Post #3 Investigation

Upon reading my primary source (http://www1.assumption.edu/WHW/Hatch/Beecher/BeecherLettersonHealth.html), most of my questions centered around how she got credibility and trust to do some of the research that she did in order to teach people about what she was seeing. Catharine Beecher refers to surveys she did on women to show what kind of health she was in. I had questions regarding how she got women to agree to participate in these surveys and answer these questions. At that point in time, women did not really have credibility to do research and teach others what they were learning. So it interests me that she had such an impact on people and I am interested in knowing how she earned that trust. I also want to know what kinds of education she had to get in order to form her opinions. Also, why did women's health strike her interest so much that she went out to find other people's sights on things.



Before reading this article, I did not have a lot of knowledge about the issues on women's health that Catharine Beecher was concerned with. I was aware that many women were wearing corsets at that time, and that corsets were detrimental to health. They made it difficult for women to breathe, and they also moved women's organs around which affected their health. It also affected the children that they gave birth to. I was aware that women's breasts were often prominent in wardrobe choices back in those days. However, I was not aware that it was causing so much sickness among women. The letters make more sense once you realize the sickness that the sexual appeal of women was causing.



The secondary source I am using came from a Review on a Catharine Beecher book about sex roles and social change. It was published in 1974. This secondary source confirms, in the thesis, that Catharine Beecher worked to create hegemony for females, but also cultural homogeneity. Professor Sklar recognized Catharine Beecher as someone founding women's importance in the household but also in society. Sklar began to point out that Catharine Beecher played an important role in showing how culture could change for females once they began to think outside the frame of mind that is more social than theological. Sklar also wanted to make it known that Catharine Beecher, though seen as successful and important, struggled in her own ways. Even though Beecher was well educated about domestic economy, she had no home, she also had no children, and she refused to teach. However, she urged others to be educated on and practice these manners, though she did not necessarily practice them herself. These times were not easy, and everyone struggled. Catharine Beecher wanted it to be less of a struggle for women though, and did research because of it.

The secondary source I used is http://www.jstor.org/stable/2701660?seq=3&Search=yes&searchText=Beecher&searchText=Catharine&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3DCatharine%2BBeecher%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26pt%3D%26isbn%3D&prevSearch=&item=6&ttl=616&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null