Ideologies and Motherhood: Past and Present

Abstract

"Woman" is synonymous with motherhood, at least in terms of ideology. To be labeled "woman" neatly classifies half the population to which society can assign its expectations. In doing so, however, society simultaneously ascribes counter - expectations to the other half of the population: man. Such prescribed dictates leave no room for a humanistic viewpoint. Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, history rarely took on a humanistic point of view: it was recorded as a collage of events and dates where prominent figures of the times fought battles - both on the field and in the judicial system. Females were largely excluded from history books because the battles they believed in and fought for were considered insignificant and went unrecognized by historians who, in the past, were largely male. Furthermore, women were not to exceed the invisible boundaries of their domestic sphere where they were to be the caregivers, and men - the heads of households. Those women who dared to step into the public arena to voice opinions frequently served as examples of "what not to be" if one were female.