Overview
This lecture explores the importance of female friendship and the development of women's communities in 19th-century America, especially within female academies, linking these relationships to the broader ideology of "woman's sphere".
Female Academies and Women’s Sphere
- Female academies were designed to prepare women for their roles in the home and society.
- These were women-only spaces with female students and faculty, fostering strong female communities.
- The concept of "woman's sphere" dictated that women shared traits and destinies, encouraging close bonds.
- Teachers and institutions promoted the idea of "sisterhood" among students.
Development of Female Friendships
- Close friendships were widely encouraged as preparation for women's communal roles.
- Students formed societies such as the "band of sisters" to promote harmony and exclude unkindness.
- Residential schools, shared alcoves, and beds fostered intimacy among students.
- School rituals included choosing roommates and exchanging flowers, emphasizing friendship.
Romantic Friendships and Gendered Community
- Intense and sometimes lifelong relationships, described as "romantic friendships," were common.
- These relationships were called "homosocial" because they involved emotional but non-sexual intimacy.
- Antebellum Americans believed women were passionless, making same-sex friendships seem pure and admirable.
- Physical affection like hugging and snuggling was accepted as non-sexual within these friendships.
Social Attitudes and Ideology
- Female friendships reinforced the ideal of woman’s sphere and did not threaten traditional femininity.
- Intellectuals like Margaret Fuller argued that female love was spiritual and superior to heterosexual love.
- Women usually married but maintained close female friendships alongside marital life.
- These friendships did not disrupt women’s primary roles as wives and mothers under social norms.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Woman's Sphere — the 19th-century belief that women belonged in private, domestic roles separate from men.
- Sisterhood — a sense of collective identity and mutual support among women based on shared gender.
- Homosocial Relationship — close, non-sexual, emotionally intimate relationships between members of the same sex.
- Romantic Friendship — intense, affectionate, and sometimes lifelong same-sex relationships, not typically viewed as sexual in this era.
- Passionlessness — the belief that women lacked sexual desire, which shaped perceptions of female relationships.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Prepare for next lecture on emerging alternatives for women to remain single for extended periods.
- Review notes on the ideology of "woman's sphere" and its social implications.