Theory of Ideal Women

11 housewives, or in jobs which were reflections of their domesticcaring role Pilcher and Whelehan, 2004: 167.

3. Theory of Ideal Women

Ideal woman are reflected in Chris Beasley’s book What is Feminism? Women have their own position in social and political life. This position becomes mainstream thought among the people. Then, the perspective about ideal women is developed by the confirmation that women are accepted in certain position of social and political life. Beasley explains in the book: Feminist writers regularly point out that mainstream social and political thought has commonly accepted and confirmed women’s subordinated position in social and political life, either explicitly or implicitly Beasley, 1999: 6. Beasley explains about the ideal women in the society and the political view. Here, women are categorized as partial helpmates. Society expects women to complete men’s needs including pleasure, provision of services, children. In this part, women are defined as men’s needs in housework like taking care the children, cooking, washing, and so on. The first view involves an account of women as partial helpmates. Here women are defined in terms of men’s needs regarding pleasure, provision of services, children and so on Beasley, 1999: 6. The second description about ideal women is defined. Women are portrayed as complement. In this case, men are the main figure in the people’s thought while women are just the complement. This part explains the differences between man and woman, where man is the norm and becomes the standard model while woman is defined negatively in the relation to the norm and becomes the creature with extra and or missing bits. 12 Secondly, feminists found in mainstream thought a conception of women as different but complementary . Supposedly in this account both sexes are valued . . . Women, in other words, are defined not so much as for men but as in relation to men. Man is the norm and woman is defined negatively in relation to that norm. Man becomes the standard model and woman the creature with extra andor missing bits Beasley, 1999: 7. Beasley organizes some dualism between man and woman from the western people perspective. The dualism is pairs of associations. Beasley makes the oppositional characteristic connected with femininity. Here are the oppositional associations characteristic of Western thinking: Manwoman Freedombondage Subjectobject activepassive Culture, societynature publicprivate Humananimal general, universalparticular Reasonemotion politics, law, moralitypersonal Logicintuition familial, biological Selfhood, beingotherness, non-being presenceabsence lightdark Independencedependence goodevil Autonomyinterconnection, nurture AdamEve Beasley, 1999: 9

C. Theoretical Framework