The Factory Acts

Various Factory Acts were passed in Great Britain in the early and mid 1800. Most of it deals with the work conditions experienced by children, but women are mentioned specifically alongside them while men are not.

In a sense, one could argue that this created a reality that did not exist before: by creating laws to protect them, these acts suggest that women and children actually exist and can be exploited. Yes, ideally these acts were designed to protect them, but it also clearly reveals how each successive act revealed how they were being manipulated previously. It's sort of like the various Jim Crow laws that appeared after Reconstruction. These laws redfefined both women and children and further, at least for a time, made them distinct from men.