What do you think Christine Frederick feared when she said “Our greatest enemy is the woman with the career?

Chapter 1:

1. What do you think Christine Frederick feared when she said “Our greatest enemy is the woman with the career?” Page 29

Christine Frederick’s quote went against what Ellen Richards was working towards. I think by her saying this, she was fearful that women would go into the workforce and forget about their home and role as a homemaker. She might have also feared that a woman would wait until she finished school to get married and have children. A woman with a career would have other priorities, not just to please her husband and to procreate. Instead, she suggested that a woman can practice her skills as in the home, for example decorating her house and planning balanced meals for her own children.

2. Ellen Richards was accepted in MIT as a “special student” because they didn’t want have the precedent of coeducation. Is this something that could still be happening in today’s society? A woman having to be unknown or not on a roster because of her gender?

It seems silly that in the 21st century, women can be rejected into schools because of their gender. I don’t think this is an issue in schools. I think it is more common in the work force, specifically in the writing world. Many female authors have pseudonames because publishers won’t even look at their books if they are written by females. Many famous books/series, for example the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling, would never have been published.

 

Chapter 2:

1. Why did women carry a heavier burden during the domestic sanitary uplift?

It was easier for men to upkeep the outside of the home. They could hire someone to fix the plumbing or to aid with construction of the house. Women were responsible inside the home because they were deemed more fit. They had to make sure the home was clean and their kids were healthy. Although some middle/upperclass women could afford to pay for help, they still had to make sure everything was done right to avoid someone catching ill.

2. The end of the chapter states “we may find ourselves turning to those old texts on household sanitation and bacteriology for more than historical insight” (54). Do you think this is true or has our science come far enough?