Most classical society’s political and social organization revolved around the idea of patriarchy, a male dominated social system. This system exacerbated the inherit difference between men and woman and assigned gender roles based on these observations. Men were generally regarded as superior to woman therefore given greater religious and political roles as well as more legal rights. As the natural inverse, women were subordinated and seen as week; their main roles reproductive and domestic. Information about patriarchy in the classical era, though abundant, was, for the most part, written by men, therefore history does not give us an accurate depiction of women’s viewpoints. Four societies of the classical era, India, China, Greece, and Rome, adopted a patriarchal system, however, due to many factors, each developed identifiable characteristics. Because they did not have a traditional role in government, women had work their way around the system to gain any type of political leverage. Empress Lu violated every cultural and social norm by retaining power as a regent throughout the reins of her son, grandson and adopted grandson. Tradidtionaly regents ruled from behind the scenes while the emperor himself was unable to make decisions, usualy due to age or heath complications, however Empress Lu eradicated any competitors for the thrown. As the end of her reign was nearing, she expected her nephews to succeed her. Even as the first empress, not unfamiliar with disrupting tradition, she left the emperorship to the next male in her bloodline (Doc. 5) not a female. Though Empress Lu defied all expectations of women, her power as an Empress was still undisputed due to the Mandate of Heaven, an idea originating in the Shang dynasty.... ... middle of paper ... ...c. 4). This is an example of one of the seven unequal relationships in Confucianism. Much of the social structure of classical China was based on Confucian ideals (Doc. 3). In Greece the relationship between a husband and wife also very unequal due to her young age and lack of education. Alone a woman had no political rights and limited legal powers therefore is was necessary for a husband to provide for his wife much like a father would (Doc. 6) A woman would learn house hold management and eventually produce heirs. These two similar systems of social roles was not a benevolent system. It did not take into account the welfare of individuals, particularly woman who had little power to leave in a bad marital situation. However by insuring that people know their place, which kept them in line, classical societies were more prosperous and able to run more smoothly.
Cole's article is not to attack Aristotle on his views of where a woman should be placed within the social and political order, in accordance to the Classic Greek period. Her intrigue is within "surveying some central values of that particular social and political institution," (Sterba 79). At first she begins with Aristotle's view on gender and class in ethics. Making a definite point among the social/political class, ancient Greek women and slaves were only allowed their male citizens to think for them. Being dependent on men silences the women and slaves without a voice to speak out, for the women work while the men socialize with others, the men assume that the women do not need a voice. According to Aristotle, even a woman's virtue is to be subservient to all males. As a part of common life the woman is considered the pack horse and the mother to raise the children, for the men. With all the work that women put into their specific households, some education and training would mature from the experience. It was thought again by Aristotle within; Deliberation, Education, and Emancipation, that woman did not possess the aptitude for practical reasoning. For whomever possessed practical reasoning carried with them authority on their decisions and the action pending. From these three classic Greek examples of how women were considered mentally and treated physically, the author Cole provides a progressive outlook of how women could have gained social and political power in a society of male dominant figures.
Gender roles have been a predominant factor in our world since the early emergence of human societies whether they are positive or negative. They are based on expectations that societies have over the people in them. The Epic of Sunjata, shows us how men and women are treated almost equally in different forms. Women are praised for their ability to birth leaders, which is similar to the early Greek Society. In most societies, women are treated less equal than men. This was prevalent in the early Indian society. No matter the gender role, it has been shown that any society cannot survive without both men and women.
This paper will discuss the well published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomerory uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomerory uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses. She then talks about some common roles, the whores, wives, and slaves during this time. Pomerory enlightens the audience on the topic of women, who were seen as nothing at the time. Men were seen as the only crucial part in history; however, Pomerory’s focus on women portrays the era in a new light.
During this time period women were not respected at all and were belittled by all med in their lives. Even though men don’t appreciate what women they still did as they were told. In particular, “Women have an astoundingly long list of responsibilities and duties – th...
Abstract: Texts, such as Oeconomicus, reveal that while men in Archaic Greek society had authority over their wives, they were too confident of their control, and once they taught women how to act and behave they granted women authority over the household or private sphere. This segregation of the public and private spheres allowed women control not only over the private sphere, but also some control over her own life.
The Chinese possessed strong beliefs about astrology, so when it was prophesised that a women ruler would soon ascend the throne word quickly spread throughout the common people. It was predicted that within 30 years this woman known as ‘The Prince of Wu’ would rule over China. Whether or not Empress Wu’s rise to power was due to ‘heaven ordained fate’, she fulfilled the prophecy and became China’s first woman ruler in the 7th century. Historians, scholars and common people alike have long debated Wu’s reign. She is commonly referred to as an evil usurper due to the way she took power. However whether she fully deserves this reputation is to be examined. As the only female Chinese ruler, Wu challenged traditional gender roles and legitimized herself as a leader at a time when women were not meant for such positions. Empress Wu came to power through self-determination and a remarkable gift for politics. Once on the throne, she kept her power by all means necessary, often those means being murder and betrayal. Some of her actions were undoubtedly cruel. However once she was established as an empress conducted a mostly peaceful and prosperous reign. Empress Wu was by definition a usurper of the Chinese throne however not necessarily an evil one. She was manipulative and ruthless yet brilliant and exceptionally gifted. Her rise to power through sheer determination is to be commended despite the harsh tactics she used along the way.
From the beginning women were given a role in life they were supposed to live by. Women are the child bearer and most toke on the role of the healers of society. It seemed to be the primarily role of women to tend to the physical, mental and spiritual needs of other people. In the early European society, women were the religious leaders, guiding people through the different stages of their lives. As the warrior classes began to form, the role of women beg...
The Roman Empire had a social system that was based on autonomy, heredity, citizenship and property as well as distinguishing men and women by their social status. The women had the lowest position in society which were depended on the status of their husbands and fathers. They lacked independence and ...
Throughout ancient civilizations, women were lower than men. In some civilizations like Mesopotamia society, women were below slaves. It is not shocking that they would still not be equal to men. In Roman society, women had more independence and people were more encouraging of women being educated in philosophy. In the Hans society, women did not have any freedom. They were required to follow what the men told them. By examining Gaius Musonius Rufus’ essay and Ban Zhao’s essay, the views of women were different. Woman in Roman society had more freedom and women in the Han’s society were required to fulfill her responsibilities.
Women were barred from conducting legal proceedings, the husband or guardian would do so on their behalf. However, women could acquire rights over property through gifts, dowry and inheritance, though her guardian retained the ability to dispose of it as they saw fit. The distribution and ownership of inheritance was very one sided and complex. A woman’s property always remained separate from her husband’s if she had any. The husband possessed total control of any property while he lived. Control passed to their children if they were of age or their guardians when the husband died. If a relative or ch...
Women in antiquity did not have an easy lot in life. They had few, if any, rights. Surviving early records of the civilizations of antiquity from ancient Greece, Egypt, China, and Rome suggest the diversity of women’s roles differed little from region to region. There were a few exceptions, mostly concerning women of nobility and the city-state of Sparta. Excluding the rare instances mentioned most antique women were generally limited on education, mobility, and almost all possibilities interfering with domestic or childbearing responsibilities. The limited social roles of women in antiquity suggest the perceived c...
Henrik Ibsen once said, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.”(Notable Quotes) Ibsen’s statement exemplifies what life was like for women during ancient times. In many of the organized ancient civilizations, it was very common to find a primarily patriarchal civilization in government as well as in society. The causing factors can be attributed to different reasons, the main being the Neolithic Revolution and the new found dependence on manpower it caused. As a result of this, a woman found herself to be placed into an entirely different view in the eye of society. In comparison to the early Paleolithic matriarchal societies, the kinds of changes that came about for women due to the introduction of agriculture are shocking. Since the beginnings of the Neolithic era, the role and rights of women in many ancient civilizations began to become limited and discriminatory as a result of their gender.
The role of the Chinese family in pre-modern China included thoughts centered on Confucian thought and methods. The Chinese family followed different methods of Confucian thought and the division of family responsibilities in China developed because of it. The original text of Confucius that dictated the roles of filial piety in China did not specify gender dichotomy but the implications led Chinese scholars to distinguish the position of men following filial values from women. Pre-Modern China had the dominative power of dozens of dynasties. Confucianism developed ideologically during the Spring and Autumn Period (722-476BC) as an intellectual movement. Although Confucianism’s beliefs stem from the thought of acceptance involving humanities right to learn and grown through personal understanding and knowledge of outside influences there is a division between the male and female tasks in filial piety. The woman’s place in pre-modern Chinese society always depended on the male figure in the household unless the woman held an elder position. In most cases, women under Confucian control had little direction in life that men did not manage. In this paper, I will discuss the relationship among self, community, society, and the state as well as the gender relations and definitions of public and private spaces between men and women in China.
During this period, the attitude towards women gradually changed. For quite a long period of time, the important roles women played were ignored. In the society, they were viewed as the weaker gender. Women were easily related to the roles such as taking care of the family, childbearing and raising the children. It was considered as their natural job. As a result, morality was largely based along gender lines and responsibilities towards others instead of being focused on the culture of symbols, individual values and ideas. Materialism was largely used to construct gender aspects. Isecke (33) notes that materialism was largely relied on hence the overlooking of the important cultural system. As seen in my essay, the society contributed towards defying this norm through uplifting the state of woman, whereby she was viewed as an important figure in the society and who had equal rights as a man.
This paper will focus on three of these concepts- economic inequality or the separation of the rich and the poor which is defined as the different life chances that a wealthy person may have than an impoverished person (Dykstra, 2014). The next concept that will be discussed is feminism, which is defined as the advocacy of the rights of women to be equal to men in all spheres of life (Applebaum, Carr, Duneier, Giddens, 2011). The last concept that will be discussed in this paper is gender roles, which are the ‘social definition’ of women and men. They vary among different societies and cultures, classes, ages and during different periods in history. Gender-specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions (FAO, 1997).