Essay on Did the industrial revolution

Submitted By treymartin
Words: 631
Pages: 3

On the issue as to whether or not the industrial revolution led to a sexual revolution, I tend to agree with Tilly, Scott, and Cohen that it did not have an effect. One of the main reasons that I believe these authors is their ability to provide evidence that Mr. Shorter’s assumptions about the sexual revolution is not necessarily factual based. Tilly, Scott, and Cohen are able to provide exact reasons as to why the industrial revolution did not lead to the sexual revolution by providing the reasons why women had to go to work and leave the household. One of Mr. Shorter’s main points is that women were becoming more rebellious and looking for individualism by entering the work place. As a result the women were becoming more rebellious sexually. First off, Shorter is assuming that just because more women were working it would change their family values and cause them to explore sexuality. Secondly, his reasoning is all one assumption because he failed to provide proof. Mr. Shorter even stated at the beginning of his article the lack of evidence that he was able to find to support his assumptions, “ And I am pretty sure as well as that the reasons I am about to suggest for the great transformation of sentiment strike close to the mark. But the reader has no assurance of this” (Shorter 13). Tilly, Scott, and Cohen conveyed that the women were not just working to become more “rebellious” that the women were actually working to better the economic standing of the family. Tilly, Scott and Cohen state that “Their work represented a continuation of practices customary in the family economy. When resources were scarce or mouths at home to numerous, children customarily sought work outside, generally with family” (18). For the most part women and children would work not necessary to gain individualism from their family but to provide money so that their families could survive. If one takes into consideration the fact that Shorter provides no evidence out of the equation, I feel like Shorter made some very good arguments and brought up some valid points. One of those points about women who were in the workplace, Shorter shares “Not only did paid work give young women an inclination to escape the sexual restriction of their parents and the town fathers it gave them a possibility to do so. Economically independent women have a great liberty than economically depend ones” (Shorter