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That saying comes from the "Sturm & Drang" age, the age of Goethe and Schiller, of the German Studentenschaft (basically 18th and 19th century patriotic fraternities). Yes, it is about partying. No, the women were not seen as tramps within that group, you are comparing 'polite society female standards' to a very different subculture. Do not fall into the trap to think that societies now or at any point in history were monolithic blocks of identical beliefs. And we have plenty of literary evidence that the women in these young subcultures were not feeling being objectified either, such as: Goethe (Werther, 1774): "The joy with which one sometimes unites with friends is also a very pleasant thing among women." Also Mozart/Schikaneder (Zauberflöte, 1791): “A woman who does not fear night and death is worthy and will be initiated” - indicating they should be given access to (often occult) lodges, thus more than "entertainment", but an equal Schiller (Intrigue and Love, 1784): “When reason bows, the heart opens.” (Schiller emphasizes the importance of feelings and passion, reflecting the era’s turn away from pure reason and strict morality, typical also of student life.) Novalis’ (Hymns to the Night, 1799): "For woman is humanity’s mistress,
And we give ourselves to serve her.” Doesn't exactly sound like "Women are tramps unless they blush and faint at the idea of partying", does it? |