Thread by @outofthetowerh

New #womenshistorymonth thread. Most people are familiar with the idea of the stereotypical 1950s #housewife, popularized by TV sitcoms, like Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver. #whm2021 @womnknowhistory (1/15)

That imagery, though, is flawed because it overlooks the paradoxical impact of #WWII and its effect on women’s participation in the workforce. #womenshistory #whm2021 #twitterstorians (2/15)

#WWII made extraordinary economic demands on women and it pulled an unprecedented number of women into the labor force. #laborhistory #genderhistory (3/15)

As well, the war undercut traditional assumptions about women’s capabilities, as highly skilled and highly paid women workers were producing the materials that were needed to win the war. #whm2021 (4/15)

In the aftermath of #WWII, it appeared as though the post-war readjustment anxiety had reversed much of the war-induced changes in women’s lives. #genderhistory (5/15)

The end of the war brought about a pervasive feeling of fear about the future of conventional societal arrangements, especially women’s traditional roles as wives and mothers. #womenshistory (6/15)

This anxiety developed into an intense desire to reestablish traditional sex roles, since many Americans felt that social stability would only come after women had returned to their traditional duties in the domestic realm. #genderhistory (7/15)

On the surface, then, it appeared that after 15 years of depression and war, most Americans readily sought solace in the restoration of conventional sex boundaries. #genderhistory (8/15)

BUT it would be wrong to ignore the salient #socioeconomic changes that were taking place below the surface. Although there was a dip in the immediate post-war period, the number of women employed continued to rise over the long-term period. #womenwork #feminism (9/15)

By 1947, the numbers of women in the workforce began to increase again as the long-term trend in women’s employment had re-emerged. #womenshistorymonth2021 (10/15)

By 1952, around 10.4 million wives held jobs, which was 2 million more than the highest number of women employed during #WWII, and almost three times the number employed in 1940. #history #feminism (11/15)

By the early 1950s, #work for married women had grown to become an essential way for many American families to attain middle-class status. #womenwork #womenalsoknowhistory (12/15)

With the post-war’s growth of the American consumer society, women’s employment became a more acceptable means for a family’s upward social mobility. #Whm2021 (13/15)

While the post-war readjustment anxiety had helped to push the dominant cultural consensus back to supporting traditional sex roles, it had not erased the impression of the war on women’s societal position. #whm2021 (14/15)

For more on the #history of women’s #workforce participation, check out my book Gendered Citizenship, to be released by @univnebpress October 2021. Visit my website, rebeccadewolf.com, and sign up for my email list. #ERA #Equality #feminism #rights #whm2021 (15/15)