Written by Karin L. Zipf, Bad Girls at Samarcand: Sexuality and Sterilization in a Southern Juvenile Reformatory focuses on the ghastly moves made by the elites in order to control the idea of a “bad” girl. Bad Girls at Samarcand was published by Louisiana State University Press in 2016 and contains 194 riveting pages. The events that occurred in Bad Girls at Samarcand reflect many ideas covered in American History II. This course introduces the idea of a new woman and social change. Although Bad Girls at Samarcand focuses mainly on the idea of what it was like to be a woman in the 1900s, it helps the reader have a deeper understanding of its relation to American History II and how various events helped shape the role of a woman. Throughout …show more content…
In the 1920s, it was forbidden for a woman to do things her race was not allowed to do. Hope Chamberlain, who was an advocate for the reformatory, manifested herself into the world by advocating to society that race was a huge part in the role people had during this era. Zipf explains that society had the idea that white women were pure, but colored women were simply atrocious and could not be “lady-like.” The idea circulated the area for a while until Katie Burr Johnson came about. Johnson was an advocate for the reformatory as well. She accepted the idea of the institution as long as these women were educated about the practices of …show more content…
Chapter 16 of Exploring American Histories shows us the diversity among women’s roles. For example, women in a household were expected to cook meals, can fruits and vegetables, as well as wash and iron clothes. In relation to Exploring American Histories, we are taught in Zipf’s book that the institution of Samarcand Manor also helped women incorporate the duties they were expected to do in their households. Women who obeyed were simply treated better than those who did not. Women who showed outstanding abilities in their field were given the right to participate in leisure activities. Leisure activities is part of the course content that we see that women begin to get involved