Women in the 1920s and 30s - Essay Example

Women in the 1920's and 30's The focal point of Women's suffrage is considered by historians to be 1920-1930. This is the time when Agriculture gave way to the industrial era and the dawn of prohibition, and The Great Depression, called for Women to take on a new role in the United States. The period between 1920 and 1930 is viewed by some to be the transitional period between women as a traditionally oppressed class to the slightly level majority they are today. In her article "The Changing Roles of Women in the United States", Cynthia Harris notes the massive impact the transition from an Agricultural economy to a more corporate industrial based market in America had on the progress of women's rights between the1920's to 1930's. She says, "No change had a greater impact on women's roles than the transition from primarily an agricultural economy to a corporate, commercial, industrial one, a change that took slowly over decades Harrison (1997)." She goes on to note that this was particularly true of the African American woman's movement in that, "Urban working-class mothers, especially African-Americans, themselves engaged in industrial production or domestic work for pay; by 1920, about 9 percent of married women worked outside the home for wages (Harrison, 1997)." Harrison goes on to note the complex way in which The Great Depression effected the transition of women being housewives to contributing to the working class. During The Great Depression unemployment rates rose to 25 percent and with many men out of work, their wives were subject to do remedial jobs that men wouldn't take like house cleaning, nursing, dry cleaning and secretary jobs, as Harrison notes "in fact most women worked only at jobs that men did not do and so by the start of World War II, almost 15 percent of wives were working, up from 12 percent at the beginning of 1930. The remedial work women suffered through during 1920 to 1930 eventually escalated during World War I when men were sent off to war. There was a void in the working class and women were needed to take on jobs that were traditionally reserved just for men. The image of the hardworking American woman became personified in the billboard plastering's of the "Rosie the Riveter" image. Millions of women gained access to government and non-military factory jobs and as Harrison notes during World War I, "The percentage of women in the work force went from pre-war figures of 25 percent to a wartime peak of 38 percent (Harrison, 1997)." These work figures are significant because it was through employment women could establish self-worth and liberate themselves from a dependence on men for personal survival. These higher paying positions were temporary though, and as soldiers returned from war women were quickly weeded out of industry positions and this began a trend of women leaving the labor force and focusing on raising families leading into the late 1940's on through to the 60's. Despite the transition for equal rights during the 1920's and 30's, women still had slim to no authority over their identity or future as it applied to their place in society in the United States. During this period there were excessive reports of domestic violence, and in the medical world women were habitually over-diagnosed with having psychological disorders and in many cases sent away to medical facilities. No work better captures the complexities of this issue and time in American history than Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar." In her article, "A Ritual For Being Born Twice" Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, Marjorie G. Perloff analyzes the popular appeal the novel holds among young women. The concept of the emotional distress that comes from illness conflicting with the psychological and social boundaries, used to confine women during the 1930's, is interpreted as a major contribution to the books growing fan base. The major draw the book has is the complex nature of Esther's dysfunctions. She is mentally ill in a way that leaves her situation open to speculation. Barron-Faust characterized Esther as having borderline personality disorder. This is based on her impulsive mood swings and unpredictable personality, but Plath leaves this open for interpretation, as the reader is more apt to perceive Esther as perfectly healthy in a sick world. In Perloff's essay, she cites a scholar by the name of J.D. Lang, who characterizes Esther's behavior as being the schizoid personality type. He says this is due to her often disconnection from reality. Lang even gives an example from the book where Esther is being questioned by the Ladies' Day, she asks, "What do you have in mind after you graduate" Lang points out that Esther observes herself respond, and doesn't feel attached to her actions. Plath writes this response as, "I don't really know,' I heard my-self say(Plath)". This citing enforces Lang's position, but it is also said that people with borderline personality disorder have the same type of disconnection. Even these scholars are left with no other choice but to theorize over what might have been Esther's sickness. The main sickness that leads to her almost committing suicide is still up for debate. While women's suffrage in American has progressed leaps and bounds beyond what it was in the 1920's and 30's. The gender roles placed on women are far more harmful than they seem. Women are expected to have communal traits whereas men are expected to be agentic. Communal traits are things that maintain strong relationships like being nurturing or compassionate, and polite. Men are generally expected to be assertive and competitive (White, pg 58). When these gender roles are violated society tends to discriminate. In the work place, when a woman is especially assertive she is often referred to as a bitch or masculine because others believe she is "not very feminine" but if a man were to do the same he would simply be seen as a go-getter (White, pg 59). This is a Western society norm, and it obviously puts women at a serious disadvantage professionally, because in order for her to achieve success as defined by society she must maintain relationships and not sacrifice them for advances in her career. As a result, women hold lower positions, don't get paid as much as men, and don't get as many promotions. This prejudice is the core cause to mental health problems for women, as well as an inherent trait of western society. At every level of education, it has been proven that women make less than men (Judith, 52). Women are less likely to ask for raises because they don't like to self-promote, and they also don't want to create any animosity between her and her supervisor which would violate her role as a woman. As a result of these professional setbacks women tend to be in lower economic classes. Anyone with financial problems is at a higher risk for depression, but women have lower paying jobs, so they are more liable (Judith, 52). Poverty definitely plays a big part in the development of depression, among other disorders. Not having enough money to eat is severe stress and not having enough money to feed your children is twice as bad. One major problem in society that is mentally affecting women is this culture of thinness. There is an immense amount of pressure placed on women to be attractive and thin through the media and the stick-thin models regularly gracing magazine covers. As a result, women are more likely to develop eating disorders. Anorexia, an eating disorder that involves drastic fasting, and Bulimia, which consists of binge eating followed by any compensatory behavior, are virtually nonexistent in men (White, pg 62). Both of these disorders lead to serious health problems but anorexia ultimately leads to death by starvation. It is thought that these disorders are caused by a perceived lack of control in their lives; which is balanced by these women having complete control over their looks. Discrimination against unattractive or overweight women is an unspoken prejudice. This epidemic of attaining physical perfection is actually an unnecessary and harmful setback for women. There are still oppressive factors that unlevel the field on which women and men compete in America. Many feminist have identified one of the key factors in the exploitation as the media, and specifically the product branding of fashion and it's use to psychologically exploit the western female obsession with beauty. The draw of fashion psychologically is much deeper than just style itself. In John O. Summer's article "The Identity of Women's Clothing Fashion Opinion Leaders, he points out the psychology behind what draw women to certain brands of fashion and makes them avoid others. He says, "Central to the study of interpersonal communication has been the concept of opinion leadership, which proposes that some individuals exert a disproportionate amount of influence on the behavior of others in some given topic area (Summers, 1970)." Here he uses fashion as a particular topic of discussion. He notes that the opinion leaders, those identified as the authorities on a subject are put on a pedestal. What they say is the hot brand to wear is held in such high regard that it's then mentioned in brief dialogue on shows like Gossip Girl, or it's seen worn by the characters on screen, or even off-screen on the cover of magazines. Summer goes on to note that the appeal of this process the key factor that incites the audience member to in turn become a consumer of the brand name items the show promotes is the desire to be associated with the positive feelings that come along with association to the opinion leader, when he says, "Studies on social participation or gregariousness have shown a strong positive association with opinion leader-ship across topic contexts (Summers, 1970)." Here we see that the driving factor behind what makes fashion fashionable is not the desire to appear beautiful but the desire to be associated with those who dictate what defines beauty. In sum, the 1920's through the 1930's ushered in new possibilities for women, that while short-lived, their results can be seen in contemporary society to this day. Domestic violence ran rampant during the era of prohibition and The Great Depression, as well as reports of women being committed to medical facilities for the over-diagnosis of psychological disorders. All of this was countered by the fact that women were progressively finding employment in multiple fields previously reserved for men, and with the start of World War I women found them selves making up almost 50 percent of the work force. While much of these trend died down near the end of the war era and the dawn of the baby boomer generation saw women leaving the labor fore for family life, much of 1920 to 1930 can be seen as initial steps taken in the forming of the feminist movement that would explode in the 1960's. Work Cited Blume, Lesley M. M. (2007) "15 Going on 50: How Gossip Girl is Killing Youth Culture" Huffington Post October 24. Bridges, Judith, and Claire A. Etaugh. (2006) Women's Lives. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.,. 51-53. Harrison (1997). "The Changing Roles of Women in the United States" U.S. Society&Values. on May3 2010 http://books.google.com/booksid=JZAsHQvlWX8C&pg=PA10&dq=Women's+rights+United+states+1920+1930&lr=&as_brr=1&ei=nyXfS6rIGqLGMsHi5NgE&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=false Russ, Joanna. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies > Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer, 1979), p. Read More