The Never Ending Cycle

When have women not worked toward something…that is when have they not courageously and/or tirelessly worked to uphold a standard of living or lifestyle? There was the industrious housewife of the colonial period.[1] the brave nurses and female workers and fighters during the civil war.[2] the women who worked (or worked hard not to work) to keep a 20-inch waist and clean hems. [3] Female slaves who risked everything to free their families and others from the bonds of slavery.[4] Think of the women who belonged to the Temperance and Suffrage movements of the early 1900’s.[5] All the way to the confined middle class housewives of the 1950’s working to uphold the “happy housewife standard” or the boycotting African American women of the South against the Jim Crow laws who led the way for the Civil Rights movement.[6] Of course, don’t forget the efforts of the women during the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1960’s and early 1970’s.[7] When have women not stayed busy with the expectations and/or injustices of their time?

The irony of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries, is that women who have more rights and freedoms than ever before in America’s history, are still working tirelessly to meet some new end that may never be met. Gail Collins describes the modern day goals women have, which are to become “self-sufficient” as well as the desire (for many but not all) to “work and then a lengthy break to raise the family, followed by a second-stage career that would soar.” Why do women seem to reach for the unreachable and aren’t satisfied unless they have “had the chance to try” to make it the reality? Collins gives a great quote from a story found in Time magazine, stating: “[A]s women have gained more freedom, more economic power, they have become less happy.” [8] The question is…will women ever be happy?

In the late 20^th century and into the modern day, parenting has attracted “little social respect” and the placement of the family, as a “social priority,” seems to drop lower and lower on the list. As a whole, maybe women’s lack of happiness is influenced by this gap between career and family (or work and love). Stephanie Coontz points out this developing “career mystique” that not only affects women, but men as well.[9] Jobs seem to require more and more effort and time from its employees while the majority of men and women would rather be doing something else (like raising a family and/or enjoying their free time). Coontz explains that most people “would choose free time over money,” and that maybe the next step (or true happiness) lies in the ability to embark in “shared parenting” which might call for the true equality of the sexes sought for from the beginning.[10] Then again, no matter how women try, expectations and goals for a better life seem to fade into some new shortage or dilemma. As Gail Collins explains, “if the sky is the limit, most people would feel they had fallen short,” and therefore happiness (in regards to the ideal life) may not be a realistic goal.[11]

This proclamation was made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the family in the  mid-1990's stating just what the family means to those of the mormon faith. As the role of women has changed so drastically throughout history, this document is used as a standard to help LDS members define the woman's role and the importance of family. Thought it might be interesting to post.  Click Here 

1.   Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003), 49.

2.   Collins, 197-203.

3.     Collins, America’s Women, 122.

4.     Collins, America’s Women, 157.

5.     Collins, America’s Women, 314-322.

6.     Collins, America’s Women, 400, 414.

7.     Gail Collins, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present, (Back Bay Books, New York, 2009), 178-181.

8.     Collins, When Everything Changed, 409.

9.     Stephanie Coontz, A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960’s, (Basic Books, New York, 2011), 183.

10. Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 186.

11. Gail Collins, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present, (Back Bay Books, New York, 2009), 409.

To Be or Not to Be...Confined in a Home or Break Free?

Can a woman who once studied “Baudelaire” and “wrote poetry” or had volunteered for defense jobs or flown planes find her complete identity when exchanging her intellect and personal progression for washing clothes and changing diapers?[1] After WWII media, politics and the work force tried to send women (particularly white middle class women) back to their homes as full-time mothers, and was to a great degree very successful. The promotions went from applauding women “who held down jobs” in order to support the troops to the expectation that they get married, have children and become a housewife. This change of place for women in society seemed more “mandatory” than a choice.[2]

During the 1950’s over 95 percent of the women who were old enough did indeed get married and it was a great time for many American women to be housewives. The economic conditions were favorable. There were “generous benefits” for returning soldiers that allowed them to provide for their family while still going to school.[3] The question is, however, was this what they really wanted or just what society wanted? Society (media and promotions) tried to convince women that they would be most happy as a wife and mother at home, not in the work force or at school. If a woman felt depressed or unsatisfied, then she needed to “changer her feelings to reconcile herself to her role in the family.”[4] On top of this, many women who had their children rather quickly became early empty nesters. Could a woman still be a happy homemaker with no children at home? Gail Collin points out that the “lonely years” that awaited this large group of homemakers was a problem that previous generations had never faced.[5]

In 1963 Betty Friedman wrote a book titled The Feminine Mystique which targeted the white middle class woman’s stifling situation. Stephanie Coontz explains, The Feminine Mystique electrified a layer of women ‘in between,’ women who might otherwise have been lost entirely, to themselves and to the woman’s movement.” Women who once were engulfed in “deep self-doubt and despair” now not only more fully recognized their situation but also realized that they could make a choice to change their situation.[6] Friedman encouraged her readers to improve their lives through getting an education “and to make sure their life plan included developing the capacity to engage in creative work.”[7] The Feminine Mystique, according to Coontz, also helped African American and working class women improve their status in a complicated but real manner.[8]

Understanding the women’s situation during the 1950’s helps one realize the importance of choice. Just as Prohibition (though a thought to be honorable motive) could not really legislate morality, [9] society should not pressure and restrict women in their choices of what they want to be in life. Though being a housewife is an honorable choice it is not the only choice. Personally, if feel that a woman will find great happiness if she has both, and to do that she needs the proper support. Such as having a husband who does want his wife to have her own career and is willing to help raise their children or childcare that available to help.[10] During the 1950’s mothers and wives did not have much support from husbands or society in their role as housewives.

Here are some pictures from some 1950's women's magazines that show the ideal housewife in action:

1.     Stephanie Coontz, A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960’s, (Basic Books, New York, 2011), 113.

2.     Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003), 382 & 406.

3.     Collins, America’s Women, 399.

4.     Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 73.

5.     Gail Collins, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present, (Back Bay Books, New York, 2009),55-56.

6.     Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 161.

7.     Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 149.

8.     Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 138.

9.     Gail Collins, America’s Women, 339.

10. Coontz, A Strange Stirring, 94.

The Small Things Make A Difference

From riding on a bicycle in a long skirt to driving in a Model T Ford wearing a shortened sleeveless dress, the early 20^th century was full of twists and turns for American women.[1] New opportunities arose for women’s involvement in societal affairs. Women could take part in reformist movements, display new fashions, buy new products, seek a better education, experience better entertainment, find new jobs and live more freely as a whole in society. With all these changes, it appeared that the bicycle was the most important change that emerged.

When looking at the early 20^th century there are more than a few great moments for women that could easily be labeled as the greatest change for women. The reformists Jane Addams was a great leader of change. Addams had the ability to mobilize the skills of “well-educated women” who in return helped hundreds of poor immigrants. Hull House was a great accomplishment for her time, which helped improve the lives of the destitute.[2] The Temperance Movement pulled large amounts of women together to end the destroying influences of alcohol. [3] Frances Willard created the largest women’s organization of the time, the WCTU, to promote moral codes of law.[4]Alice Paul helped lead the Suffragist Movement to its long awaited victory in 1920.[5] Eleanor Roosevelt was celebrated for her ability to be a mother, wife and help lead the country with her husband from the White House. She proved that women were indeed fit for politics and could be independent and married.[6] All of these historical events and experiences seem like the ideal candidates for the greatest change of the time for women—so why the bicycle?

Many of the historical movements or people mentioned above were limited in their ability to change the lot for women as a whole. The Temperance Movement, for example, was able to pull women together for a common cause, but its success was limited since the next generations of young women seized the “flapper decade” and openly welcomed all that the temperance women fought against.[7] Alice Paul and Frances Willard both found that their efforts were somewhat “unfortunate”  since their effects only went so far.[8]

The bicycle, though not as advanced as the Model T Ford or as inspiring as the bans of women who gathered together during the Temperance Movement, gave women a simple yet powerful vehicle for personal thrill and freedom that was new to the women of that era. Frances Willard said she had been converted to this new development and then encouraged her female followers to do the same. Women’s clothing was loosened and fashioned for this outdoor activity (which was unthinkable during the Victorian era). Women found a new sort of independence. Gail Collins describes its effect, “[W]omen who had spent their lives wrapped in corsets and weighed down by heavy skirts must have been thrilled to be able to go flying down the street on two wheels.” Just the fact that women could dress more freely, move more quickly and ride around more independently seemed to create a new mindset that change was in the air for women and if it wasn’t they could make the changes. Women had just been given the key to a new physical autonomy which supported and maybe even helped spawn the “New Woman” mentality they needed to grasp the opportunities on the horizon.[9]

Here is a quick clip of women at the end of the 19th century riding bicycles in their long dresses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1iaF4Np2PU

1.       Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003), 328.

2.       Collins, 284-286.

3.       Collins, 317-318.

4.       Jean H. Baker, Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists, (Hill and Wang, New York, 2005), 162.

5.       Baker, 224.

6.       Collins, 356-359.

7.       Collins, 327-330.

8.       Baker, 181 & 225.

9.       Collins, 279-281.

The Woman's Influence: Moments of Heroism and Future Prospects

Women during the Civil War experienced a break of the acceptable norms, particularly in the South. The women took over the farms, plantations, businesses and household while their husbands were away fighting. They also became unusually involved in politics.[1]  Some women even followed their husbands or sons to the battle field and took part in war affairs in a way that would have not been allowed in normal conditions.[2] The Gilded Age also provided women with new opportunities in the public realm, giving them more job opportunities, women’s clubs, means to become icons and celebrities and the ability to make a public statement.[3] In which era were women more influential? Women from both eras had a great impact, some for that moment in history while others affected the very fibers of our nation.

When it comes to immediate influences, the Civil War let the brave, courageous, and commanding leadership attributes of women shine forth at a heroic level. Dorothea Dix stepped in as the master organizer of voluntary nurses wanting to give aide to the Union soldiers. Nursing would have been otherwise unacceptable.[4] Mary Ann  Bickerdyke volunteered herself to put in order the overcrowded military hospital in Illinois. People followed her orders to the point that an army surgeon was told that what she said “outranked everybody, even Lincoln.” She even yelled out a command to a marching brigade in opposition to the command of their officer, they obeyed her. [5] Other women took jobs that would have otherwise been closed to them, such as clerical work, and took advantage of the “liberation” they were experiencing.[6] Some women even became outwardly violent and aggressive--an attribute that was less likely found in ladies preceding the war.[7]

When it comes to far reaching effects the women of the Gilded Age, such as Susan B. Anthony other reformers, worked their entire lives to change society and did not live to see the full fruits of their labors. Susan B. Anthony labored her entire life to change the image of women in society’s eyes. She went so far as to even dress less lady-like and wear the humiliating “trousers,” of which she exclaimed, “Women can never compete successfully with men in various industrial vocations in long skirts.”[8] She did all that she could to “relieve the miseries of the afflicted and improve in every way possible the condition of man,” yet she was often ridiculed and treated harshly for her efforts. [9] To this day Anthony is remembered as one of the leading suffragists for the rights of American women. Her efforts, along with other women of her time such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, do not go unnoticed. Her influence paved the way for the rights of women, and had far-reaching effects. From this point of view, it appears that the woman from Gilded Age changed the lives of Americans from their time and onward, thus having a stronger influence overall.

Here is a site created by the Library of Congress that houses photographs and prints of women's suffrage between the years 1850 and 1920: Click Here

1.       Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003),188-190.

2.       Collins, 202.

3.       Collins, 238.

4.       Collins, 198.

5.       Collins, 201.

6.       Collins, 195

7.       Collins, 192.

8.       Jean H. Baker, Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists, (Hill and Wang, New York, 2005), 53.

9.       Baker, 59.

The Dangers of Being the Ideal Woman in Pre-Civil War Times

“What is my place in society?” An average white woman, or young lady, might have asked (or not asked) in pre-Civil War times. In response to that question, the answer most likely would have been, “keep to the affairs of the household, leave the finances and political affairs to your husband, keep yourself beautiful and modest at all costs and whatever you do, do not speak your mind.” Women took a back seat in societal affairs during this period. The “True Woman” was identified as someone who was “timid, doubtful and clingingly dependent, a perpetual childhood.”[1] This was a time when women were “celebrated by staying home,” which led to a life that was shut away from the outside world.[2]

Many of the women accepted or embraced this type of society, since it was safe and secure from the unexpected dangers from the outside world, particularly the instability of the economy and earning a living.[3] Just how safe was the woman who fit the mold, however, and did she really avoid the dangers of life?

There were many threats for the middle and upper class white women who led this safe and surreal life. She was expected to wear a tight corset, that could cause miscarriages and sickness, avoid physical exertion, which proved unhelpful to her health or in childbirth, went to doctors who often times caused more damage than helped [4]. It was more likely for a white mistress to die in child labor than a slave who lacked the attention of doctors. [5] She was also subject to the injustices of her husband without legal protection and often injured her own children due to the lack of support and guidance. [6] For many reasons the pre-Civil War ideal of woman was indeed dangerous and could be fatal. The slaves and lower classes also were affected by this idea of women, but they were required to work, attend to their duties without the time and leisure to play this accustomed role.[7]

There were many women who fought against the societal boundaries set for them and proved to be most heroic.  Young women who were often obliged to work in the mills, sang songs of hope that “[d]ependent on others we ne’er will be,” [8] but later found themselves singing a song of rebellion, claiming that “I will not be a slave, for I’m so fond of liberty[.]” [9] Lucy Stone devoted her entire life, against all odds, to the moving forward the women’s Suffrage Movement and then urged her daughter to follow in her footsteps by asking her, on her death bed, to “make the world better.”[10] Her daughter and husband continued on to support women’s rights. Women like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, who were ex-slaves, fought valiantly for their own freedoms as well helped others fight against their own societal boundaries.[11] These women also experienced dangers and affliction, but helped break down the walls that aimed at smothering a woman’s right to live, think, speak, own property and find their personal “pursuit of happiness.”[12]

Click this link to see an interactive map of the places where women made history in Massachusetts and New York!

1.       Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003), 87.

2.       Collins, America’s Women, 89.

3.       Collins, America’s Women, 90.

4.       Collins, America’s Women, 122-127.

5.       Collins, America’s Women, 153.

6.       Collins, America’s Women, 136.

7.       Collins, America’s Women, 142.

8.       “Song of the Spinners,” (Lowell Offering, 1841), found at the Liberty Rhetoric Website, at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/graphics/spinsong.jpg (Retrieved on 3/12/2012).  

9.       Protesting Workers at Lowell, Song Lyrics, (1836), found at the Liberty Rhetoric Website, at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/lowetext.html#1836song (Retrieved on 3/12/2012).

10.   Jean H. Baker, Sisters: The Lives of America’s Suffragists, (Hill and Wang, New York, 2005), 51-53.

11.   Collins, America’s Women, 157-159 & 177-178.

12.   Declaration of Sentiments, (Seneca Falls Convention, 1848), found at the Liberty Rhetoric Website, at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/decsent2.html (Retrieved on 3/12/2012).

Why Did Women Sacrifice?

Women from the colonial period and into the American Revolutionary War, made great sacrifices and notable risks that often proved to be fatal or of little profit to themselves. Why would women go through great trials and suffering if they were not guaranteed some type of reward or personal benefit? Here are some women from these time periods that exemplify this self-sacrificing type.

Well to start off, the pilgrim women who came on the Mayflower in 1620 left their homelands to make a voyage with no sure prospects of success. There were nineteen women who boarded the Mayflower. When they arrived, they were suffering from starvation and one woman, Dorothy May was even reported to have fallen off the ship when anchored and drowned. All of the women died over the next years except for four.[1] The courage it took for those women to step onto the boat and make the voyage was momentous in American history, yet deeply destructive for the majority.

Years later in colonial Maryland an independent business woman named Margaret Brent chose to risk her livelihood to save her homeland from mercenary soldiers in return she had to leave her self-established property and life in Maryland to escape Lord Baltimore’s “bitter incentives” rather than being thanked for her actions.[2] Anne Hutchinson, mother of fifteen children, from the Massachusetts Bay Colony shared her belief in the ability for a person to have a direct relationship with God. Many came to hear her sermons at her home. The male church leaders threatened her and brought her to trial, but she would not consent to their restraints and was banished from the colony. She and many of her children were killed by an attack from Indians. She lost all she had due to her actions: home, friends, family and eventually life.[3] Why did Margaret and Anne make these decisions, particularly when there was great personal loss and very little gain.

Into the American Revolution women had developed a lifestyle that was very different from the Colonial Era. Instead of aiming for the industrious laboring housewife, they took on the image of “pretty women” who lived their lives in (so called) leisure.[4] When the revolution began to run its course, women were expected to step up and support the cause for freedom. “The Edenton Ladies’ Tea Party,” a British cartoon from the time, depicted woman banning together to sign a revolutionary document and support the cause. These women were depicted as distracted, frivolous, neglecting their motherly roles and over all, incapable of being revolutionaries themselves.[5]

Again, however, the women from the Revolutionary Period did stand up and fight and take on the heavy burden of running and defending their homesteads while their husbands were gone.  Abigail Adams described the conquering spirit she possessed to fight off the enemy with her own hands if she had to. She took on the many duties of caring for the local sick and injured, caring for her own family and household duties, running the farm as well as managed the finances.[6]Deborah Sampson Gannett put on clothes to emulate a man and went out on the battle field and fought for the Revolutionary cause. “Molly Pitcher” was chose to take her slain husband’s position on the battle field and fight and was wounded in return.[7] The women from this era also sacrificed a great deal and for what? Was it the possibility of equality with men or the right to vote?

Abigail Adams urged her husband to “remember the Ladies” and Eliza Wilkinson, in a letter to a friend, declared that she wanted her basic “liberty of thought” if not more than that. [8] In the aftermath there were no equal rights granted to the American women who fought and supported the war so valiantly, except for in New Jersey where voting rights for women were granted for just a short period.[9] Why did these women sacrifice so much then, when they experienced some of the greatest loss and smallest profit? Might it be in the woman’s nature to give more than she gets? Was it due to false hopes and unrealized dreams? Was it to protect and preserve her children and family? It cannot entirely be determined why the women took these risks, but it is well worth the study, since this pattern is seen time and again through out history.


Here is a YouTube video highlighting the sacrifices and fighting spirit of Anna Maria Lane during the Revolutionary War:

1.  
 1. Gail Collins, American Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, (Harper Perennial, New York, 2003), 23-25.

2.    2.  Collins, American Women, 12-14.

3.     3. Collins, American Women, 28-30.

4.    4.  Collins, American Women, 71-72.

5.    5.  “The Edenton Ladies’ Tea Party,” in Texts on the Origins of Liberty Rhetoric, (Library of Congress) found at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/graphics/teaparty.jpg , (Retrieved March 7, 2012).

6.     6. Collins, American Women, 80.

7.     7. Collins, American Women, 81.

8.    8.  Letters of Abigail Adams and Eliza Wilkinson, in Texts on the Origins of Liberty Rhetoric found at http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/americanstudies/lavender/origtext.html#adams (Retrieved March 7, 2012).

9.    9.  Collins, American Women, 83.