Blog #13

1.The Cold War impacted American women in a few ways. First, it pushed women to stay at home and perform their motherly duties, housework and raising the children. This was due to the spreading promiscuity of women which included premarital sex and homosexual experimentation. It seems as though women took a step back in their quest for equality, because their experiments with their freedoms were looked down upon. Also, women became a much larger market for advertising firms, with women being the household keepers all household products were made to appeal to women.

2.Historians needed to rethink and revise Betty Friedan’s interpretation of the “feminine mystique” because they felt that Friedan had overlooked certain variables that would have definitely swayed the results of her research. According to the text, historians thought that Friedan overlooked the differences among class, race, and ethnicity as well as “neglecting the increasing number of women entering the workforce.” Their main argument however, was against Friedman herself. They claimed that she, “was not the simple housewife and unwitting victim of domestic confinement that she claimed to be.” Her involvement in radical politics and journalism career was proof of that.

3.In the 1950s most activist women were either part of the working class or were African American. The working force activists faced a lot of employment issues. One thing that contributed to their difficulties was the return of the men from war, who came back and tapped in to the work force. Not to mention the already established pressure on the women to return to the homes in order for them to tend to their household duties. African American women not only had to struggle with all of the same problems, but also they were fighting for the working rights that white women already had.

4.The concept of a “bridge” leader is helpful in understanding women in the civil rights movement because a bridge leader was not necessarily the leader of an organization but more of a spokesperson for a way of thinking or an effort to reach a common goal. These bridge leaders commanded a great deal of influence to steer things into the direction to achieve their goals.

Blog #12

1.World War II challenged and reinforced gender stereotypes for women in quite a few ways. During World War II the Women’s Army Corps attracted many female recruits to join the war effort. Some of the jobs that broke the gender barrier for women were mechanics and welders. Jobs that reinforced the female stereotype were the more monotonous jobs such as clerks and telephone operators. Women also gave a great helping hand to the war effort with their nursing duties.

2.Among the longest lasting results of WWII for women and their families was a new found sense of independence for women stemming from the high percentage of females belonging to the labor force. Even after the post-war layoffs, women would go on to hold a large part in the labor force and increase their confidence and independence simultaneously. Also, birth rates continued to rise during this time since a higher household income allowed for the support of more and more children.

1.In no way were women’s work opportunities limited due to their gender. Women had the exact same chances at pay and positions as the men did at the factory. However, this would come at the price at being treated just like the men. Being treated like a man meant working graveyard shifts, sometimes double shifts, and even working during important holiday vacation times.

2.It seems to be impossible to say that this article is geared towards either men or women, or any particular set of individuals. So I must have to say it presents itself to the overall public. It shows women what they will be facing in the labor force and the inevitable fact of layoffs when the war is over. However, it also gives men a sense of security knowing that their jobs will be there for them when they get back home and that their women will be back running the household.

3.To summarize the women’s attitude towards their work in one word, I would have to say respectful. They understood that it needed to be done, and they stepped up to the plate and gave it their best shot. They knew it was something they were doing for their country, for their families and friends, and for themselves. They bear with the hard work, the manual labor, grueling schedules just as men would when asked of them. Their patriotism showed greatly in their effort for their country.

4.The article suggests that the women retain a portion of their femininity even while working in the factory by still doing household chores such as cooking for themselves and/or one another. Some were even said to be wearing bright nail polish and ignoring the fact that their hands are sore. The article does not put a great emphasis on women displaying their femininity, but it shows the reader that women are going to have their own style no matter what kind of environment they are placed into.

5.When the war ends the women understand and sort of embrace the notion that everything will go back to how it was, meaning that the men would come back home and take their jobs back. Some will go on to get married and start families and get back to their household chores while others will advance in their current field of work.

Blog #11

1.It certainly was appropriate to speak about a “New Woman” in the 1920s. It was so, because of several contributing factors to women’s newfound liberation. In 1920 the long awaited 19^th Amendment was ratified and granted women the right to vote. Their new image was also supported by “participation in the workforce, and by experiments with a new sexual morality.”(482) Women were now more involved in politics than ever, more women worked than ever before even after the war, and most important of all women now became party animals. A female sexual revolution took place and gave way to the young girls in skimpy clothes and a need for dancing and drinking also known as the flappers.

2.Women who were active in politics in the 1920s encountered much difficulty in accomplishing their agenda in part due to the success of the suffrage movement. Now that all women had their voting rights they no longer had one big common goal to unite under. Women now divided themselves by class, race, age, ideology and so forth. This split the great political force women once had into smaller and more distinct groups, their power in numbers was now gone.

3.The Great Depression was a terrible time not only for the nation as a whole, but for all of the individuals as well. In the picture on Page 499 a woman is seen in a tent with her two children, the woman seems to be looking off into the distance as if in deep thought. It would not be farfetched to say that she was completely miserable, trying to raise two children during one of the harshest times in American history. Money was incredibly hard to come by, so the mother had to sell off anything of worth to someone just to keep herself and her children alive. Eating frozen vegetables and dead birds shows clearly the despair of the people during that time.

4.The Great Depression was a “heavily gendered experience” because for many years men were the dominant money earners in the family, despite the rising number of women in the workforce. Many men lost their jobs and in turn their “dominant position in the household.”(500) The high rate of unemployment took a large toll on the person lives of many, marriages were strained, fertility rates dropped, and desertion rates rose. It wouldn’t be too out of place to say that men really did get the worst of it, they saw their traditional duties completely erased in the matter of years.