Sexism In Victorian England

'Nature intended women be our slaves. They are our property' . While this may be shocking to hear in this age, this attitude was actually a common and accepted part of Victorian society. In fact this particular quote was said by Napoleon Bonaparte, who was emperor of the French and one of the most celebrated leaders in history, before the Victorian era had even begun. With these deep societal roots, sexism in Victorian Britain had turned into culture; where females were seen as to be below men. Women would be expected to be mothers, work in the home, tend to their domestic duties and be quiet, subservient and feminine . Queen Victoria, who had reigned over the British Empire from 1837 to 1901 , was recognised and observed by the general public
However, it was very difficult to find a husband during the Victorian era as there were far more unmarried women than men as the morality rate for men was much higher due to the large number of males serving in the British army . To be a women who was a wife and mother who supported and cared for the family at home signified the women's maturity and responsibility, but motherhood was confirmation that she had entered the world of womanly virtue and female fulfilment and so society made the idea of motherhood the right path to follow as a female. If the female was 'disobedient' to their husbands and didn't listen to them, it would be perceived as madness. This is shown in the case of Hannah McKensie, whose husband was having an affair with her niece. When he attempted to make the niece his mistress, and bring her into their house to live in, Hannah objected. The husband, seeing her as an obstacle, declared that his wife was insane, and had her removed and placed in an asylum . It was easy and quick for the husband to get Hannah McKensie, his own wife, into an asylum as he had no proof of her madness, at the very same time it is bias as the asylum immediately took the wife under treatment. The asylum had just assumed that the husband was
Unmarried women were treated as having hysterics had terrible treatment in comparison to men, as a man wouldn't even need to go to an asylum for being an unmarried father. 'Disobedient' wives who were treated as mad were treated disgustingly as if they didn't agree or obey their husbands they would have to go to an asylum. But on the other hand, lesbians were treated similarly to homosexual males as they both broke Victorian social and cultural norms. Today we have come very far in medicine and madness as we are more experienced in psychology and the brain and we understand a lot more about humans in general. Furthermore, sexism and LGBT rights have progressed dramatically. Progression of beating sexism began at the start of the 20th century, where the Suffragette movement kick started a wave of advancement toward equal rights for women. It was set to allow women to vote in democratic elections and was spearheaded by women from upper and middle class backgrounds, including the famous Emmeline Pankhurst, who was said to have 'shaped an idea of women for our time' and to have 'shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back.' . Progression of beating LGBT discrimination in the UK started in the early 20th century as there were activists but the