THE PUBLIC –PRIVATE DIVIDE
THE PUBLIC –PRIVATE DIVIDE

Summary/Abstract: "Feminists in the 1960s and 1970s opposed the unequal division of roles between men and women. The idea that motherhood and housekeeping were preeminently a woman’s destiny encountered opposition. Women who had other ambitions, who wanted to devote their lives to politics, business, art or science were considered to be unnatural. Women’s history has contributed immensely to the political critique of this view of women’s role by historicizing this specific division of labor. Many different studies have shown that historically, the housewife, who exclusively took care of her house and children, was the exception rather than the rule. Research on the lives of women in the revolutionary movements of the 19th century has brought out the fact that in every historical period and society, women accomplished considerable tasks beyond those of caring for a family. It has been shown that housekeeping is anything but a static "[...]

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