Hannah, Erika, James
In the early 20th century, women everywhere (including working class women, immigrant women, and African American women) began to desire independence and the power to work and support themselves.
Though women wanted to join the work force, in many cases they struggled to leave traditional values of a harmonious home life and of caring for their husbands and children behind.
For example, Ruby Livingston was an African American woman who moved to the north in 1919 to escape the deep south. Although Livingston wanted to work and earn wages to support herself and her family, she struggled to leave behind a life that centered around caring for her family. She stated, “It would be good pay, but the only time I’d see my babies would be on my day off... I have my own family that needs takin’ care of, my babies to look after and my husband who needs me.” Livingston is an example of how women were mentally willing and wanting to join men in the workforce, but were having trouble forgetting traditional roles of women in society.
Another woman, Carmella Gustaferre, immigrated with her family to the United States in the early 1900s. Although she was ready to work and earn wages for herself, it was clear that she also desired a large house with a nice garden and other things that women traditionally wanted in a passive domestic lifestyle. For example, Gustaff described the wallpaper that she envisioned in her new home as “wallpaper with beautiful flowers.” Gustaff’s story mirrors that of the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper. The narrator struggles to be free of the grips of her controlling husband who doesn’t seem to view her as a human with thoughts and concerns but as an entity completely dependent upon him. In some ways, however, the narrator finds comfort in the confines of a domestic lifestyle.
Through these women’s stories and The Yellow Wallpaper, it is evident that working class, immigrant, and African American women in the early 1900s were ready to gain more rights and independence for themselves, but at the same time didn’t want to lose their identities that valued a healthy family life.
I think it is hard as a woman to have any kind of identity in the early 19th century. As women we want to be there to help our families and take care of our children but back then that was are only option. If women did work they worked over hours and was barely there to see their children. In the Yellow Wallpaper the narrator wanted to write and go outside in the garden but her husband refused to let her go out or do anything. In my opinion it was like the narrator was forced out who she was, also she was stripped away from her motherly duties. Even if that family value was apart of her she could not act on it due to her husband.
ReplyDeleteWhether it's 1919 or 2012, I think the same conflict between work and family exists for everyone, men and women alike. Fathers, too, feel like they're missing out on their kid's life when they work long hours and miss his baseball games. The history of legislation preventing women from working at all certainly accounts for the fact that the conflict appears to exist more in women. The removal of those laws, like we touched on in class, isn't really enough to create real change. That is a much longer process of a societal shift of culture. Anywho, returning to my original point, the conflict between work and family does not exist solely because of women's old identity, though that may be, at the core of it, part of the problem. I think it's more that there's so much truth to that conflict: Moms who work are inevitably going to be with their children less. Women who are dedicated to their jobs have to wait before having kids because a child diverts their love and concentration from the job and moves it to the baby. Even my mom tells me all the time that she wishes she spent more time with me when I was a baby because she feels like she missed out. This starts to go into the women are more emotional stereotype because society supposes that women will miss their children more. There aren't quite as many stay-at-home dads who are solely devoted to their kids as there are moms. Is that a stereotype, or are those moms just so enamored with life at home and by being with their kids all the time that they are totally content?
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that the topic for this post groups African American, immigrant, and working women together. Often these descriptors, especially the racial ones separate people, and certainly did so in the early 20th century. It seems that the bond of womanhood can overcome some other social divisions. Ally draws parallels between the struggle of working women in the early 20th century to balance family and work and the struggle of contemporary women, which also highlights the universality of women having to fight for balance.
ReplyDeleteI found that this post brought up something that it seems has intrigued/bothered both me and the previous commenters. My mother's choice to devote herself entirely to raising my brother and I undoubtedly has contributed to our sturdy sense of morality, responsibility and family (or at least my brothers). I have many close friends who have two parents with jobs. Just by the nature of their circumstances, these friends have more opportunity to, as they say, get away with things. Sometimes I wish I had the house to myself a little more but in general my mother's consistent presence has been enormously beneficial. But it was also an enormous sacrifice. She essentially gave up her ability to financially support herself in favor of helping my brother and I turn out to be decent people.
ReplyDeleteAs women become more and more involved in the work force and value more and more fiercely their independence the use of day cares and nannies grows exponentially. I personally think that we are simply resting in a bizarre medium. We have advanced enough to recognize (arguably) equality of men and women in the work place, but have we made any progress toward equality in the home? The thought of the man giving up his job and dedicating his life to raising the children while the mother acted as the primary bread winner is almost unheard of. Until the ratio of women in the work place and men at home even out this issue will persist.
The leaders of the first wave feminism movement were not concerned with the problems of lower classes. Georgetown states that, "The key concerns of First Wave Feminists were education, employment, the marriage laws, and the plight of intelligent middle-class single women.They were not primarily concerned with the problems of working-class women..." Anybody who did not fit the "middle-class single women" wasn't benefiting as much from the movement because the leaders were advocating for themselves. Of course it'll be harder to follow the footsteps of the middle-class when there was such a class division.
ReplyDeleteMy next point may seem irrelevant but it is somewhat related to working mothers. A recent article in the NYT discusses the current maternity laws. Pregnancy is not considered a disability, so, "employers are not obligated to accommodate most pregnant workers in any way." Therefore, if a woman takes many restroom breaks, or, in a recent case, a woman can't lift heavy objects (although she provided a doctor's note), the employer can fire the woman. In the 2008 case, the ruling was that Patricia Leahy was "fairly" fired because the employer "was not obligated to accommodate her needs." Later the article states, "women who are forced early into unpaid leave are set back with lost wages and, when they return to work, with missed advancement opportunities. Women who are let go don’t just lose out on critical income — they must fight extra hard to re-enter a job market that is especially brutal on the unemployed. Worse yet, they often confront a bias against hiring mothers with small children." These difficulties as a result of pregnancy illustrate, in my opinion, another reason (clearly not the only one) that mother's end up staying home and raising their family. Especially with our current economic situation, it's hard to find a job as it is; would an employer be willing to wait for a woman to come back from maternity leave when the employer could go ahead and hire one of the many unemployed workers?
http://georgetowncollege.edu/Departments/ws/1st,_2nd,_3rd_wave.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/opinion/pregnant-and-pushed-out-of-a-job.html
I think that it is very interesting that while these women wanted to make money to support their child, they didn't want to work because they wanted to spend more time with their child and raise them, but the only way to give them a good childhood would be to work and raise money. Its a kind of paradox in which women back then had to make a tough choice of being around for their child or work to support them and feed them. I can't imagine having to make aa difficult choice like that.
ReplyDeleteThis topic can be seen today with alot of single mothers. They want to find good jobs so they can give their children what they want and need but they still want to spend some time with children. In the end they have to sacrifice some time with their family in order to provide for them. It's a choice that is often made by alot mothers, single or married, because in the end you need money in order too give your child what they need.
ReplyDeleteAs I filled out my college applications this year I had to define the line of work both my parents were in. Filling out the questions pertaining to my dad was relatively simple, however, when it came to my mother it was a little more complicated. Technically my mom is "unemployed" her line of work is defined as a "stay home mom." However, when I filled this out I did not think that ticking the box "unemployed" under my mom's name did her enough justice. She used to be a very successful nurse, who at one point was earning more than my father, that sacrificed the life that she knew to care for my sister and I. However, before her sacrifice she used to work the "9-5" and my sister and I would stay home with a nanny. The arrangement worked out well and my sister and I turned out as fine kids but, obviously, it was nice when my mom quit her job and we got to spend more time with her. However, regardless of whether my mom was working or not did not matter to who she was as a person. My mom was able to balance being a part of the workforce and raising my me and my sister. The important thing was not her line of work but that her live was her choice.
ReplyDeleteI don't think modern day women should be ashamed if they wish to stay home and care for the children. It is a personal choice that shouldn't be influenced by anyone or society. I think the bigger problem, as exemplified in "The Yellow Wallpaper", is the pressure women face a when men force the women to stay home. Regardless of the women's race, religion, or background it is a problem when any husband forces their wives to do something against their wishes. It is unclear why the women in the "The Yellow Wallpaper" is mad but I bet the demands she faced from her husband did not help the situation.
I feel like this is an issue that still rings true today. Like Sonia's mother, there are many other women today who are faced with the dillema of pursuing their career or dedicating themselves to their home. Women today have the freedom to pursue which ever path they choose; however it is in my opinion, it is impossible to excel in both these areas. Class factors into this because lower class or even middle class mothers do not have the option of staying at home, regardless of what they would really want.
ReplyDeleteLike many people have already mentioned, the issue of pursuing a career, and staying at home with the children is still a pertinent and tough decision for women and men alike. Like Mona just recently mentioned, I would like the stress that they are not only two paths, namely pursue a career, or stay home and take care of the family. Instead, I believe that a better balance can be achieved, that women can still have sucessfull careers while also being wonderful mothers. My mother is a working pediatrician and actually on the average works more hours than my father. Despite the fact that she may not be as home as she was when I was younger, I believe that the time I do spend with her is still worthwhile, and by actually working, she has instilled into me the importance of the hard work and dedication. However, due to her decision to pursue a career, I have probably spend more time with my father, something that I wouldn't have done so otherwise. Thus I believe that this continuous central quesiton of balance is not only something faced by women but is a continous idea in many family dynamcis.
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