Jane Austen - loved by readers all over the world

Jane Auten is a well known and much-loved english author. She was born on the 16th of December in 1775 as the 7th child and the second daughter of a Hampshire clergyman called George Austen and her mother Cassandra.They all had a realy good and close relationship. Their childhood was charactaized with creativity and open learning.

Jane always loved reading and started writing stories and burlesque novels at an early age. Her dad promoted her writing by supplyinh her his books and writing equipment to explore her crative part.From 1787 to 1793 she wrote several short stories which dealed with the certain social conventions.

After her fathers death Jane and her mother and her sister moved to Southhamopton. In 1809 Jane and her friend Martha moved to Chawton where one of her brothers had a house. That is where Jane wrote nearly all of her novels. These days it is a small museum.

Jane Austen led a quiet life and never got married, her descriptions of contemporary society and of the relationships between women and men even today are widly acclaimend and loved by readers all over the world.

At the time Jane Austen used to live, society was hierachily structured:
-the nobility: status generally hereditary.(king, queen.."blue" blood)
-the gentry:well-born people of a high social class
-the people in trade (--> standard of living is based on the money they earn)

The gentlemen and farmers used to live in at the countryside. They had nice and big houses and a huge garden where they had horses. The farmers had cattle and vegetable gardens.

The poor ones like the working class, people who worked in the factories used to live in town where it was noisy and dirty. They had to leave their houses at the country side because of the Industrial Revolution.

Compared to our time a family had more children. Marriages where arranged what means that the girls where not allowed to choose their husband in future, they had to marry the person their parents choose for them. The marriage was the basis of money and to keep the property within the family.
The oldest son would inherit the money and property of the parents. So all the other sons had to find career in the army, navy or clergy. ( Choise was very strict! and a lot of work)

The girls would never inherit something from their parents even if they where the firstborn. The only solution for them was to find an appropiate and rich husband to secure social prestige and nobility.
If a lady marries a men she would take the wholw title:

Prince-Princess Duke-Duches

Women were supposed to behave like women: table manners and forms of address!!

Back to Jane Austen: She wrote many novels and stories:

here are some of her greatest works:
-Sense and Sensibility (1811)
-Pride and Prejudice
-Emma

and several others...

Jane Austen is one of the greatest english writers in time, she got influenced by the society around her and we are happy to read her novels these days!!

Historical Development of the Women´s Rights Movement in the United States, Britain and Germany

When we have a look at the historical timeline we can see that mostly men did had the power and did something great! The founding fathers: were men! Who discovered America? A men! Who invented the phone? A men! It took a very long time before feminism started and women began to organize themselves.

United States
- Anti-Slavery Society influenced some white female campaigners and the womens right movement lead to the Seneca Falls Convention (1848).
-Foundation of the Working Woman´s Association in 1868.
-1869: American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA)[conservatives] and B`National Woman´s Suffrage Association (NWAS) [radical feminists] are founded. --> agree to desirability of the vote
-1890: AWSA and NWAS build one organization: the Nationla Woman Suffrage Association
-1870s and 1880s: signed with "social purity" feminism, based on Evangelical principles like alcohol, violence and sexual excess. They are seen as masculine evils.
-1920: Amendment XIX is passed; it grants suffrage to women.

-1964: Civil Right Act prohibits discrimination.
-1965: National Organization of Women (NOW) is founded by Betty Friedan
-1970:Equal Pay Act
-1972Equal Rights Amendment Bill outlaws sex discrimination.
-1973:Women get the right to choose an abortion.



Britain
-middle of the 19th century: Industrial revolution and wealth of the British Empire created an army of working women (mill-girls, domestic servants, farm labourers, milliners, seamstresses, governesses)
-1840: International Anti-Slavery Convention: major issue, weather female delegates from the U.S. should be allowed to take part.
-1856: women are allowed to keep their own property and income. Married Woman´s Property Bill.
-1870: Parliamentary majority for a women´s enfranchisment Bill
-1901:a campaing organized by female cotton workers takes petition to Westminster; they are peaceful, non-militant but radical
-1903:Women´s Social and Political Union (WSPU) is founded by Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), its members organize a militant, sometimes even violent suffrage campaign, culminating in arrests,hunger strikes and force-feeding
-1918:Representation of the People Act extends franchise to women over 30, who are hosueholders
-1928: Representation of people Act realizes democratic univeral suffrage.

The women´s civil right movement in the U.S. influences the dicussion in Britain:
-1970:Equal Pay Act (effective in 1975); --> equal pay for equal women.
-1975:Sex Discrimination Act (makes discrimination on the basis of sex unlawful in employment, education, provision of housing, goods, facilities and services and adverisment)
-1978: Finance Act (women who pay taxes on a pay as you earn basis are entitled tp their own tax rebates).

Germany
After tens of years of fighting for the right to vote and equality, a law is passed: AT the 12th November in 1918 women get suffrage in Germany. 82% of them use their right for voting in January 1919. 37 women become Assembly women in the parliament.
1908:victorian Great Britain was a role model for the german women.
-->destroyed windows and chained themselves to railings or wrote slogans onto royal golf meadows with acid. "votes for women!"
-around the 19th century women from the U.S. and Europe fighgt for suffrage and political equality.
-In Germany it already started around 1848 with the revolution. The claimed for better education for girls.

But isn´t there still a problem?? The famous "wage-gap" ???

The Seneca Falls Convention-Issued declaration calling for equality with men before the law

The first steps to women´s rights began in the Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Their concern was to "discuss the social, religious and civil conditions and rights of women".
But what were the conditions at this time? Did women have any rights? How did they live? What role did the man have?

First of all I say something about the situation of women in the 19th century. God says that men are the stronger ones and so women an inferior position.
That is why women actually didn´t have any rights. They were not allowed to go to school, they had to stay hat home with their mother and learn how to cook, sewn knitt or clean the house. Only boys were allowed to go to school and get educated well.
The girls were married quiet young at the age of 15 or 16. Mostly to men who were older and they didn´t want to marry them.

There were different tasks in a family. Men had to work and earn money and the women had to stay at home and look after the children, do the household and cook.
It was not unusually that women were oppressed by their husbands. Far from it! The declaration of independence says that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happyness. But the government took all these rights from the women and made them "civilly dead".

So the men treated women like they didn´t have any citizen rights:
Women were oppressed. They had either civil rights, social rights nor puplic rights. That means women were not allowed to vote, they were not allowed to drink in public or to wear a salasious dress if their husband didn´t want them to wear it. The men had all the power over their wifes life and liberty. Even when they wanted to get devirced the men could decide wheather the children should stay with him or their mother. After detaining all her rights as a married woman, if single and the owner of a property, the government taxed her, in case it was worth it.
so if you were a woman in 1800 you could just loose.
As already mentioned women were not allowed to go to school, they didn´t have an education what means there was no way for them to work and earn money not even deal wih a job like doctor, priest, judge or teacher.

From the convention in Seneca Falls, a revolution would take place concerning women's rights. Women were gradually allowed to speak in public, something that had been strictly forbidden before. Individual states adopted laws protecting the rights of married women, granting them the right to own property in their own name, keep their own earnings and retain guardianship of their children in case of divorce.At Seneca Falls the women´s movement presented the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, based on the American Declaration of Independence. Among the demands in the declaration was equality with men -- before the law, in education and employment.

"Seperate but equal" single-sex education in schools

Usually boys and girls are not seperate in school. They learn the same things, they learn it in the same way and time. But is that expedient? We are going to have analyse this problem and find arguments for and against single-sex education in school.

If we take a look in a daily ordenary classroom of 7-10 year olds we can see boys running around, screaming and laughing out loud. The first impression: Wild, loud, full of energie and temper.

The girls are mostly sitting in a corner in groups, whispering, giggling and observing the boys. Probably they talk about make-up or boys or clothes.
In class girls are also more quiet, they listen to the teacher and show that they want to learn something. Girls at this age are more ambitious than boys who are just swinging on their chairs and don´t care about anything.

So obviously boys and girls differ in their behaviour in class.
Why are they still educated together?

There are pro and contra arguments for single-sex educated schools:

PRO:
-methods are specialised and adapted to the genders
--> learning for fun (harmonized on the gender)
-more concentration
--> no deflect between gender

CONTRA:
-less social contacts
-->do not know how the other gender is
-->more problems in life to work with the other
-old methods are tried and trusted

There are good arguments for and against same-sex education in schools.
Here are so alternatives for seperate education:

-“single-sex classes“: boys and girls are separated only for the lessons
-“dual academy“: the school is for both, but they are sperated the whole day, except special occasions


In my oppinion girls and boys should not be seperated in school education.
They need the social contact with the other gender at this state of age and in future as well. Of course boys and girls sometimes annoy each other or deflect each other but isn´t that a thing we should be able to deal with every day?!

I affirm that girls who visit a school just for girls are cocky and uptight.
But if you want to send your child to a same-sex educated school is only your decision!

Do men and women speak the same language? ( Janine´s presentation)

"Men never listen and Women talk to much" - a typical chliché or the ugly truth?
This never ending question..do men and women speak the same language?
Well...there is this stereotype about women that they talk loud, alot and nearly about ANYTHING!!! Is that true?

Some other people thought about the same question: there are a couple of books like:

The first impression when you talk to a men or a women is that men mostly talk about information and women chatter about feelings.
Men talk without emotion, women primarily use exaggerations and repetitions.
While men try to profil their conversation, women use less vulgar expressions and more minimizations to hurt no one.

But after this awareness we still want to know if women and men speak the same language and whether there are any problems by talking to each other?

These differences between men and women can lead to "misaprehensions" but you can say, that most of this is just stereotyped. Some women don´t talk at all, are quiet and some men can chatter non-stop.

In my opinion it is true that usually women talk more than men. They can talk about anything. I also would say women like to exeggerate and maybe talk about stuff which is really unnecessary.
Probably men like it more to talk about music, football or girls than about their feelings, but I woun´t say it is true that they don´t talk about feelings at all.

Sometimes even men can listen:)

Whats wrong with our society?? skinny and unhealthy models as role models for young girls

Social demands for women and men
Women and men want to have the perfect body.
 Influence of TV or social environment
But these beauty ideals are unrealistic and unhealthy
Is there a contrast between :
Health ↔ Beauty
 Perfection in beauty of the own body can lead to illnesses




Eating disorders
1. Bulimia nervosa: Binge-eating: eat large amount of food and vomit it up afterwards
 Leads to many bad consequences

2. Anorexia nervosa: mainly affects girls and young women. They don’t eat anything at all.

Reasons
Cause I unknown
 Dissatisfaction with the own body, because of high expectations or pressure by family, job or society
 Lot of dieting
For men it’s a more sociological aspect external pressure
For women a more biological aspect intuitively thinking: “ I am too fat!”

Solutions an reaction of the society
1. Therapy: normalizing of eating behavior
2. Campaign against skinny models

Current issues
Germanys next Topmodel or the fashion of the day still have skinny and unhealthy models. That leads to a huge influence by young teenage girls.

Trip to Mannheim- Men and Women

Last Thursday we went to Mannheim and had the opportunity to be part in an interesting talk about:
Gender- Marketing  relevant for economic processes.

There was a good question about what is a man, what is a woman?
In biological aspect men and women are different, because of their sex.
Gender is the social sex.
But what makes a man a man and a woman a woman...?
There are two theses :
1. Genes, hormones and brain, genetic material..all that makes us what we are. How we behave, what we do...What kind of man/woman we are. Its all hereditary and defined with our origination.
2. The other thesis says we are influenced by the environment, where we live, social conditions...
I think both aspects are involved in what we are! Man or Woman.
But the part of men and women in our society changed. Years ago girs/ woman were not allowed to visit UNI or do sports (that was not feminine).
Nowadays-no problem, even welcome.
These days men go out with the baby carriage. The industries see this as an opportunity to get new customers: men.
They design super high-tech baby buggies or washing machines for men.

Also some other things are different compare to the past. Typical men jobs arenatural science and research, mechanics or finances...today also women do these jobs.
Educating the children at home, cooking, cleaning and washing..actually job for a woman? More and more men do this job.
I think its good, that the media want to bring their products to men AND women. Because our civilization changed and women and man are equal!