Gender Ideals In 19th And 20th Century Easton, Maryland: An Analysis of Toys and Family Planning Material In Historically African-American Communities

Summary

Gender ideals of the past were often reflected in everyday material, such as toys and family planning items. The construction of gender ideals, enforcing gender roles throughout childhood through intimate toy interaction, and what kinds of women are considered "proper" women can all be studied through archaeological material. I will be conducting an analysis of material found at three sites in historic Easton, Maryland. Tying the archaeological material found at these sites together by analyzing race and class and their connection to family planning and child development in 19th and 20th century African-American communities. This paper will provide a view into the lives of the often forgotten women and children, societal pressures placed upon them, and how socially constructed gender ideals about childhood and family planning are connected by analyzing a rare find: an abortion pill packaging that was stratigraphically associated with a high volume of toys.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Historical Archaeology of Childhood: From the Past and into the Present   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 963