Women and Gender in Postwar America - Book Report/Review Example

Not June Cleaver Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 Introduction History of American womenquickly underwent significant evolution during the mid-twentieth century. In the post-World War II, most studies have supported the notion that feminist organizations took a backstage. In light of this, “Not June Cleaver,” revisits the impact that women made in their capacities as mothers, activists, workers, and unionists. Throughout the essays, it is evident that women actively played the pacification role of ensuring the ills targeted at them by the male-dominated institutions were stopped. Several essays in the book signify a choreographed devaluation of the community, which eventually occasioned the birth of the womens movement. This paper explores women experiences, and their contributions within the post-war American society. Overview In Meyerowitz’s “Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960,” the author edits an array of feminist essays, tracing them from occupation and activism; on development of femininity; and on women believed to be sexual and cultural radicals. The book classifies the more than a dozen literary works as revisionist history, with those discussing domestic values being placed in historical context to enable readers to learn of the experiences of the mid-twentieth century American woman. The author also interrogates both the creativity and popularity of the essays in the postwar era. In Chapter 12, “Race, gender and constructions of Motherhood in the Death of Emmett Till,” focuses on the motherhood, class and racial factors in the mid-twentieth century America. In Chapter 15, “The Sexualized Woman” also discusses how the American woman in the post-war society was treated as a lesser gender, who acted at the behest of a man, a trend that led to more repression of women by the male-dominated government agencies. Race, gender and constructions of Motherhood in the Death of Emmett Till The essay is about a young teenager who came face to face with the seriousness of racial segregation in Money, Mississippi, in August 1955. Emmett Till was a bright and bold 14-year-old boy who met his death for flirting with a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Ms Bryant happened to be Roy Bryant’s wife. Although the boy and his peers seemed to care about the likely repercussions of flirting with a white woman, they immediately forgot about it, at least before his assailants caught up with him. Bryant and Milam approached the boy in the company of Mose Wright and drove off with him. Three days later, the badly disfigured body of Emmett Till was found dumped in the Tallahatchie River1. At first, the community was united, despite racial differences in expressing shock and condemned the heinous murder of the young boy. Bryant and Milam were apprehended for kidnapping soon after they drove away with the boy; however, white lawyers within the locality refused take up case, thus prompting their eventual acquittal. In contrast, voices of reason in the media and within the mainstream white community suggested that all civilized Americans had to express their sadness following the murder and declared that they would ensure justice was served. From the essay, it is important to note that the challenges facing women, especially blacks, were largely domesticated and kept in the dark from possible political solutions. In light of this, Emmett’s mother, Mamie Bradley sought to nationalize her grief and the challenges facing the African American women in the country. Her efforts quickly paid off and like any other black woman in the country, the specter of “double repression” came into the public limelight. The author of the essay obtained scenes of the savage repression of women, especially blacks, from the media. The story covered various scenes of pain and suffering that the boy and her mother went through as well as the shock and disbelief expressed by members of the society. Mourners from the African descent saw the badly mutilated body of Emmett Till, and quickly recounted brutal repression which they had went through in the past. Additionally, it was evident from the story that many more African American women within the society had not yet come across such incidents or heard of them at all for that matter, because some of the regions in the United States like Chicago were more liberal2 compared to Mississippi. The scenes and arguments in the essay draw many similarities from June Cleaver’s scenario: for example, the suffering of black females led by Mamie Bradley points to the fact, many African American women were suffering in silence, and that media played a pivotal role in liberating women from the bondage of male chauvinism, especially on political platforms. The publication of pictures depicting various scenes in the murder of Emmett Till and his funeral touched the hearts of almost all members of the society vis-à-vis the plight of black women within the society. Additionally, like the June Cleaver’s experiences, women still faced monumental resistance from men and agents of the status quo, despite a significant role of the media in highlighting the scenes of repression and the denial of their suffrage right before 1960s. Religious organizations also taught against the barbarism targeted at women of the post-war American society. The maltreatment of women in American as described in the “Race, gender and constructions of Motherhood in the Death of Emmett Till,” sparked off a huge debate on the need for change in the society, and eventually resulted in the unification of forces under strong feminist movements with the aim of liberating the women. For the first time in history, blacks in the northern United States saw the need for unity. They came to terms with the reality that barbarism meted out against their southern counterparts could impact their lives elsewhere in the country. In a nutshell, the death of Emmett Till united blacks with other progressive forces in America to bring to an end the repression and barbarism targeted at the womenfolk, especially after World War II. It is notable, though, that the pressure groups in support of women welfare had a mixed bag of public perception of the role of women, especially during the War. Whereas, in some quarters, women were regarded in high esteem due to the significant role they played in supporting national objectives and goals during the War, others perceived women as inferior, especially now that the war had ended. Either way, women stepped out from barbarism and repression as a result of strong feminist movements and their individual determination to have a share of the national cake. The Sexualized Women The period after the Second World War witnessed most of the American women readily accepting their role as housewives and mothers, keen on practically safeguarding strong family values3. They willingly maintained the hygiene of their respective homes, and brought up their children. They preferred dresses and wore high heels, experiences that draw some similarities to June Cleaver’s. The home-making ideology played a pivotal role in dictating the standard explanation of women’s life as the historiography of the period was shaping up. But as an analysis of the popular culture of the 1950’s reveals, the American society was treated to a competing interest between the forces in support of domestic values and those that supported individual achievement favoring non-domestic life, individual endeavors, civil service, and success in various professions. Additionally, this domestic role of women led to women being sexualized. In other words, men viewed women as objects that they could use as they deemed fit. Sexualization objectified women, and shoved them aside, hence denied them the opportunity to take part in important political decisions affecting them directly or the society in general. “The Sexualized Woman” portrays how feminine integrity and political roles were stripped away from them by men. As a result, women’s political values and contribution to society was reduced to pleasing men, regardless of the level of significance their ideologies or their potential accomplishments were4. The essay was likely to have been developed from the various experiences of women published and or aired by the media. Media played a pivotal role in imposing sexualization of women, by advertising certain trends and values, deemed posh on the part of women, thus influencing women to purposefully assume such a negative culture. For example, instead of fighting for more political space in the male dominated American society, the sexualized woman of the post-World War era wore revealing clothes and behaved in a way that amounted to sexual provocation of men, because many women believed it was the only avenue to impact societal values. To some extent, the story agrees with June Cleaver’s experiences in the sense that women were partly to blame for their sexualization: that, many women knowingly contributed to their sexualization and marginalization from political spheres of influence. As a result, sexualization of women occasioned their vulnerability to repression. It is apparent that seeing someone as a lesser human being or object leads to dehumanization of such persons. In light of this, sexualized women were at a higher risk of rape, and other kinds of assault compared to their counterparts who opted to lead the society in various professional capacities. Conclusion The two essays offer great lessons on the experiences of women during the post-war period America. Motherhood formed a very important part in women history, especially because the value formed the basis upon which the role of women during the period was premised. In light of this, the essays in Meyerowitz’s volume expose the different types of women’s contributions and perceptions that came before and served as the harbinger to the feminist movement of the 1960’s. Generally, the accounts of women who fervently supported their men through protest marches and peace rallies, especially when the men were serving on the battlefields; and at various forums seeking reproductive rights and often challenging male dominance in employment, and corridors of justice are revisited. The essays also provide modern and often disapproving portrayals of women as they struggled to assume new political roles. In a nutshell, the two essays have many similarities to Cleaver’s experiences in her effort to have a voice in the American society, especially in terms of ensuring justice for all women who had suffered entrenched repression in the society for a long time. Bibliography Joanne, Meyerowitz. Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. Read More