During both the 18th and 19th centuries, women were being directed to uphold a series of expectations. With the social climate of the time ushering new standards in beauty and work, expectations for women largely revolved around those concerned with fashion and domestic roles. The way in which women dressed was closely monitored to ensure that they met socially accepted and desirable forms of fashion among other women. The end result of this emphasis in female fashion was seemingly to bring forth idealized visions for what the female body had to look and be presented. The roles that women held in day-to-day life were also under surveillance, as the female presence expanded within the domestic sphere. In the transition between the 18th and 19th centuries, women were not only in charge of shaping the interior design of their homes to their liking. Now, they were being called upon to shape and maintain their homes with their children and husbands in mind as a means to maintain family stability within the home. Cooking was a key to achieving this stability, prompting women to look into recipes that would fulfill the appetites of their families and dinner guests in an effort to keep them satisfied and coming back to the home for future meals. Cooking, among other domestic roles, would become a dominant sight from women within the home. With the emergence of these social expectations in the public and domestic spheres of women, young girls were beginning to be brought up with these future rules and ideas during their childhoods. The standards for what it meant to dress and behave as an ideal woman was ingrained into childhood activities such a playing with dolls and helping out with domestic chores. Thus, programming the youth into working their way up towards fulfilling these expectatons in their own lives.
Credits
Alberto Bravo