Slacks And Calluses Summary

Slacks and Calluses Slacks and Calluses by Constance Bowman Reid entails the coming of social rights for women in the United States. The coming of World War I brought some changes to social classes in the United States, but it was World War II that would define women’s rights for years to come. Two women, Clara Marie Allen and Constance Bowman Reid, decide to engage in patriotism doing their part with their summer off from being a school teacher. They take a job at a bomber factory working the swing, or night shift. Once entering the work force, Reid and Allen find out what it is really like to be a woman in an unaccepting workplace filled with men. In the text, the unfair and unjust treatment of women in the workplace are revealed to full

Most women were expected to work on the farms or in the household and to raise children. When industry came to the country, it provided women the opportunity to seek new environments. However, women’s tough transition did not come with welcome arms by the country. “If you don’t think there’s a difference (between women wearing slacks and skirts), put on a Consolidated uniform and try getting service at your favorite store, make a reservation, or get information at the post office,” (Bowman Reid, 67). This quote explains that some women were refused service for wearing slacks and working in factories. Many believed in the traditional idea that the workplace was for men only and used the refusal of recognition as a form of protest. Some women refused to go into the work force for this very reason. For those that did however, did so out of patriotism for the war and because of the lack of opportunity. There was a mix between the two. In the text, most women were there for lack of opportunity because they were high school dropouts. Others, like Bowman and Allen, decided they wanted to support the war effort and the only way to do that was to take their place in the industry. “Anybody who thought we had been motivated by anything but patriotism in its purest form could just look at our pay-checks after the government got through with them,” (Bowman Reid, 173). This shows that most