World War 2 Women Essay

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Women on the Homefront During World War II
The World War 11 period is a very interesting time in women's history in the United States because for the first time, women were actually being encouraged to take jobs that were usually held by men and therefore needed a more "masculine attitude" . Traditional female gender roles were challenged during this time period . Not only were some of these women simply serving the country during its need in wartime, but they were trying to pursue their own passions and interests . The government and media's heavy use of propaganda such as Rosie the Riveter was used in order to manipulate and influence women into joining the workforce and taking on more "masculine" jobs, simply because the men were away at war.
Many different scholars disagree on whether or not the war had an influence on women's growing participation in the workforce and not just as a homemaker . In The Feminine Mystique, written by Betty Friedan, she notes that there was a change in women's magazines after World War II. She stated …show more content…

Many Mexican women went to work because they felt the need to help support their families. One mother of one of the Mexican women who went to work said that she went from "barely making it" to "really making it" . There were many opportunities for Mexican women in the workplace because many company's higher ups thought that after the war was over, everything would go back to normal and these women would still be second-class citizens at the end of the day . Companies such as air craft manufacturers noticed that there was a labor shortage (meaning they ran out of white women available to work) and addressed this issue by hiring women of color . Not only did companies hire Mexican women, but also black and Asian women. Minority women eagerly took these jobs because it was better than the sweatshops and fields they usually worked in

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