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Gender and the Garden By Ala Rasheed
Historical perspective • Gardening for the purpose of leisure was reserved for the social elite • Women were regulated mostly to weeding in 16th century to the Victorian era • Women of higher status tending small gardens • For profit gardening was associated with men • Division of labor was based on socio economic status
Historical perspective cont • Flower types and availability favored higher class • Women were regulated to lower form of gardening. • Specialized and exotic plants were reserved for men of the upper class through out much of history.
Current gardening gender gaps • Men are more associated with the grunt work. • Flowers and exotic plants are seen as to feminine for younger males. • Landscaping, mowing the lawn, and tending to more masculine perceived chores are considered manly.
Gardening between young/old males • Old men and young men offer the most stark difference in leisure activity. • As men get older tending a garden becomes more common. • Gender differences dissipate, men become more common in the garden later in life.
Theories on change • Gardening in history was related to upper class white families. • Reserved for the social elite. • Was based on racial as well gender boundaries. • Men and the garden relied on social status • Today its more on gender stereotypes, masculinity vs. femininity.
Traditional ideals of leisure • Gardening is seen as a feminine activity • Growing vegetables and fruits is seen as more masculine • Tending flower gardens is seen as feminine. • Social boundaries separate acceptable leisure activities between the sexes. • Economic boundaries, as well as cultural boundaries also effects what is seen as the norm.
Social structure of gardening • The hierarchy of gardening was based on race. • Gender • Class • Social status • Leisure related to gardening was reserved for the elite.
Continued… • For the middle class to lower class families women were regulated to fertilizing, weeding, jobs men did not want to do. • White upper class heterosexual women, seen gardening as leisure through out much of history. • Gardening for middle to lower class was not considered leisure.
Current gardening trends • Social hierarchal standards dissipate. • Culturally more acceptable for women to garden for leisure rather than sustainability. • Historically men reserved right to garden for leisure and for profit. • Currently men due to the media and advertisement juggernaut have shunned gardening as feminine.
Continued…. • Gardening not based on economic status anymore, but rather gender stereotypes. • Social norm being shaped by media rather than culture. • Media demonizing feminism. • Media is drawing a line to separate gender related activates
My reservations • Gardening to me was seen as • Feminine • Labor rather than leisure • Not manly • Time vs. return did not seem worth it
Reflection • Needed to get past stereotypes. • Started to accept it as a masculine activity. • Still did not tend to flowers felt that growing vegetables and providing food was masculine. • Gave me the patience, and gave me time to reflect on my life. • Provided me with me time.
Continued… • Even in gardening gender lines are concrete. • Learned that stereotypical gender prejudice can still exist. • realized that even in leisure labor is involved. • Felt a sense of accomplishment.
References • Bennett, Kate M. "Gender and Longitudinal Changes in Physical Activities in Later Life." Age Ageing (n.d.): n. pag. Print. • Corlett, Jan L., Ellen A. Dean, and Louis E. Grivetti. "Hmong Gardens: Botanical Diversity in an Urban Setting." Economic Botany 57.3 (2003): 365-79. Print. • Dines, Gail, and Jean McMahon Humez. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2011. Print. • Fairbairn, Neil. A Brief History of Gardening. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 2001. Print. • Henderson, Karla A. Both Gains and Gaps: Feminist Perspectives on Women's Leisure. State College, PA: Venture Pub., 1996. Print. • Loudon, John Claudius. An Encyclopedia of Gardening Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-gardening ... a General History of Gardening in All Countries ... with Suggestions for Its Future Progress, in the British Isles. London: Longman Rees Orme Brown Green, 1828. Print. • Munroe, Jennifer. "Gender, Class, And The Art Of Gardening." Prose Studies 28.2 (2006): 197-210. Print. • Munroe, Jennifer. Gender and the Garden in Early Modern English Literature. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. Print. • Nardozzi, Charlie. Vegetable Gardening for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. Print. • Russell, Letty M. Inheriting Our Mothers' Gardens: Feminist Theology in Third World Perspective. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988. Print.
