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Posted on 02/08/2022 10:56:43 AM PST by libh8er
If you think your folks give you a hard time for not marrying, try being a woman in the Victorian era. For single ladies of those times, public ridicule was the norm.
Luckily, many of them grew thick skin because of it and wouldn’t succumb to jokes about their relationship status. Instead, they fired back in a witty fashion.
While studying an 1889 edition of Tit-Bits Magazine, historian Dr. Bob Nicholson, who runs a blog called The Digital Victorianist, came across an interesting article — the publishers offered a prize to the spinster who could provide the best answer to the question why is she single, and got so many savage replies, they couldn’t pick just one.
Women in Victorian society had one main duty in life, which was to marry and serve their husband.. But as this old article shows, not all of them did.
We managed to get in touch with Dr. Nicholson and he was kind enough to have a little chat with us about his now-viral post was discovered.
“I’m a historian who specializes in the history of Victorian pop culture,” Dr. Nicholson told Bored Panda. “I was searching through old issues of Tit-Bits magazine in search of nineteenth-century jokes, and I happened across the ‘Why am I a Spinster?’ competition by accident. This is one of the best things about researching Victorian magazines — you never know what you might find on the next page!”
To understand the roles of women and men in Victorian England, we can take a look at what John Ruskin wrote in Sesame and Lilies (1865).
“The man’s power is active, progressive, defensive. He is eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the defender. His intellect is for speculation, and invention; his energy for adventure war, and for conquest,” Ruskin said. “But the woman’s power is for rule, not for battle – and her intellect is not for invention or creation, but for sweet ordering, arrangement, and decision… she must be enduringly, incorruptibly good; instinctively, infallibly wise, wise not for self-development, but for self-renunciation: wise, not that she may set herself above her husband, but that she may never fail from his side.”
In this quote, the art critic and prominent social thinker highlights the strict gender ideals and stereotypes that were common back then; men and women were allocated specific roles which led men to hold more power over women, and therefore significantly disadvantaged them during this era.
Historians call this ‘separate spheres‘, and it rested on a definition of the ‘natural’ characteristics of women and men. Women were considered physically weaker (yet morally superior to men), which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere.
Furthermore, before 1870, any money made by a woman (either through a wage, from investment, by gift, or through inheritance) instantly became the property of her husband once she was married, with the exception of a dowry. The identity of the wife became legally absorbed into that of her husband, effectively making them one person under the law.
However, as we can see, there were exceptions. “I love finding evidence that challenges our assumptions about life in the nineteenth century,” Dr. Nicholson said.
“Some people imagine Victorian women to have been prudish, reserved, and submissive to men — but many of the ‘spinsters’ who entered that competition were anything but. They were witty, irreverent, and proudly independent. I thought that was worth sharing.”
“I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call the article progressive, but it does a good job of subverting the jokes that were usually told at women’s expense,” the historian explained, adding that classic Victorian ‘spinster’ jokes typically presented them as either desperate to find a man (any man, really), or spiteful because they had been left on the shelf.
“There are hints of these misogynistic stereotypes in the Tit-Bits’ article, but they also give a voice to women who comically assert their happiness at being single, and use the chance to mock men. This wasn’t unheard of in Victorian humor, but it does go against the grain.”
Founded in 1881, Tit-Bits From All The Most Interesting Books, Periodicals and Newspapers in The World, often referred to as just Tit-Bits, was a British weekly magazine that paved the way for popular journalism.
“Tit-Bits ran their competition at a time when the so-called ‘woman question’ was becoming increasingly debated in Victorian society,” Dr. Nicholson said. “Many women were beginning to push for more rights and opportunities, including the right to be defined by more than just their marriage. I think the responses Tit-Bits received — and the fact that they printed them — hints at these changing attitudes.”
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A reliable source, I am sure.
1) Quoting John Ruskin on the topic of women is not a good idea.
2) The whole image of Victorian prudery is largely a fabrication. The Victorians liked sex quite a lot. And clearly many women had the ability to forge their own path, if they decided to. There are a lot of misconceptions about that period, but this researcher seems to be more surprised than he ought to be, in my opinion.
Turning the cooch into a clown car would not have been a legitimate answer in 1889 as, while they had plenty of clowns, they didn’t have cars, yet.
The propriety of the Victorian Era was a needed attempt to get people to clean up their act.
I was searching through old issues of Tit-Bits magazine
......
“Actually, I don’t read it for the articles. The pictures are the best part.” [said the dyslexic man]
Wait! Those 3 quotes are from pre-teen girls?
So agenda-driven reporting is over 130 years old?
Who woulda thunk it? /s
If the number following their name is their age, then I’m stunned. If it’s their house number, I’m still stunned.
Those Pioneers were different than the city folk.
Lie back, and think of England.
Saturday Night Live Transcripts
Season 4: Episode 14
78n: Gary Busey / Eubie Blake & Gregory Hines
Women’s Problems
Steve…..Dan Aykroyd
Brad…..Bill Murray
Mike…..Garrett Morris
Craig…..Gary Busey
Vic…..Brian Doyle-Murray
Clint…..John Belushi
Steve: Good afternoon, welcome to “Women’s Problems”. I’m your host, Steve. With me today, our panel of regulars – Brad.. Mike.. and Craig. Okay, let’s get to it, come on we’ve got a lot of ground to cover..
Mike: Yeah.
Craig: Let’s get to it!
Steve: We’ve got a lot of women’s problems to discuss..
Mike: Damn straight! Damn straight!
Brad: Last time, we were talking about problems from women in careers. I’ve got a couple of things I’d like to get off of my chest.
Steve: Go ahead, man!
Brad: Any woman who wants a career, she’s got two problems – 1. her career; 2. this baby thing. I don’t care who she is, what she says – there isn’t a broad alive who doesn’t feel unfulfilled if she doesn’t have a baby.
Mike: Damn straight! Damn straight on that! Yes!
Craig: If they could just make a decision and stick to it!
Steve: There you go.
Mike: Exactly, Craig. You get tired of hearing it, man?
Brad: I think I may want a kid.. when I’m 40, late 40’s, something like that. If that happens, I’ll divorce my wife and marry a girl in her 20’s.
Mike: Right on!
Brad: I’ll take that chance. That’s life. But you’re not gonna hear me whining about it all the time.
Steve: Well, that brings up another terrible women’s problem – whining. That is a problem
[ the men argue this point between themselves ]
Mike: I think you guys are missing the point, though. you see, if a woman steps out of line, man, see, she’s asking her man to show that he cares by slapping her around a little bit!
Brad: Amen!
Mike: See? Now, if one of my women gives me trouble, I will whap her on the butt with a car antenna! ‘Til she’s says she’s sorry!
Steve: Well, uh.. it’s a different system, Mike. I mean.. sometimes a man can gain more ground by trying to understand, you know, whatever particular problems that particular broad might have.
Mike: Yeah.. yeah.. and, you know, one of the biggest problems that we haven’t touched on, is the fact that, when they get old, man, they get ugly! you don’t want to be around her any more after that!
Steve: That’s a problem. That’s a problem. Women in today’s world are faced with a lot of serious problems, you know? We can’t, of course, discuss every one of them today, but we’re gonna try to in the weeks ahead. Right now, let’s go up to the dock. We got a few guys up there with some questions. Uh, sir? You got a question?
Vic: Uh, yeah. Steve, hi, I’m Vic.
Steve: Hi, Vic.
Vic: And, uh.. I have a question about a woman’s problem, which is, uh.. apparently, none of them are able to climax. What do you do about that?
Steve: Uh.. any of you guys want to tackle Vic’s question?
Craig: I’ll tackle Vic’s question. Hello, Vic, welcome to the show. It all depends on where the hot bone is located. It’s either gonna happen or it’s not, so don’t worry, there’s nothing you can do about it!
Mike: Yeah, that’s for sure, you got it, Craig!
Craig: Nothing I can do about it! You guys over!
Steve: Okay. Does that answer your question?
Vic: Uh.. yeah. Thanks.
Steve: Look for that hot bone! Thasnks, babe! Okay, next guy. You got a question, sir?
Clint: Yeah, uh.. Steve? My name’s Clint!
Steve: Okay.
Clint: I just gotta say that you guys are the only show on TV that has the guts to openly discuss women’s problems, and I think that’s great for a lot of guys.
Steve: Alright!
[ the men applaud themselves ]
Steve: Well, thanks a lot. You know, we’re trying the best we can, Clint.
Brad: Yeah, that’s right.
Clint: My question is: what part of a woman’s body do you like the best?
Steve: Okay, that’s easy for me. I go for a woman’s breasts. I’m a breast man. What about you, Brad?
Brad: Yeah, put me down for big breasts.
Steve: Craig?
Craig: Breasts. Humonogous breasts!
Steve: Okay, Mike?
Mike: Uhh.. I like the women with a big butt. Uh.. you know, something you can hold onto and hit with a car antenna.
Steve: Alright, fair enough. Guys, this is not strictly a woman’s problem, and I hope we can talk about it a little bit today.. I’d like to talk a bit about which TV actresses we’d like to sleep with.
The Guys: Adrienne Barbieau!!
Craig: Wonder Woman!
The Guys: Adrienne Barbieau!!
Craig: Wonder Woman!
Steve: Okay.. I thihk we’re out of time now, so from all of us at “Women’s Problems”, take care. Remember, maybe, if we all work together, someday there won’t be a need for a show like this. We’ll see you next week!
Finding it hard to believe that there was a Victorian magazine with such a name.....
‘Car’ originally meant a wheeled vehicle, and had been used in many ways before we had ‘auto cars’
We certainly could use such a movement now.
No, they didn't. In fact, that's why they all became extinct.
Regards,
I think those are the house numbers, but with a comma after them.
I finally threw in the towel on this ridiculous show when Faith Hill orders the cowboy off his horse and he (yes ma’amedly) complies.
I like the 30 minute tornado too - LOL. I live in Oklahoma. The tornadoes last a little longer than it takes the Instagram influencer (Elsa) to make out with the Comanche.
Wasn’t it the Victorian Era that they wrapped the table legs so men couldn’t gaze on the bare table leg and become frenzied with lust?
That, or it was all a joke. The victorians did have quite the sense of humor.
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