Gender Roles
Men and women have always been designated their own roles; men usually had the superiority. The male population would usually work and manage the money, while the females would stay at home and take care of the house. Respect to the men would be demanded from the women. During World War II, things got changed around when the men were chosen to go off to war while the women were left behind. Because of the draft, women started to step up and take on the men’s roles.
Another female who made an impact during World War II was Janet Flanner, a columnist for The New Yorker magazine. She had the advantage of living in Paris, the city between the worlds wars, so she was able to write a lot about what was happening during the war. Some of her pieces include her famous “Letter from Paris” and other articles about Hitler and the Nuremburg trials. Not only was Flanner successful as a columnist, however; she was also a broadcaster on the NBC Blue Network radio. Because most of the men were at war, many women had more job opportunities, so therefore were able to work in the media area.
However, a decade later, journalism jobs became harder for women to obtain. Men began to once again discriminate more against the other gender. The best place that women could go to if they wanted to have a career in international politics was the League of Nations in Geneva. One woman, Helen Kirkpatrick, received a very good education in Geneva, but could only find a job as a trainer at Macy’s when she went out into the work field. Clearly, she deserved better, but the gender role stereotype had affected her. Kirkpatrick’s attempt to fit into the ‘women’s role’ only made her unhappy, so she went back to Geneva and was offered a job more fitting of her education. Opportunities started popping up for her, which eventually led to her reporting on events happening during World War II.
However, a decade later, journalism jobs became harder for women to obtain. Men began to once again discriminate more against the other gender. The best place that women could go to if they wanted to have a career in international politics was the League of Nations in Geneva. One woman, Helen Kirkpatrick, received a very good education in Geneva, but could only find a job as a trainer at Macy’s when she went out into the work field. Clearly, she deserved better, but the gender role stereotype had affected her. Kirkpatrick’s attempt to fit into the ‘women’s role’ only made her unhappy, so she went back to Geneva and was offered a job more fitting of her education. Opportunities started popping up for her, which eventually led to her reporting on events happening during World War II.
In this book, Women in War, two women, Brigitte Friang and Jeanna Bohec were only two of the thousands of women who joined as active participants in the French resistance. They acted as couriers, spies, nurses, saboteurs, and even armed fighters. Women fought in the streets with men, and the gender roles started breaking down. One woman, Jeanne, was talented in the area of chemistry and science. However, they tried to put her in a nursing job, which she hated. She kept persisting, and finally was moved to the department of her talents. She was the only woman there, but she worked hard and contributed a lot. Some companies started to hire women; however, others still followed the gender roles and would not accept women as their employees. When Jeanne was working with them men, they felt like they had to always best her. Whenever she did something, they felt like they had to do it better.
Women in World War II made a huge impact and did not fit into the gender role. In fact, hundreds of women printed and distributed illegal literature, operated radios, housed soldiers, transported arms and money, and even fought. Women were at first made to feel as if they were inferior and could not do as good of a job as men, but once they had a taste of their independence, they wanted more.