lots of women also work now, there is still a lot who rely on their husbands to bring home money for all the necessities of