Heroines

Sexual /gender division of labory

Gender and sexuality

A group of Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul wait to board a train that will take them on a religious mission or to a field hospital, most likely in the Cuban War. Care of the wounded and infirm has historically been associated with religious orders, and by extension with women, who have traditionally cared for children and the elderly within the domestic sphere. And it was a woman, Florence Nightingale, who professionalized the vocation in the 19th century. She founded the first lay school for nurses in England, and she is considered the founder of the modern nursing profession.