The Intimately Oppressed Summary/Outline

The Intimately Oppressed

·    This chapter is all about women and how they were oppressed very similarly to slaves, but treated nicer because their role as child rearers and lovers was important. It describes their battling that oppression and the results from their battle.

·    Because there was no extended family in the American culture the women would not feel secure or supported if they needed to break away from the Man

·    During the American Revolution, however, women were treated more equally as men were

·    Good source on page 109-110 to show how women fight back against men’s oppressive powers

·    Working class women were kept separated so they were not able to spread dissent amongst each other, also many were unable to write forcing them to keep their ideas inside their head, not on paper

·    However, because America was changing at a rapid rate women had hope and potential to get equality amongst men

·    It was assumed that men, due to natural occurrences, would sin, but women must remain pure. This was another tactic to oppress the ladies.

·    Women could not vote, could not own property, her husband owned her wages (which were one half the amount payed to a man) and they were excluded from the professions of law and medicine, from colleges, and the ministry.

·    Most textile factory workers were women.

·    But, literacy doubled amongst between 1780 and 1840.

·    In the 1840’s the first feminist movement emerged, and they were able to communicate because more and more were becoming educated.