How has the role of women changed in the last 100 years?
Without a doubt, the role of
women in society has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. Women have not
only worked to prove their right to vote but are also gradually becoming
socially, politically and economically more equal with men. However, it is
important to remember that this ‘equality’ can still be questioned and is often
influenced by a woman’s class or race. Inequality does not only apply between
sexes but also different races within sex.
“White Privilege” refers to when
a person is born with better access to power and resources (Kendall, 2002). It
is usually used in regards to white men and the patriarchy. Patriarchy
describes a social system where males hold the primary power – this includes
men of colour, however white men have privilege over them all. White privilege
also affects women – whether they are born with it or not. Typically, white
females hold a much more equal power with white men than women of colour.
A gender role differs from a
person’s sex. The term ‘gender’ refers to socially or culturally accepted
distinctions associated with being male or female – thus making it a social
construct. Gender roles are linked to a person’s biological
sex. A gender role determines how a man or a woman is expected to behave within
society and may differ within various cultures (Gender Roles and Differences,
2014). For example, in typical British culture, female infants are represented
with the colour pink and males with the colour blue. This is where the gender
role learning starts and it teaches children which role they must conform to so
that they fit within society. Gender role learning is culturally appropriate so
the specifics aren’t the same around the globe, however toys, games and
clothing are designed to fit within these roles and what they represent.
Cisgender
is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity matches society’s
norms for their sex. For example, someone who’s sex is female and also
identifies with the female gender. As gender is just about a person’s sense of
self, i.e. their personal identity, it can be challenged. In the last fifteen
years, transgender activists have been pushing for a better understanding of gender
non-conformity (Shapiro, 2010). A better understanding of social constructs –
such as gender – makes people question why these constructs exist and allows
people to choose whether to identify as cisgender or not.
The
concepts which each gender role represents change as society changes.
At the
beginning of the 19th century, Victorian women were expected to
aspire to marriage and as they were not allowed to work, they were expected to
have certain ‘accomplishments’. This included – but was not limited to - having
a good knowledge of music, literature and modern language. As Victorian fashion
trends limited a women’s movement to the point where they were often unable to
do even household chores, it fell to the men to earn the money and be the sole
provider for their family (Hughes, 2015). Women were expected to be
intellectual - but not too intellectual – it was considered unfeminine and an
attempt at usurping men’s ‘natural’ intellectual superiority, which often made
many families refuse their daughters further education, says Hughes, 2015. This
is a perfect example of a patriarchal society. It was this ideology that was
slowly starting to change around the time of WW1 – women were suddenly vital to
the war effort and it is these events that started to alter society’s view on
the female role.
After
the war, women had drawn the conclusion that there was much more to life than
housework and empty ‘accomplishments’. The passing of the Nineteenth Amendment
in 1920 gave women the right to vote and after their efforts in the war, they
were now also able to work. However, not all women chose to continue working
(Benner, 2014). Not everyone believed women belonged in the workplace and most
women stuck to jobs that were already associated with the female gender role –
such as nursing, teaching, social work and apparel manufacturing (Cliffsnotes,
2015). However, the freedom to work and
vote began to change attitudes of younger women towards the mundane activities
of a housewife. Young women of the 20’s began smoking, drinking, dancing and
had a much more open mind about pre-marital sex. These acts challenged the idea
of patriarchy and these young women were known as ‘flappers’. Almost a whole
generation of young men had died in the war and rather than wait for a suitor,
as women had done before the war, flappers decided to make the most of their
lives. Their attire changed from long hair, long skirts, restricting corsets
and high collars to short bob haircuts, bound chests and skirts that only
reached the knee. This look was known as “Garconne”, meaning “little boy” and
was instigated by Coco Chanel. The popular swing dance craze meant that women
were dressing down to allow movement and the fabrics used were much lighter
than before. Their attire began to push gender barriers and “though their
attire was modelled after little boys outfits, flappers flaunted their
sexuality” (Rosenberg, 2015). It wasn’t just the attitudes of young women that
were changing however. Men returning from the war struggled to return to the
previous structure of society and having seen the horrors of war, they were
also choosing to make the most of their lives (Rosenberg, 2015).
During
the 1940s, the female role within society changed rapidly again. The flappers
of the 20s had long gone with the Great Depression. During this period, a lot
of women had stopped working again because they felt they were taking jobs from
unemployed men, this is once again, an example of the effects of a patriarchal
society. World War II however was demanding that women step into the roles of
the men away at war. Women began to learn new skills and were taking jobs that
had previously only been held by men. As women didn’t flock to the open jobs
like the government had hoped, they tailored the advertisements to the female
gender. Workers were advertised as being glamorous and fashionable (Bored
Panda, 2015). In a way, this helped re-define the gender role for women because
it showed society that it was acceptable for a woman to be in those roles and
it broadened what people considered to be ‘feminine’.
The
founding of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and the Women Accepted for Volunteer
Emergency Service (WAVES) in 1942 meant that women’s wear needed to be more
practical. It became much more acceptable for women to wear trousers and full
skirts were much less popular due to fabric shortages.
After all of women’s efforts during the war, they were unceremoniously booted
out of the job roles they had stepped into as the men returned to society. The
50s are often regarded as a time of glamour and sophistication for women.
However, it is probably more accurate to say that is was a time of oppression
and patriarchy.
Post WWII, women were expected to stay home and re-populate. There was indeed a
baby-boom and in 1952, 75% of women were married – with the average age for
marriage at 21. Although some women remained in the work force, it was often
frowned upon. The female role in society had taken several steps back and women
were once again expected to aspire to marriage (Cosslett, 2015).
Because of these social constructs, many household product advertisements
showed women as the user. Women were often depicted loaded with cooked food or
doing household chores – all the while, smiling and looking happy in her role.
It would appear that the main focus of the female role during the 1950’s was to
meet the needs of her husband and children – society didn’t see it as important
to focus on a woman’s career or education (Stoneham, 2013).
Cosslett, 2015, does go on to say however, that some women did continue to work
as well as have children. The downside of this was that working women had
almost no rights and had to work often to be allowed pay. On top of this, they
had to continue with the other assumed roles of a woman. Household chores such
as cooking and cleaning were seen as a woman’s job and men wouldn’t take on the
responsibility for fear of being thought ‘unmanly’ – a repercussion of the
patriarchal constructs.
After
the oppressed role of a female in the fifties, women of the sixties began to
fight back at society. Many women just weren’t satisfied with up to 55 hours of
household duties a week. Working women were dealing with lower salaries than
their male counterparts, denied opportunities to advance and were “generally
unwelcome in professional programs” (Tavaana, 2015). After the American
economic boom following WWII, the available workforce wasn’t enough to fill all
the new jobs that had been created. Women took these opportunities and ended up
filling two thirds of these new jobs. As a reaction to the “happy homemaker”
that women were expected to become in the fifties, the women’s movement started
to take off in the seventies (Hauser, 2015). Gradually society had to accept
that working women were there to stay and as expectations for comfortable
middle class lifestyles rose, it became essential to have two lots of income
per household (Tavaana, 2015).
The
invention of the contraceptive Pill in the early 1970s was vital to the change
in the female role. It meant that women could pursue professional careers
without “being interrupted by pregnancy” (Tavaana, 2015). Not only did women no
longer have to worry about giving up jobs because of pregnancy, but it gave
women the freedom of premarital sex without the social stigma of becoming
pregnant outside of marriage. This was an opportunity for women to have more
control of their bodies and consequently their lives.
The
failure of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution in 1971 brought
feminist political organisations such as the National Organisation for Women
(NOW), the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Equal Rights Amendment
Ratification Council and the Coalition of Labour Union Women, into the
spotlight. Despite some of the political failures, women were still more
successful in areas of business, politics, education and science than they had
ever been before. Feminism was starting to effect change around the world which
consequently began to alter the female role in society (Exploring the
Seventies, 2015).
Anderson,
2015 says that women of the 80’s were “enjoying some hard-won equality
battles”. Society had accepted women into the workplace and the female role was
less focused on household chores and family. Women were becoming politically
and economically more independent which was reflected through popular fashion
trends. ‘Power dressing’ was incredibly popular in the 80’s and consisted of
shoulder pads and tailored clothes (Thomas, 2015). The shoulder pads were reminiscent
of men’s tailored suits and gave a woman an aura of importance. This “Corporate
business suit dressing” gave some women the notion that they could be whatever
they wanted to be (Thomas, 2015).
Women
of the 80’s and 90’s were asserting their independence in almost every aspect
of their lives. They were seizing opportunities to educate themselves and
advance in their careers – whereas twenty years before, they would have felt
too guilty to do this in case it was taking opportunities away from men.
Throughout the nineties, it became the norm for women to become doctors,
lawyers and executives – positions they had never held before without some sort
of scrutiny. This breakdown of the
patriarchy meant that the responsibilities of the home were more equally shared
between a husband and wife and women no longer felt the need to prioritise
motherhood. The effect this new found independence had on the female role could
be seen as positive and negative. As women were becoming less focused on
finding a partner to marry, so were men. Some women were afraid of their
independence being crushed by marriage and they had history to back these fears
up. The nineties woman had the task of finding the balance between career and
family.
In
present day, most women around the world are able to work, vote and have the
right to freedom of speech. In the UK, attitudes towards women have changed
drastically since before the First World War. There has never been a better
time to be a woman seeking education, a job and independence. Small things such
as wearing trousers, shorter skirts and being alone in public are no longer
questioned or abhorred. Although politically, women are becoming more equal
with men, regardless of age or race, male expectations and ideals still influence
the female role. No matter how society has changed throughout history, women
have always been subject to the male gaze. In modern society, the camera can be
seen as an extension of the gaze and the media a platform which reinforces
this. Brownmiller, 1984, says the female body, often “reduced to isolated
parts, has been mankind’s most popular subject for adoration and myth” but also
“judgement, ridicule, esthetic alteration and violent abuse”.
Although
a lot of the constructs created by a patriarchal society had been broken down,
it was and still does, influence how we regard the female role. In a society
obsessed with body and image, a woman’s worth is calculated by how beautiful
the opposing sex thinks she is (Weissman, 1999). This creates a society where
women see each other as competition for male approval, thus enforcing the
patriarchy and suggests a woman cannot decide she is beautiful on her own
(Brownmiller, 1984). Wolf, 1991 stated that around the 1990’s cosmetic surgery
became the “fastest growing medical speciality” and that “thirty three thousand
American women told researchers they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds
than achieve any other goal”. This suggests that although the female role no
longer focuses on domesticating women as it did 100 years ago, the physical
ideals for women have become unrealistic and almost unattainable without the
help of cosmetic surgery.
Adichie,
2013 speaks about how in her culture, people still assume any money she is in
possession of has come from any male she is with – another result of
patriarchal society and only supports the idea that not everywhere in the world
has made much progress with the female role. Adichie also raises the point that
we “praise girls for virginity” yet we don’t “praise boys for virginity”. It is
true that although women are beginning to ‘own’ their sexuality, society says this
is not something they should talk about in public – it is seen as unfeminine
and unattractive. Men on the other hand are still taught to see women as prizes
and are considered more ‘manly’ or masculine if they have lots of female
partners.
‘The
Beauty Myth’ could be seen as one of the “last one remaining of the old
feminine ideologies that still has the power” to control women (Wolf, 1991).
Whilst ‘beauty’ is not objective, it is something that “universally exists”
However it is not “universal or changeless” - it varies from culture to culture
and no two ideals are exactly the same (Wolf, 1991). However Wolf claims that
“women must want to embody it and men want to poses women who embody it” – even
in modern society women are competing with each other for the approval that
they have met this ideology. Lehrman,
1997, states that if a woman does not gain approval from men or meet with the
ideals that are forced upon us through the media, magazines and history, then
she is considered ‘abnormal’, unfeminine and unattractive. It is common for
women to label themselves as ‘ugly’ when they have no make-up on because it has
become such common practice to use products to enhance or hide features to
comply with society’s ideals associated with the female gender. Women’s gossip
magazines have become a platform for women to degrade other women based on
their appearance, a bad photograph or for doing something that society says is
unfeminine and outside of their gender role. This ideology creates a
contradictory society and only enforces gender roles rather than challenges
them or let them grow.
Over
the last 100 years, it is evident that the female role has been influenced by
patriarchal society. Women have been expected to aspire to marriage, be
ambitious, but not too ambitious and to not usurp a man’s ‘natural superiority’
(Adichie, 2013; Hughes, 2015). The female role has always been to be a physical
embodiment of what society defines as femininity, which is broadcast through
various platforms in the media (Wolf, 1991; Lehrman, 1997). Although what
society considers ‘feminine’ has broadened or relaxed over the decades, there
is still definition between genders and it is the definition in roles that
leads people to believe that one is of less value than the other. If gender
roles continue become more flexible then patriarchal constructs will no longer
influence how they are defined and thus there will be equality for genders
outside the ‘norms’ (Shapiro, 2010).
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