DBQ on women
The 17th and 18th centuries saw the beginning stage of the women's movement towards intellectual and social equality with men. Women were weaker physically, bore children as well as nurtured them. The economics and culture of Europe at this time were strongly influenced by religion and resulted in prejudiced acts against women. The dominating religions of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries reinforced women' roles as mother's, wives, and homemakers. Women were considered the weaker sex both physically and mentally. Men and most women assumed that because women gave birth and produced milk for their infants, God intended that their place be in the home. The traditional male ego, as well, did not allow for women to compete with them. Males thought their place was to rule, fight wars, provide income, teach and be the head of his family. Women were not accepted in academics, politics, church leadership (in most religions), business, or the military. Despite these prejudices, women saw an opportunity in the sciences. As a subject based on observations and deductive reasoning some sciences did not necessarily require a comprehensive academic background. Since most women were deprived of the more advanced education that men received,
it was an ideal field for them to begin their pursuit of equality. As a result, a growing number of women actively participated in scientific research in chemistry, astronomy, biology, botany and medicine. While most people in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries retained traditional beliefs of women, a growing number of intellectuals tried to loosen these traditional values by allowing them to study science. Science was an opening for women to use observation and deduction, skills acquired from everyday living and curiosity, to try and clear some misconceptions that most of society had about them. Documents six and seven speak of the fact that women are indeed equal to men, and could possibly be of more value to the advancement of science. Even more surprising is that these two documents were both written by males having jobs in math and science. This note touches on the fact that not all educated males were opposed to the idea of allowing women into the field of science. Similarly however, Marie Thiroux d'Arconville does not support her sex, and believes that science far surpasses the cerebral ability of a woman (Document 12). Document six tells the story of a man who one night had observed a variable star in the sky.
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Approximate Word count = 832
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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