World War II impact

 

World War II showed the biggest impact for women gaining their rights. Women proved they could work side by side with men and like them. For the women who didn’t enter the military, they stayed home and worked in factories to support the war and provided much needed labor work. The women were able to get jobs because all the men were away at war. “World War II was instrumental in the origins of the Women’s Movement. The classic image of “Rosie the Riveter” reflected the fact that millions of women went into factories when men were mobilized into the military” ("Women′s Rights in the Late 20th Century"). There were many working mothers, so many that married women outnumbered single working women. For the women who served and wore the uniforms right with the men, they were, amazingly, paid equal. Women joined the Women’s Army Corps, Army Nurses Corps, Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service, Navy Corps, Marines, and the Coast Guard. Many women used their traditional role as women in the military, taking on jobs such as nursing, or non-combat jobs.

World War II was a huge part of the Women’s movement. Men going off to serve in the military left many openings for jobs. The men leaving gave the women the opportunity to show they could handle the manual labor and work just as well as the men did. Women risked their lives working near and in combat zones. They showed they had the bravery like the men did. “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot” ― Eleanor Roosevelt. World War II eliminated the differences between gender roles.

Hope for change

The stock market crash left many Americans unemployed. “In 1932 and 1933, they hit bottom, down about 80% from their highs in the late 1920s. This had sharp effects on the economy. Demand for goods declined because people felt poor because of their losses in the stock market. New investment could not be financed through the sale of stock, because no one would buy the new stock” ("The First Measured Century"). Gender roles tightened up because men were employed over women. If a man in the family were available to work, the wife legally wasn’t allowed to. Men are traditionally defined by their work ethic, so if they couldn’t find work they felt as if they weren’t true men.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932. He was elected in hope for change, change in the economy and equality. “Roosevelt fought to keep protective legislation for women in terms of working hours or physical tasks, and Paul wanted an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that made women completely equal under the law” ("Women′s Rights in the Late 20th Century"). Together, FDR and his wife opposed racism and publicly supported women’s advancement in politics. They believed women could seek success in important decision-making positions in the federal government. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, pushed hard and supported women groups; she impressed generals to accept women into the military. “In May 1942, Congress instituted the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, later upgraded to the Women’s Army Corps, which had full military status” ("Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond"). Women began to be treated equally, working side by side with men once again. Women also started to be viewed as just as important to men in the military, as they took care of and nursed the injured soldiers.

Flappers

With the 19th Amendment granting women with political rights, they now had a say and more power. In 1920 “flappers” emerged into society. Flappers were known as young, single, middle-class women who tried to draw themselves away from the idea of the traditional identity of women from their previous generations. With the American economy changing, the women who were known as flappers were able to hold a steady job. Flappers were a representation of women revolving themselves.  Flappers were criticized by the women who kept the traditional identity. The women of traditional value saw flapper’s care-free attitude and party lifestyle as a disgrace to society. They felt that flapper's poor behavior reflected on the men, making them worse then they already were.

Flapper women also developed a new trend in fashion. They wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, and danced their nights away with jazz music. They smoked and drank publicly, side by side with men, flaunting their sexuality. Flappers looked at sex in a casual manner. “Their hair was cut shorter than in the past, to be more associated with men’s traditionally shorter hair, and indeed the “bobbed” hair became a symbol of freedom. Women began smoking, and they worked toward attaining sexual freedom, as well, trying to combat the traditional double standard which saw men who had taken many lovers as healthy but women who had many as evil or flawed. Cosmetics and change in dress styles are marketed to women during this time period to represent that new freedom, and that freedom was ultimately represented by the flappers of the time” ("Women in the Twentieth Century and Beyond"). They aimed to please just themselves. As soon as women thought they were heading down a path to gain more rights and independence, the stock market crashed, tightening up gender roles once again.

Hope for Women

The long hard battle for equality had its first big accomplishment in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was passed. This granted equal voting privileges to both genders. Women voted in their first federal election in 1922. The 19th Amendment gave women hope for future rights and gave them the courage to begin engaging in “male activities” in public. This era occurred during the Prohibition, a time where drinking alcohol was made illegal. Yet men still found a way to drink and women began to join in.

Is equality still a problem?

This post is a collaboration with Who Rules the World, a blog about female stereotypes, roles in society, and much more.

An article posted back in October by the LA Times explains how 1 in 3 homeless people in LA are women. This number of more than 14,000 women is 55% higher than the total in 2013. Some of the reasons for this rise are due to higher rents and domestic violence. Homeless women are more likely to face violence, whether in shelters or on the streets. Half of homeless women interviewed in LA had been abused, and a quarter of them had been sexually assaulted. The programs in LA to get homeless of the street are mainly for veterans or families, there's little help for these women. Many shelters are designed for male clients, and women often feel scared or intimidated staying in them.

Feel free to read the entire article at this link http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-homeless-women/

After watching a documentary on India, I learned of sad stories suffered by the India women and young girls. Nyati, one woman who was interviewed, was dedicated to the “goddess” at nine years old, meaning she was owned by the man of the village and anyone could sleep with her. When she was fourteen, she was married by a man so that she could be a slave to his family. “I was a sex slave as well as a house slave”, she said. She ended up having twelve children, seven of which died from disease and lack of medicine, two of which became blind, one who became paralyzed, and none of which she knew of their fathers. Nyati isn’t the only young girl in India who is involved in prostitution or is sexually abused. There was another young girl interviewed who was gang raped at only ten years old by her father, uncle, and their friends. It is quite common for girls and women to be abused and raped due to their inferior position in society in India. The problem with this situation, other than the obvious, is that many lower class children (Dalits or Untouchables as they are referred to) are constantly segregated and oppressed, and will therefore fall easily for any promise to better their lives, making them vulnerable and easy targets for false promises made by traffickers and child laborers. The sad, statistical truth about this is that every day three Dalit women are raped, two are murdered, and eight children (under fourteen years of age) commit suicide per day. India is an underdeveloped country, years of progress behind the United States. But one is led to believe that there is a correlation between the rates of female sex trafficking and the rates of suicide. This is not okay.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j6LR7JBIKU