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The Pastoralization Of Housework, By Jeanne Boydston

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“The Pastoralization of Housework,” by Jeanne Boydston, discusses how housework's economic worth and significance was minimized in antebellum America. “The Pastoralization of Housework” distinguishes that paid labor began to be identified as “manly” work synonymous with the ideas of productivity, efficiency, and economic growth. At the same time, household work, which was historically carried out by women, was undervalued and painted as unimportant, unproductive, and unhelpful to the economy. The devaluation of household labor was a purposeful attack to distinguish what a highly patriarchal society considered productive and non-productive. Thus, constructing separate spheres for the sexes, with men belonging to the public sphere (productive) …show more content…

The success of the economy and society at large depended on women’s completion of all these tasks in the private sphere. I agree with Boydston that housework has generally been devalued historically, and I feel it is just as vital as paid labor outside the home. Housework is critical to the welfare of the family and community, through their work women ensure that they create a happy, clean, safe, and healthy environment. Additionally, housework was a crucial facet of the pre-industrial economy, it benefited the family's material well-being and served to support the community. Domestic labor at that time created a foundation for the rise of industrialization in America however with the shift they did not receive recognition and their efforts were devalued. Furthermore, the domestic job of raising children is one of the most labor-intensive jobs assigned only to women. This task was one of the most beneficial jobs women had within the home, mothers are teaching children social standards and raising the next generation. The way a mother raises a child lays the foundation for how they will behave in the community as

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Even though some women did work, it was more commonly thought of only men who did labor. Labor rarely mentioned housewives, domestic servants, and female outworkers. The idea that the men were the head of the house meant that he, not the wife, should bring in income to support his family (Foner 351). According to the newspaper Workingman’s Advocate, “Capitalism tore women from their role as ‘happy and independent mistresses’ of the domestic sphere and forced them into the labor market, thereby undermining the natural order of the household and the authority of its male

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Also exclusive was their “sphere,” or domain of influence, which was confined completely to the home. Thus the Cult of Domesticity “privatized” women’s options for work, for education, for voicing opinions, or for supporting reform. The true woman would take on the obligations of housekeeping, raising good children, and making her family’s home a haven of health, happiness, and virtue. All society would benefit from her performance of these sacred domestic

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In her article, “Three Inventories, Three Households”, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that women’s work was crucial not simply for subsistence but that “women were essentials in the seventeenth century for the very same reasons they are essentials today-for the perpetuation of the race” (Ulrich 51). She believes, women were expected to do everything. They were not only to take care of the children, but they were also cook, clean, raise the greens and ranches. Mainly, women plays important role for the survival and continuation of life.

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The purpose of this document is to show that women are helping in duties outside the household. This is important because this was unconventional at the time. Additonally, there is a chart that shows that there was a significant increase in jobs held by women in professional fields such as clerical, professional, service, and sales workers which shows that women were climbing up the ladder in terms of jobs. This increase in women in the workforce is further confirmed with the drop in jobs such as household, factory, and farm workers (Doc 3B). Women are now taking on more professional jobs that were typically for men and that alone is a significant change.

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In “The Pastoralization of Housework” by Jeanne Boydston, Boydston explores the effect of the romanization of housework. The pastoralization of housework that occurred during the Antebellum period was the result of the development of early industrialization. In order to have something remain constant in the changing times the formation of two separate gender spheres allowed a routine to an ever changing society. A result of these two spheres was the pastoralization of domestic labor in the early 1800s that made labor ‘invisible’ and began to discredit the women’s work at home, but also raised them to a higher pedestal in the family dynamic. By embracing the idea of True Motherhood women were able to flourish by the naturalization of the social

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The women were expected to create a happy home, guard the religion, and the morality of her family. The unmarried and married women who tried to seek work outside the home faced limited employment opportunities because of their gender. Women were expected to only focus on domestic duties and her role were limited to continue living in the man’s world. Women roles were expected to be in line with the culture and norms set by the society. The American culture perceived that women were not intellectually and emotionally stable to be involved in the complex world of work and, therefore, women did not take up leadership and political roles.

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When I was young, I kept hearing from my Mother, “women should stay at home and do the household chores, such as cleaning the house and taken care of the family, while men is working and providing support for the family.” While growing up, I refuse to accepted it; I don’t want to be a domesticated woman only, I would like to have a career too. The poem of Julia Alvarez, “Woman’s Work”, reminds me of those old days when I was dreaming of my future. I can prove that managing the cleanliness of the house is a hard work. As what Alvarez stated, “Doing her woman’s work was a hard art.”

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