Abstract
The conservative Christian women's movements which include Fascinating Womanhood, the Total Women, and the Philosophy of Christian Womanhood are described. These three groups share the beliefs that men and women are interestingly different; that women ought to submit themselves to their husbands; and that women must keep themselves attractive and well-groomed in order to maintain their husbands' interest and affection. This article attempts to portray some of the processes through which women become involved in each of these groups. With the assistance of Kanter's model of commitment mechanisms involved in participation in communes, this article analyzes the techniques used by the Fascinating Womanhood movement to gain the commitment of new members. Many aspects of this movement are similar to meaning-seeking movements discussed by Klapp.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AMBERT, A. M. (1976) Sex Structure. Toronto: Longmans.
ANDELIN, H. B. (1963) Fascinating Womanhood. New York: Bantam.
ASCH, S. (1952) “Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments,” pp. 2–11 in G. Swanson et al. (eds.) Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston.
CATTON, W., Jr. (1968) “What kind of people does a religious cult attract,” in M. Truzzi (ed.) Sociology and Everyday Life. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
DROBOT, E. (1976) “The wife as Barbie doll.” Homemaker's Magazine (May): 1–8.
FESTINGER, L. (1956) When Prophesy Fails. Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press.
FREEMAN, J. (1973) “The origins of the women's movement,” in J. Huber (ed.) Changing Women in a Changing Society. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
GUGGI, R. (1976) “You are a woman—warping reality to fit the happily-ever-after dream.” Weekend Magazine (May): 1–5.
KANTER, R. M. (1972) Commitment and Community: Communes and Utopias in Sociological Perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
KARSH, B., J. SEIDIN, and D. M. LILINTHAU (1953) “The union organizer and his tactics: a case study.” Amer. J. of Sociology 59: 113–122.
KLAPP, O. E. (1972) Currents of Unrest: An Introduction to Collective Behavior. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
LIFTON, R. J. (1961) Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. New York: Norton.
LOFLAND, J. and R. STARK (1965) “Becoming a world saver.” Amer. Soc. Rev. 30: 862–875.
MORGAN, M. (1975) The Total Woman. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Philosophy of Christian Womanhood: A Bible Study for Women (1970) Denver: Tri-R Associates.
RICHMOND-ABBOT, M. and N. BISHOP (1977) “The new old-fashioned woman-hood.” Human Behavior (April): 64–69.
SHERIF, M. (1958) “Group influence upon the formation of norms and attitudes,” pp. 219–232 in E. E. Maccoby et al. (eds.) Readings in Social Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clarke, J.N. Becoming fascinating. J Fam Econ Iss 4, 75–89 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082089
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082089