The identification of femininity with morality (RC)

[RonPurewal]

My question is: should I continue to practice in this way? Or should I have to "put" something more in my practice?

I don't know what "put something more" refers to.

In any case, there's only one essential question here: Is it working well for you?
If it's working well, don't change it.

[NL]

I don't know what "put something more" refers to.

In any case, there's only one essential question here: Is it working well for you?
If it's working well, don't change it.

Common logic: If it was working well, why did I bother asking the questions?

Your point is true. But it’s also true that when one is doing something, one may not fully be aware of whether one is doing appropriate things or just indulging one’s weaknesses. So listening to some opinions from outside is helpful sometimes.

Moreover, an answer does not necessarily hits a goal (finding a solution for a problem) directly, but it just needs to interact with something surrounding the problem, then a good answer will come out naturally. So, just saying something "with hair" will be fine.

[RonPurewal]

Common logic: If it was working well, why did I bother asking the questions?

That comment doesn't address just this one situation.

[targetgmat]

Information in the passage suggests that the author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements concerning the cult of female domesticity?

(A) The cult of female domesticity developed independently of the concept of female benevolence.
(B) The cult of female domesticity was incompatible with women's participation in social activism.
(C) The cult of female domesticity incorporated ideological elements that actually helped some women to escape from their traditional domestic roles.
(D) The original motivation behind the promotion of the cult of female domesticity was to exclude women from partisan politics.
(E) The growth of organized philanthropy in the nineteenth-century United States is ultimately attributable to the cult of female domesticity.

My query why the answer to the above question is not (B) but rather (C).

If we read the below content from the passage, we can infer that the answer should be (B) by the word IRONICALLY.

The identification of femininity with morality and a belief in the innate moral superiority of women were fundamental to the cult of female domesticity in the nineteenth-century United States. Ironically, this ideology of female benevolence empowered women in the realm of social activism.

So female domesticity was incompatible with social activism.

Plz suggest

[RonPurewal]

That's not what "incompatible" means.

"Incompatible" means that two things CAN'T occur together.
If the domesticity thing were incompatible with social activism, then women who subscribed to the idea of domesticity would be unable to participate.

What the author describes as "ironic" is precisely the fact that these two things WERE compatible!
I.e., from a simplistic perspective, one might think that "domesticity" would be incompatible with political involvement (since political involvement occurs mostly outside the home). The situation is ironic because, as the author points out, that simplistic perspective is wrong.

[liu1993918]

I have some thoughts about the 1st question. If I am wrong, please correct me.

1. According to the passage, the ideology of female benevolence was consistent with women taking part in each of the following spheres of activity EXCEPT

(A) organized philanthropy
(B) domestic life
(C) electoral politics
(D) fund-raising for worthy causes
(E) social work

Is D wrong, because of the "worthy causes"?
Since I found the "raising money" in the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph and the passage never mention "wothy causes“， so D is wrong.
Am I right?
Thanks in advance!

[RonPurewal]

if people are raising money, then plain common sense dictates that they're raising it for causes they consider "worthy". (if they didn't consider something a worthy cause, they wouldn't raise money for it!)

[RonPurewal]

Is D wrong, because of the "worthy causes"?
Since I found the "raising money" in the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph and the passage never mention "wothy causes“， so D is wrong.
Am I right?
Thanks in advance!

^^ also, you've gotten turned around.

the question prompt ends with "EXCEPT" (in no less than all capital letters).
thus, if your logic here were valid, then D would be the CORRECT answer!

[tim60288]

Hi Instructor

I met the same article but the question is not same as the one in original posting

It can be inferred from the passage that the author believes which of the following about women’s relationship to politics in the nineteenth-century United States?
A) social activism was the best path to political power for women.
B) had women wished to seek true political power they would have had to abandon the ideology of female benevolence
C) women’s desire for true political power was the primary cause of their eventual abandonment of the ideology of female benevolence
D) only women in positions of authority in their communities exercised political influence indirectly through men
E) most men believed that they were protecting women by excluding them from politics

OA is B but I chose A Because of below content

By following this path, some women came to wield considerable authority in the distribution of resources and services in their communities.

Please guide how to get answer B, thank you !

[RonPurewal]

well, first, make sure you understand why A is wrong.

there is nothing to justify 'best', which is a VERY strong word.
e.g., i might tell you Some people remain perfectly healthy by eating fast food every day. ...does this mean eating fast food every day is THE BEST way to remain perfectly healthy? you tell me.

similarly, there is nothing in this passage to justify 'best' in choice A.

[RonPurewal]

furthermore, if you understand the MAIN IDEA of this passage, you should be able to eliminate A immediately.

basically, the fundamental ideas of this passage are:
• women were VERY involved in social activism.
• women DID NOT have political power.

just looking at these two facts is enough to see that choice A cannot possibly be right!
if something IS 'the best path to political power' and lots of people are following it, then, of course, lots of those people are going to have political power.

[RonPurewal]

and, finally, what you've cited—authority in the distribution of resources and services—isn't really POLITICAL power. it's more like being in control of a 'supply chain'.

so now we have at least three reasons to kill choice A.
(:

[RonPurewal]

as for choice B, read the last sentence, which basically says: This ideology prevented women from attaining political power, because it kept them from participating in politics in the first place.
('precluded' = made something impossible to do)

so, this sentence said that the 'benevolence' idea made it impossible for women to gain political power. thus, if they wanted to actually have that power... it's bye-bye benevolence.

[ShunHuiW878]

Hello instructors

In the third question, I know answer D is the main point of the passage, while I would like to know whether answer E is wrong for the reason that though its description is correct, it is a specific information.

(E) The idealization of female altruism enabled women to engage in philanthropic activities but prevented them from managing money and property.

Thanks!

[RonPurewal]

E is wrong because it's NOT TRUE. women absolutely DID manage money. (as noted in the second paragraph, women had to raise money and pay salaries.)

the author notes that there were legal restrictions on these things, and so women had to "find ingenious ways" to actually do them—but they DID find those ingenious ways, and so they DID manage money.