How did the first world war affect the status of women?

Emilie G.

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How did the first world war affect the status of women?

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The First World War is one of the first conflicts, which called for the participation, and mobilization of all people, fighters as much as non-fighters. So, at the announcement of the war, men and women are going to answer present. The society and the economy of every country are going to be upset. Indeed, the life of women before 1914 was very constrained. Few worked. Their role in society was generally confined to domestic tasks and certain types of jobs. But, from 1914 onwards, women contributed massively to the war effort: in fields, factories, and hospitals. Women played then a major role in the economy of their country. Thus, women's work and status began to change. This war was in fact perceived by women as an opportunity to gain finally access to education, to work and equality. So, why the First World War finally constituted a turning point in the life of women, and why it entitled to some degree of emancipation. For that purpose, we shall see in a first part how women mobilized during this war, then in a second part, we shall concentrate more particularly on the duties than the men expected especially from women, that is to say, comfort, love and children. Finally, we shall see the consequences of this war on female emancipation, and its fights.

Sommaire

Introduction.
The begining of the war.
1. All men left for the front.
2. The image of the 'peasant woman'.
The course of year 1914.
1. Adjustment in the respective role of men and women.
2. The working conditions in factories.
3. Women in the medical field.
The affect of the Great War on a women's daily lives.
The wars appearance as comforting social norms.
1. Family and women as an element of motivation and hope.
2. The duty to contribute to the preservation of the good morale.
3. Women and the hope of the regeneration of their countries.
Debate around maternity during the Great War.
1. The question of illegitimate children.
Economic hardships.
The demobilization of women.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

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Extraits

[...] Therefore, at first, agricultural output dropped in France, explaining certain scarcities in 1917 and 1918.3 Nevertheless, women worked with courage to keep agriculture running which would have been impossible without them. They become in this way the first war heroes. The feminists used for that matter the image of the " peasant woman " (behind the plow) as the perfect symbol of feminine patriotism in action. The articles of press glorifying this image of the woman were widespread also with the purpose of raising spirits by convincing the population that their food supply was secure. [...]

[...] They often originated from the upper middle class, and dreamt about a better future, based on professional and individual success. These were women of future”, who were the pioneers of deep social changes that would take decades to come about in most developed countries and are still awaited today in many other countries. So, the First World War played a crucial role in accelerating developments in the history of feminism. Certain historians went as far as to say that it really liberated them, but this comment is certainly excessive. [...]

[...] The most visible experience of the feminine emancipation was the fact they gained a freedom of look and movement. The 20s were also known as "années folles". It underlined the overture towards a cultural and social modernity. In France, for example, this freedom is incarnated by a change of dresses presenting the short skirt. The corset disappeared. The fashion of the short hair became popular, notably under the influence of the first "tomboy", whose Coco Chanel was the muse. So, as noted by Florence Brachet-Champsour, a scholar in the history of fashion, " While the patriotic representations lock the woman into stereotypes, the fashion, on the contrary, frees her The place of child in the family also began to change: indeed, the desire to control birth appeared in the first women's movements. [...]

[...] This meant to the woman, what life in the armed forces means to the man. Protecting the " maternal body " would then be during all these war years the target of family policy-making and of working regulations. For example, in Great Britain, the government was obliged to pay an allowance to encourage maternity. So, considering needs increasing of female labour force, the governments were obliged to find a compromise, to be able at the same time both to increase the birth rate and to allow women to work. [...]

[...] The image of the hospital was transformed. Instead of the place of misery and the death, it became the place of the promised earth, the comfort.3 Besides their willingness to help, it proved also for these women, the desire to go out a little bit beyond the private sphere. Middle-class persons were also encouraged by the pope sustaining it was another way of serving God. Nevertheless, this mobilization that was initially spontaneous and voluntary quickly became a way to survive and to earn a little money, which will often be considered negatively by men. [...]

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