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Women's Roles in Western Europe

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Women's Roles in Western Europe
Change Over Time Essay

Analyze the changes and continuities in status of women in ONE of the following areas between 1750 and 1914: Western Europe – India – Middle East

Between 1750 and 1914, the status women in Western Europe changed in accordance to their accepted roles in society, working opportunities, and rise in political power. Beginning in the 18th century, women advocated to be viewed as equal to men, and their status in society changed multiple times, and even returned to its state of inferiority at one point. Women who wished to be viewed as equal, such as Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollstonecraft, were treated as revolutionary idealists. With the induction of the Industrial Revolution, new social changes brought the stirring beliefs to a halt, and reduced women back to homemakers and child providers. During the 20th century, women throughout the world gained the right to vote, a privilege previously reserved for men throughout history. The inception and first attempts at providing equality for women are efforts that made their roles in society today possible. Throughout this time period, women in Western Europe’s role in traditional society transitioned from child providing home keepers, as they were relied upon to raise children, to revolutionary idealists, as writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft advocated for equality of sexes, to being reduced once more to home keepers, after the Industrial Revolution reduces their roles to their traditional importance. Through the 18th century, women’s roles were ones of raising children and centered on menial housework, staying true to traditional beliefs of women and coinciding with their inability to participate in agricultural work anymore. During the 19th century, advocates for women’s equality led to the stirring up revolutionary ideals, and the induction of more significant rights for women. Nearing the 20th century, many parts of the world gave women the ability to vote, demonstrating the

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