Class Notes

11.01.02

by:Tom Bahr

Daily Schedule:
- Roll
- Video (continued)- Rosie the Riveter
- Enloe Article
- Syllabus – term paper
- W.S. Classes
- Monday

Rosie the Riveter- Continued
- Women and girls were sent back to being housewives and mothers after the war, “as they promised”
- Women couldn’t imagine losing jobs because the prices of goods were going down and the economy was booming.
- All the women were glad the war was over- got into the spirit of things because everyone’s loved ones were coming home. Women look at the war as a good cause even though some lost loved ones. They were just happy it was over.
- When the men soldiers returned, the average soldier wanted a job and the media preached that these men were “the most capable group of workers ever.”
- Women were laid off first to make room for returning soldiers, then black men, and then white men if needed.
- The Women received a notice out of nowhere at their jobs and were laid off just like that.
- Despite that these women had all the great and useful skills needed in the industrial world, it was still hard for them to get jobs.
- 70,000 servicemen were discharged a month and thrown back into the working class.
- Industrialists believed the market would boom world wide, because of America’s immense demands for consumer goods, and were looking for all men and women to work in the factories.
- Usually industrial companies had women sewing and were often disqualified from even these jobs because they weren’t fast enough.
- Women weren’t hired for the jobs they worked during the war, after the war – basically gave all those jobs to the returning men.
- Jobs weren’t scarce – employees just wouldn’t give welding jobs to women or any other jobs they were trained for during the war.
- Being a woman meant it was pretty much “over” for jobs post-war.
- The media looked at women workers as a bad trend- the media said it destroyed the household, abandoned feminine roles and meant children weren’t receiving maternal love.
- The media portrayed working women as “rivals” for their husbands and claimed women lost femininity for it and it was bad for “society”.
- Women had to work jobs they were overqualified for if they decided to work – they needed jobs to support their families.
- Black women often worked behind the scenes in grocery stores as stockers or in other various places as cooks or pressers- jobs were limited for them.
- All women wanted at this time were to work jobs they were qualified for
- After the war, the baby boom occurred- birth rate increased 50%. Because of this, magazines now taught women to cook dishes that took all day and taught them how to prepare their kids psychologically- tried turning women into ideal housewives.
- Media portrayed men as aggressive and macho and women as passive.
- Women workers were portrayed as jokes after the war – gave up everything to have children.
- The women workforce was a smart looking group of ladies that were just thrown aside after the war.
Discussion about the Film- Thoughts from the class
-Thought it was interesting how women enjoyed ship work more than housewife-ing.
-Interesting how American Propaganda changed after the war- posters told them to go to work during the war and then soon after the war told them to go home as housewives
-Examples of propaganda – Norman Rockwell posters, newsreels that feminized welding- “no harder than pushing a vacuum” “as easy as cutting out a pattern”.
-Women enjoyed their work because a product was created as opposed to housework. Their work paid well (5 times as much as other work) and they got to work with other women and established a sort of working community.
-A housewife working for pay was a racial oriented image.
-Women had better working conditions during the war than after.
-Post war propaganda depicted women as lazy because they couldn’t work because they couldn’t get their old jobs back.
-Labor unions worked with the government to make sure women got back to their “feminine” jobs- jobs were gendered.

Enloe
-The Government guaranteed men to be masculine enough to be killing machines. One of the ways to ensure this was to have sex w/women.
-Sparta – used same tactics. Male soldiers had relations with other men.
-This act of prostitution was not just physiological- Dr. McBride “if it’s about comfort and raising spirits, why not masturbate?”
-Long term relationships with the women soldiers had sex with were not permitted.
-The Prostitution was very much about race.
-The Internet has women for sale all over it present day.
-The Government marketed and controlled women’s bodies by giving them to
soldiers.
-Masculinity is related to domination- makes it difficult for women in the army today.
-Women were encouraged to leave the army after the war.

Syllabus- Term Paper
-Term Papers are not finished being graded – new due date for final copy- Monday, November 25th by 4 p.m. in Comm. Room 108.
-Quiz 8- Monday is over Enloe and the film and website Rosie the Riveter
-First revision of term paper returned – Nov. 8
-Pointer for term paper- take term paper with revisions into women’s writing center. It will help ensure that you receive a better grade.

Women’s Studies Classes
-Offered in Spring 2003 and includes types of readings done this semester and discusses social structure of gender, race, etc- tier 1 and 2 courses available.