Women’s Lives: 1900 – 1920

As the average work week shortened, people had more time for leisure activities. Women were able to express themselves, and often earn a living, through their artistic talents in the growing entertainment industry. Female entertainers pushed the envelope on social acceptance, as they “bared their legs and were beginning to show their midriff (Divine, 648)” on stage, performing in front of larger audiences than had previously been assembled. Isadora Duncan was monumental in freeing the restraints on women, as her free spirited dancing style swept the nation. Blues and jazz musicians, authors and poets were finding fame as they drew upon their life experiences and emotions to appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

Women’s reproductive rights came to the forefront as Margaret Sanger led a campaign to increase the availability of oral contraceptives (Divine, 635). Opposition to birth control measures “feared it might foster promiscuity” (Divine, 636), while Sanger saw the anguish and misery caused by unwanted pregnancies. Her persistence put her in jail, but also led to a ruling that physicians and patients should have more control over women’s reproductive rights (Divine, 637). Drawing on the superiority complexes of certain lawmakers and ethnic groups, Sanger appealed to their views by promoting contraceptives as a way to control the size of families in “unfit” populations.

Not all of the changes undergone could be considered progress toward egalitarianism. Between1890 and 1920, female graduates from medical schools dropped from twenty-five percent to five percent (Divine, 634). Women were being squeezed out of some arenas by men, who thought some kinds of work were unsuitable for women, either because the profession required more intelligence than women could possible muster, or because they “stripped them of their modest demeanor” (Divine, 634).

Those women that were graduating from college were increasingly in business professions and service professions. Employment in accounting offices, schools, and societal reform organizations became common for middle-class women. A table on the major occupation group of the experienced civilian labor force for females aged 14 and over shows a disproportionate increase in white collar professions compared to manual and service workers and farmworkers (Historical Statistics of the United States). The statistics given in this table do not take into account that 14 year olds have not had the opportunity to attend college, and changing the age groups reported would reveal an even more disproportionate increase in white collar professions.

Children and women who were too poor to attend college made up the largest portion of the farming and manual worker categories. A photograph from the International Film Service shows two girls lifting a heavy block of ice (1918). Manual labor was common for child laborers, as they had not had the experience required to acquire a skill; however, advances were made in the protection of child laborers.

While the WTUL worked to improve working conditions, some of their requests were not helpful to other activists groups who were trying to gain equal rights for women. The WTUL was using the traditional view of women as the weaker gender in need of protection and special attention, while other groups were trying to equate the genders.

The photo of the girls is also noteworthy because of how the girls are dressed. The girls are dressed in mens work shirts, bibbed overalls and boots. Typical attire for women and girls of the middle class in the early 1900’s included skirts, usually long and full. By 1920, skirts were shorter, making them more conducive to movement and working. The skirt suit was also introduced and worn by white collar professionals. While women’s clothing became more practical, societal norms still made trousers rarely acceptable for middle class women.

References

Divine, Robert A., Breen, T.H., Frederickson, George M., Williams, R. Hal, Gross, Ariela J., & Brands, H.W. America: Past & Present. Vol. 2. 8th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007.

Historical Statistics of the United States, 1:140. Table, Major Occupation Group of the Experienced Civilian Labor Force. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from https://uwconl.courses.wisconsin.edu/content/onl/his/HIS102-SU09/unit2/l6_discuss_2.htm.

National Women’s Trade Union League, 1911, Legislative Goals. Skinner, 163. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from https://uwconl.courses.wisconsin.edu/content/onl/his/HIS102-SU09/unit2/l6_discuss_2.htm.

White, Martha E.D., “Work of the Woman’s Club,” Atlantic Monthly (May 1904), in Ellen Skinner, ed., Women and the National Experience, 2nd ed., 116. Retrieved June 26, 2009 from https://uwconl.courses.wisconsin.edu/content/onl/his/HIS102-SU09/unit2/l6_discuss_2.htm.