Material Feminism

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that material feminists attributed women's oppression to their physical and spatial environments, namely that of the home and kitchen. The author points out that, while the material feminists' beliefs concerning the way women's work should be organized differed from that of the middle class women who practiced domesticity, it was the reform activities the domestic women engaged that paved the way for the more vocal, extreme form of female activism in which the material feminists were involved. The paper relates that many of the middle-class women who adhered to the ideology of domesticity also engaged in reform activities, utilizing the nurturing aspects of their character to help the population and were active members of church groups.

From the Paper:

"Because of the growth of specialized businesses, women's role in the home took on a new dimension from which the ideology of domesticity ultimately emerged. Women were now at home alone, no longer playing a significant role in the economic life of the family. Female housewifery, therefore, took on a new meaning. The newly private sphere of the home became a uniquely feminine domain. It defined not only the activities that a woman should engage in, but the characteristics that she should display as well."

More papers on Material Feminism:

• Research Paper # 51939 : "The Body as Material Subjectivity"
• Essay # 19761 : "Pornography and Feminism"
• Research Paper # 52164 : "French Feminism - Woman in Language"

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