Margaret Sanger Birth Control Movement Analysis

Victorianism was the age of the true woman and the Christian gentleman. People valued the sentiments of character and virtue. They truly believed that all a person had to do to be successful in life was consistently work on becoming a morally right, well-rounded person. A significant part of this were the gender roles deeply embedded into the age. As a Christian gentleman, a man was always right with God and a perfect husband in the home; outside of home, he worked hard and provided for the family. On the other hand, a true woman was genteel and proper. She stayed home, raised the kids, and ran the household as every woman should. Dressing in heavy skirts, women dressed modestly and showed no desire whatsoever, belonging entirely to her husband

Culturally, women were becoming more individualized. They became their own leaders, standing up for women’s rights by creating group and movements in which they fought for their right to vote and more. In the age of abundance, it was socially acceptable for women to speak up rather than hide behind the wants of their husbands. Margaret Sanger, a single, women’s activist, fought for the Birth Control Movement; it was a woman’s right to decide when she wanted to have a child. Another huge factor of this individualism was the beginning of woman’s sports. Ditching the dainty, damsel in distress, women began to seek activities that promoted strength. In a magazine of the time, a woman writer describes women athletics, “With the single exception of the improvement in the legal status of women, their entrance into the realm of sports is the most cheering thing that has happened to them in the century just past.” (MP 132). Feeling empowered by their new love of sports and victory, women step out from the background with sports and strong, outspoken women become role models for women during this