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In a sense, such an approach makes her view more humane and less discriminating than some of the later iterations of the movement. In this regard, her position can be viewed as utilitarian, where she considers the inefficiency of women in their current social state a crippling issue of society. On the contrary, Gilman makes it clear that the only element of the traditional family that needs to be withdrawn is financial dependence. Interestingly, the author does not place it above other duties that are considered a burden by more radical feminist movements, such as motherhood. She appeals to the existing trend of working women and the creation of separate bank accounts as the first steps towards a more efficient society (Foner 698). The core idea of Women and Economics is the attainment of complete independence through economic sustainability. It should be noted, however, that the general direction pursued by the members of the movement often focused on sexual behavior while Gilman’s book focused on the economic aspect of independence (Foner 702). Next, roughly at the time of publication the term “feminism” became prominent on the social stage. The integration of the concept was such that it could be traced on the cultural level, with a younger female generation being critical of their parents reluctant to support the unprecedented socializing by characterizing them as “not sufficiently American” (Foner 691). Sexual expression, which became gradually more difficult to suppress, served as one of the trends that facilitated the success of her work. Such an approach is consistent with the progress made in the fields of psychiatry and leading to the popularization of personal freedom and expression in society (Foner 703). For instance, Gilman’s book constantly appeals to personality and individual expression as a core argument for attaining independence (Foner 698). Learn more Economic independence of women in the workplaceįirst, it should be mentioned that the themes present in Gilman’s paper can be traced to paradigm shifts occurring in a social and scholarly environment.