Women and Social Reform During the Progressive Era
During the Progressive Era working women, especially working-class young women, were the object of cultural anxiety. Progressive reformers during this time implemented a variety of state interventions to monitor and correct sexual “misconduct” (Abrams 2000, 436). It was also commonly believed that the longer a young woman worked in a low-wage position in a factory, the less capable she was of maintaining her feminine moral sensibility (Abrams 2000, 445). During the Progressive Era there was also the commonly held belief that women’s economic independence led to unrestrained sexual immorality (Abrams 2000,439).
That intense cultural concern over female promiscuity also stemmed from people’s fears that unmarried-working class women would turn to prostitution for survival (Abrams 2000, 438). During court trials, young women were more likely than men to receive out-of-home placements, stricter sentences, and longer periods of probation. The courts would also frequently sentence young women to reformatories or training schools. Those institutions sought to rehabilitate female delinquents through re-socialization in traditional female codes of conduct. Girls were often detained until they reached the marriageable age of 21 or older (Abrams 2000, 440). During court trials female offenders were subjected to gynecological exams to prove, or disprove their virginity. This was so even if the alleged crime was not of a moral nature. This is one of the most salient examples of how people during the Progressive Era linked sexuality with immorality (Abrams 2000, 439).
During this time some social workers began to see themselves as guardians of virtue, and were concerned with correcting the “unacceptable” behavior of working-class girls. A group of the most well-known of these social workers were the social reformers of the Hull House Settlement in Chicago. However, some of those social workers themselves defied traditional gender norms of the time by not being married, not having kids, having higher education, and even being in same-sex relationships (Abrams 2000, 440-442). These social reformers also thought that chastity, and restraint were ideal female virtues. The reformers thought of those virtues as very important components of human progress (Abrams 2000, 437). Undoubtedly, the Progressive Era not only dealt with economic and political reform, but social reform as well.