Gender bias in England of 17th century

This paper explores gender bias in England during the 17th century. During this period, there were distinct differences between men and women in terms of their societal roles and expectations. Women had few legal rights, limited education opportunities and an expectation to remain in the home. Men, on the other hand, held a great deal of power over women's lives. They could control property ownership, freedom of movement and even access to justice.

The English legal system at this time was based upon the notion that men should have greater privileges than women. This is often referred to as ‘coverture’ which stated that a married woman’s identity was subsumed into her husband’s - making her legally invisible with no independent legal standing or rights over her own property. Women were not able to acquire, sell or inherit land without permission from their husbands, and if her husband died she had no automatic right to the inheritance.

In terms of education, there were few opportunities available for women during this time especially outside of wealthy households. Poor girls generally received little formal instruction and often received only rudimentary training in domestic skills like cooking and sewing.Moreover, Puritan religion did not believe in educating women since they saw it as a waste of time that could be spent on religious services instead.

Overall, gender bias was highly prevalent in 17th century England and is reflected throughout the legal system and educational opportunities available to different genders at this time. This paper aims to further explore how these differences affected the lives of women at the time.

There were also considerable differences in how men and women were expected to behave – with men encouraged to be assertive and active, while women were supposed to embody more passive qualities such as obedience, submission and humility. This was rooted in Judeo-Christian values which prescribed distinct gender roles for both sexes – with men as protectors and providers, and women as carers and nurturers. It was believed that if a woman acted outside of these roles it would bring ‘shame’ upon her family.

During this period, public life was dominated by men - who had access to higher levels of education, could participate in politics, hold positions of power or take up professions like medicine or the law. In comparison, women were expected to stay in the home and focus on domestic duties like childcare and housekeeping.