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Women's Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War - Softcover

Grayzel, Susan R.

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9780807848104: Women's Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0807848107 ISBN 13: 9780807848104
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999

Synopsis

There are few moments in history when the division between the sexes seems as “natural” as during wartime: men go off to the “war front,” while women stay behind on the “home front.” But the very notion of the home front was an invention of the First World War, when, for the first time, “home” and “domestic” became adjectives that modified the military term “front.” Such an innovation acknowledged the significant and presumably new contributions of civilians, especially women, to the war effort.

Yet, as Susan Grayzel argues, throughout the war, traditional notions of masculinity and femininity survived, primarily through the maintenance of — and indeed reemphasis on — soldiering and mothering as the core of gender and national identities. Drawing on sources that range from popular fiction and war memorials to newspapers and legislative debates, Grayzel analyzes the effects of World War I on ideas about civic participation, national service, morality, sexuality, and identity in wartime Britain and France. Despite the appearance of enormous challenges to gender roles due to the upheavals of war, the forces of stability prevailed, she says, demonstrating the Western European gender system’s remarkable resilience.

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About the Author

Susan R. Grayzel is associate professor of history at the University of Mississippi.

From the Back Cover

Though the civilian women of Britain and France made significant contributions to the World War I effort, this book shows that the upheaval of war had few long-term effects on gender roles.

From the Inside Flap

Though the civilian women of Britain and France made significant contributions to the World War I effort, this book shows that the upheaval of war had few long-term effects on gender roles.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date
1999
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0807848107
ISBN 13 
9780807848104
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
360
Rating
  • 3.95 out of 5 stars
    40 ratings by Goodreads