The Cult Of Domesticity

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Cult of Domesticity
Nineteenth-century American history solidified a social system that was designed to limit the influence of women to the private sphere of the home and family. The ideology of true womanhood shaped gender relations that ensured that women would be treated differently than man. It held that women were designed for the role of wife and mother and were expected to cultivate piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity in everything they do. The women’s “sphere,” or domain of influence, was confined to the home. The cult of domesticity made private options for work, education, voicing their opinions or for supporting reform. The belief of biological inferiority led to the idea that women were incapable of participating