The phrase 'cult of domesticity' critique targeted which social class?

• A. Working-class women
• B. Upper-class women
• C. Rural women
• D. Middle-class women

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how 19th-century gender expectations defined women's roles and who the critique targeted. The cult of domesticity described an ideal for women: piety, purity, submissiveness, and a focus on the home. This set of beliefs was most strongly promoted among middle-class white families in the United States and Britain, tying a woman’s virtue and social value to her duties inside the home. Critics of this ideology argued that it confined women to the domestic sphere and kept them out of education, reform, and public life. Because the emphasis and debate centered on the norms and opportunities available to middle-class women, the critique is most accurately aimed at middle-class women. The other groups—working-class, rural, or upper-class—experienced different pressures and realities, and the cult’s prominence and critique were not defined in the same way for them.