The Cult of Domesticity or Cult of True Womanhood (named such by its detractors) was a prevailing view among upper and middle class women during the nineteenth century, in Great Britain and the United States. According to the ideals of the cult of domesticity, women were supposed to embody perfect virtue in all senses. Women were put in the center of the domestic sphere and were expected to fulfill the roles of a calm and nurturing mother, a loving a faithful wife, and a passive, delicate, and virtuous creature. These women were also expected to be pious and religious, teaching those around them by their Christian beliefs, and expected to unfailingly inspire and support their husbands. They were held to four cardinal virtues: 1. Piety - believed to be more religious and spiritual than men 2. Purity - pure in heart, mind, and body 3. Submission - held in "perpetual childood" where men dictated all actions and decisions 4. Domesticity- a division between work
Work in Progress: Dress Codes an exhibition of photographs, video and mixed media in collaboration, current venue University of New England, Ketchum Gallery, Biddeford, Maine.