Wokism in the 19th century: non-accompanied woman at the shopping mall

This post is yet another historical example of a social world that has now died out, and whose death was naturally opposed by the generations that have also died out alongside this social world. It might be difficult to imagine today, but “as urban centers coalesced in the 19th century, they were primarily the domain of men. Cities were sites of politics and business.” According to historian Mica Nava, “women weren’t entirely excluded”, however “their public presence was scarce”. Scarce to the extent that one could claim that “shopping centres were once male-dominated spaces”.

It would be interesting to know if all the defenders of the traditional Christian family values of our days would subscribe to the notion that women should not go out shopping without a male. Likewise, would the anti-woke crusaders be willing to defend this once dominant social norm?

According to historian Erika Diane Rappaport, “during a period in which a family’s respectability and social position depended upon the idea that the middle-class wife and daughter remain apart from the market, politics, and public space, the female shopper was an especially disruptive figure.” In the same manner as the feminists or trans-gender individuals are the disruptive figures of our times.

Social resistance to social change is natural and inevitable. It is not easy to see the social world you are attached to on its deathbed. In the same way that not everyone today is happy with the changing notions of women’s rights and liberties, “not everyone was happy about the intrusion of women into urban life. Even in the late 1800s, many still looked down on females who walked the streets without a male chaperone.”

But this historical social change is equally natural and inevitable. “Now a century later, this world of militant suffragettes and male chaperones sounds like an alien planet.” A few generations later the above-mentioned conservative anti-feminist and anti-woke activists will also be regarded as representatives of social values from an alien planet.

What is the key message to be taken away here? Just like many members of the Victorian society passed away while still stubbornly believing that a woman should not leave her home non-accompanied by a male, many individuals of our era will also die with the notion that the key purpose of a woman’s life is to produce offspring. And as the Victorians are resting peacefully despite the millions of solo female shoppers today, our contemporary defenders of traditional social values will likewise feel no pain despite the future generations going so-called woke.

Sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-feminist-history-of-shopping-a7500021.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/27/the-secret-feminist-history-of-shopping/

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