Limiting a minority group’s education is one of the best methods of oppression. Women
have been faced with this time and time again in order for the dominant group—males—to feel
superior. Women’s education has been directly linked to their social roles for many years.
During the 15th century, women had prominent roles in society and were given their own rights.
Due to the plagues that engulfed Europe during this time, there were much more opportunities
for women to take on jobs that, traditionally only the men would carry out. “The necessity for
literacy in reading court documents…allowed women the ability to become educated” (“Women
in the 15th Century”). Once society’s views on women began to shift, so did the views towards …show more content…
“A woman who was highly educated in
academics as thought to be unusual and not sought after” (“1700’s: Colonial Education). Before
this, during the 15th century, women were looked upon as delicate and artistic individuals.
Families that were rich would hire private tutors in order to educate their daughters in the fine
arts. In her famous novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen presented this mode of thinking in a
fore-frontal way. In one part of the book, the character Caroline Bingley talks about the skills
that make an accomplished woman when she says, “A woman must have a thorough knowledge
of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern language; and besides all this, she must
possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address
and expressions…” (Ch. 8). Men saw women as beautiful and otherworldly creatures—not
human beings who had the capacity for knowledge beyond the arts.
These ideals were not being challenged much by women; in fact, women did not see
anything wrong with them because they were taught that it was the norm. This is where
interpellation comes in—where it has always been in regards to women’s agency. The idea …show more content…
When women are put into a
certain discourse that says they can only expand their horizons a certain amount, they would
think that is all there is. Cultural norms have played a part in this by establishing even more
limits to women’s agency and education. In the Armenian culture, women have always been in
charge of maintaining the house and taking care of the children. This reflected in their
educational system by altering the subject matter from that of the men’s. Now an immigrant,
Armenian mother Lusine Shakhbazyan said, “In school [during the 1970-80’s] we were taught
how to cook and sew.” Women then did not see this as anything but the norm since they had
been conditioned towards that mode of thinking ever since a very young age. “Our bedtime
stories consisted of women who were found favorable by men because they took good care of the
house and cooked very well” (Shakhbazyan). By embedding in women’s minds this ideal form
of a woman, society was indefinitely shaping women’s fore-projections of self as that of the
well-bred and efficient
have been faced with this time and time again in order for the dominant group—males—to feel
superior. Women’s education has been directly linked to their social roles for many years.
During the 15th century, women had prominent roles in society and were given their own rights.
Due to the plagues that engulfed Europe during this time, there were much more opportunities
for women to take on jobs that, traditionally only the men would carry out. “The necessity for
literacy in reading court documents…allowed women the ability to become educated” (“Women
in the 15th Century”). Once society’s views on women began to shift, so did the views towards …show more content…
“A woman who was highly educated in
academics as thought to be unusual and not sought after” (“1700’s: Colonial Education). Before
this, during the 15th century, women were looked upon as delicate and artistic individuals.
Families that were rich would hire private tutors in order to educate their daughters in the fine
arts. In her famous novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen presented this mode of thinking in a
fore-frontal way. In one part of the book, the character Caroline Bingley talks about the skills
that make an accomplished woman when she says, “A woman must have a thorough knowledge
of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern language; and besides all this, she must
possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address
and expressions…” (Ch. 8). Men saw women as beautiful and otherworldly creatures—not
human beings who had the capacity for knowledge beyond the arts.
These ideals were not being challenged much by women; in fact, women did not see
anything wrong with them because they were taught that it was the norm. This is where
interpellation comes in—where it has always been in regards to women’s agency. The idea …show more content…
When women are put into a
certain discourse that says they can only expand their horizons a certain amount, they would
think that is all there is. Cultural norms have played a part in this by establishing even more
limits to women’s agency and education. In the Armenian culture, women have always been in
charge of maintaining the house and taking care of the children. This reflected in their
educational system by altering the subject matter from that of the men’s. Now an immigrant,
Armenian mother Lusine Shakhbazyan said, “In school [during the 1970-80’s] we were taught
how to cook and sew.” Women then did not see this as anything but the norm since they had
been conditioned towards that mode of thinking ever since a very young age. “Our bedtime
stories consisted of women who were found favorable by men because they took good care of the
house and cooked very well” (Shakhbazyan). By embedding in women’s minds this ideal form
of a woman, society was indefinitely shaping women’s fore-projections of self as that of the
well-bred and efficient