#WordyWednesday: Shrouding Women
When you think of morticians, you might conjure images of creepy old men in black suits. But did you know that they've only been "in charge" of the dead for the last century or so? Before that, men were typically responsible for building coffins and digging graves. Body preparation fell to the women!
Women were already tasked with nursing the sick, distributing herbs, and aiding in childbirth, so bathing and dressing the dead was a natural progression. Since it was a duty that demanded care, gentleness, and propriety, men were simply unsuited to the task. Enter the shrouding women.
Many neighborhood women became skilled and knowledgeable in the art of preparing the dead. They understood the weather's effect on decomposition and how to tend to bodies suffering from various conditions. They lent their expertise to those in need, not for monetary compensation but as an act of community.
Duties included preparing a cooling board (sometimes an ironing board or barn door placed over chairs), washing and dressing the corpse, closing the eyes and mouth (coins on eyes and jaws secured shut with tied rags or forked sticks propped against the breast bone), and otherwise arranging the body into a restful pose.
Commercialization of death care after the Civil War led cabinetmakers to evolve from coffin builders to embalmers. They wrested control of bodies away from women, claiming women were weak, delicate, and unable to tolerate the sight of blood. As the men rose into the ranks of professionals, women were relegated to the sidelines of death care. They became decorations. Trade journal advertisements portrayed men doing funeral work and women as objects of beauty. The foundation was laid for men to dominate the industry for the next 100 years.
Fortunately, we've come full circle and women are entering funeral service in droves. Over 70% of graduating mortuary science classes are women. Turns out we *can* handle some blood after all.
It’s National Funeral Director & Mortician Appreciation Day!!! 
