During our class discussions about gender, we have learned a lot about traditional gender roles that have existed throughout history. Although it is now commonly accepted in this country that both men and women are equally fit to do the same tasks, it wasn't always that way. Until the 1950s, it was very uncommon for women to be in the workforce. The cultural norms at that time were for the women to stay home and take care of the children, while the men would go to work and support the family. This got me thinking about the gender roles in different cultures throughout history. I knew that most cultures throughout history were at least initially patriarchal, going back to even the hunter-gatherer days, but I was wondering if there was a culture that at least almost treated both men and women equally.
One culture that interested me was Sparta, a city-state in Ancient Greece. They were militarists, as they placed additional emphasis on strength and power. Even though there were still defined gender roles in Spartan society, they were considerably more inclusive than many of the cultures in history, and even some today. If we were to generalize men and women's roles in Sparta, it would be that the men were warriors who served in the Spartan army, while the women took care of the house. However, delving deeper into both roles, it is evident that Spartan society was at least more progressive than other cultures at that time, especially when compared to its arch rival, Athens.
From birth, baby girls in Sparta were fed the same food as baby boys, and they were also allowed to leave their father's house to get fresh air. It was shocking to learn that this was considered progressive almost two thousand years ago, as the ancient Athenians enforced that women were to stay inside at all times of the day. I can't even begin to imagine how if would feel like to be confined inside all day, especially in an age with no technology and when women were discouraged from learning.
Speaking of education, it's also notable that the Spartans made sure that young girls were to get an education alongside the boys. Spartan women were both literate and numerate, which was very rare during this time period. This education allowed them to move up the social ladder, and even allowed them to participate in political and philosophical debates that occurred throughout the city. Women were also allowed to inherit property from their fathers, and in many times, it was women at the forefront of politics and economics in Sparta. Since many of the men went off to fight in wars, their wives became the owners of their property, and were allowed to do whatever they wanted with it. In fact, it was estimated that at one point in time, almost thirty-five percent of property owned in Sparta was owned by women.
While Spartan gender roles were very limiting while compared to our understanding of gender today, I still thought it was interesting to look at how gender was much less determining of one's role in society than it was in other cultures, empires, and countries throughout history.
This post is similar to the one I made, but instead of talking about why gender roles are different, you instead talked about how they are different. The unanswered question here is why Spartans were more progressive. What influenced them to educate girls when it was so rare, and how did this affect the society?
ReplyDeleteI would need to do more research to answer such questions. Regardless of the answers, however, this is still a reminder of how important history is to understanding the present.
I love the comparisons you made between Spartan and Athenian society, as well as how Spartan "progressiveness" was very much so ahead of its time even compared to society in the 1950s. Sparta's success in ancient times sure does raise the idea that equalizing women and men is not only morally correct but also practical; it's definitely surprising that a civilization as ancient as Sparta decided to take such a progressive route when their neighbors were so much less inclusive.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the comparisons you made between the Spartan society and the Athenian society. It was really interesting to read how women played such a vital and important role in Spartan society and how they were truly more progressive in gender equality than many other societies back then and even years after. Great Job!
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