When I think of the Victorian era, it’s apparent how much women’s rights and agency have improved since then. Yet, when I dig a little deeper, it’s also clear how much further we have to go.
Ashley Miller, associate professor of English and department chair, studies the Victorian era. She teaches multiple classes based on literature written at the time, one of which I’m currently taking: “Gothic Literature.”
While taking this course, I’ve learned about the differences between how Victorian and modern women are treated.
Growing and changing as a woman has been discouraging for me because of navigating the societal expectations of what I should be and what spheres I’m allowed to exist in. We have come far, but looking at the state of media and politics today, I’m left feeling like society wants us to go backwards, to before the Victorian era.
Reproductive Rights
Compared to the 1800s, it’s clear how far reproductive care for women has come scientifically; however, in the past, the value of a woman’s life over the fetus was not up for debate.
“Throughout most of the 19th century, it was understood that a mother’s life was medically more important than a fetus,” Miller said. “If a mother’s life was in danger, you had to prioritize that over the life of a fetus.”
The issue of abortion is a source of hostile discourse in the current political sphere.
In Deepa Shivaram’s National Public Radio (NPR) article, she states, “Through the end of the 20th century and the decades since, there’s been a concerted effort from Republicans to prioritize abortion restrictions in legislation and judicial appointees.”
It’s essential to analyze how the world’s view on women’s rights has changed and whether this change is beneficial to the mental and physical health of women in the long run. I am angry and disappointed that instead of focusing on my health or well-being, politicians and lawmakers are only interested in policing women’s bodies.
It is suffocating to live in a world where conservative politicians and influencers think women are best when we’re unheard.
Beauty Standards
It’s easy to imagine the ideal of beauty would be easier to obtain today than it was in Victorian times; however, I’d actually argue that it’s harder.
In the Victorian period, women were expected to wear corsets and show as little skin as possible, and though these societal expectations seem strict, the modern world has taken it to a new extreme.
“I think that there is something perhaps much scarier and more insidious about today’s beauty culture, because so much of it requires literal surgery,” Miller said.
The pressure on today’s women to stay young and sexually appealing is present all around us, to the point of facing ridicule if these expectations of beauty aren’t met.
In Mandy French’s 2024 Medical News Today article, she states that “beauty standards in society tell people how they ‘should’ look.”
“With the inundation of media in today’s society, there is more pressure for people, especially young females, to look a certain way and have a specific body type,” French wrote.
Instead of improving from the past, society has simply learned to expect more from women, even if these expectations border on the impossible.
Women in the Home
Despite the ability to vote and financial independence being considerable accomplishments in the fight for women’s rights since the Victorian era, there are still political movements that prefer women to remain strictly domestic figures.
“I think we are seeing a lot of conservative influencers and politicians desire a return to a fantasy of a world where women belong in the home,” Miller said.
This movement is harmful for women’s rights at large, as it only allows women to exist in a certain sphere and shames us for wanting more for ourselves.
According to Moira Donegan of The Guardian, “The Republican Party’s obsession with families has taken a fanatical turn.”
“If you’re a woman in America, Republicans want you to be a mother whether you care to or not,” Donegan wrote.
Known as the “Tradwife” trend, this movement silences women’s voices on a worldwide scale, preventing them from moving forward in a setting that isn’t strictly the home.
I’m offended by the existence of this movement entirely. For women to be reduced to only being allowed to be mothers or caretakers leaves me thinking this movement wants to erase all the progress the women’s rights movement has made.
Moving Forward
The independence women have in America today is unrecognizable compared to the 1800s; however, our work is far from over.
Though women possess greater rights now than they did in the Victorian era, there are still many political and social movements that desire the regression of women’s rights instead of progression. Women should be allowed to exist in society, whether we conform to the social expectations that come with femininity or not.
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