Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources This investigation will explore the question of: To what extent did Benito Mussolini hinder Italian Feminism between World War I and World War II? The years 1922 to 1937 will be investigated to allow a deeper analysis into Mussolini’s treatment in the wake of progress Italian women made in World War.
The first source that will be evaluated in depth is the book How Fascism Ruled Women: Italy, 1922-1945. The origin of this document is valuable because the author, Victoria De Grazia, graduated from Columbia University where she received her Ph.D. in history with distinction in 1976. The book itself was published by the University of California which further strengthens the document due to the
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After World War 1, women had established themselves as a viable working source and began forming their independence. Under Benito Mussolini, women were relegated to a position of child-bearing and homemaking. The globalization of culture after World War 1 provided Italian women a glimpse of the modern and sophisticated American woman. Italian women’s dreams of becoming fashion forward, independent women were destroyed by fascist propaganda when Benito Mussolini and the Catholic Church emphasized the importance of family values. Pope Pius XI published the Casti Conubi to re-state the importance of parental authority and discipline in the home. (Cousins, 2013) The motivation for Mussolini to push for a traditional role of women in society was the desire to grow a vast fascist Italian empire which meant as many children born and raised under Mussolini was necessary. This way an entire generation of Italians would grow up believing that fascism was the best and most effective form of government. Although this push to increase the birth rate of Italy actually caused the birth rate to decrease, the rate of marriages to remain the same, and the average age at which women got married to increase, the push by Mussolini and the Catholic church hurt the social standing of women. Mussolini’s expectations on women placed a strict expectation on women to produce as many children as possible. …show more content…
With productivity in industrialization being a number one priority of the fascist party, Mussolini held the idea that women were not as productive as men. By forcing them to remain at home, women suffered economically. After World War I, the lira had only one-fifth of its pre-war value which created a necessity for both parents to work in order to provide food and shelter for the family. (Poon, 1979) Women were allowed to work but the stigma that Italian women faced in society due to fascism propaganda and good old fashioned sexism created difficulty for women to find employment. Women were mostly kept from “White-Collar jobs” where even a woman with a college education could not find a job. Women most commonly found teaching jobs but were limited to the “lower” subjects at a primary school. Mussolini took the economic hardship of being a mother into consideration and incentivized having children instead of working. In order for women to reach Mussolini’s target of 12 kids, he launched the “Battle for Births” in 1927. This “Battle” exempted families with 10 or more children from paying taxes but unmarried men faced higher taxes, fathers were given priority when applying for civil service jobs, and marriage loans were given and did not have to be repaid when the couple had a kid. Mussolini’s Battle for Births and prevention of women obtaining higher level jobs forced women to stay home and
Benito Mussolini enacted his population policy to place emphasis on the power and prestige of the homeland, having a high population to counteract the losses in the first World War. To begin, he enacted parliamentary decrees, calling for a personal tax on bachelors to fund the Protection of Mothers and Children (Doc 1). The emphasis on protecting the mothers and their children shows Mussolini’s need to reinvigorate Italy through a higher population. With the women and children surviving, Mussolini created a way for his population to keep rising. In a speech by Il Duce himself, he states that the working woman lowers the birth rate, thus depriving men of work and dignity (Doc 5). A tenet of fascism is the belief of masculinity, an idea that would be challenged by the notion of the working woman, which Mussolini did not believe in. In order for the man and the masculinity to be emphasized, they must not stick to the wayside of the working woman. Another notion of “female insubordination” that is addressed is shown in document 8. In this document, Paolo Orano describes how the working women resist the notion of marri...
In the traditional political history of Italy the people outside of the ruling class of the society were rarely studied. Only with the use of social history did the issues of class and gender begin to be debated by scholars. Numerous recent articles have done a great job of analysing particularly men of high status. In this paper I will look at the lower classes of Renaissance Florence. More specifically, I will center my focus on the lives of women during this era, how they were treated and viewed by people of other classes and how women were viewed and treated by men.
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
To understand why Fascism gained such popularity after WWI, it is essential to find a working definition of what Fascism actually is. According to Benito Mussolini and his document What is Fascism, Fascism is “the conception of the state, its character, its duty, and its aim.” It is concerned primarily and totally with the affairs of state rather than those of the individual. The chief duty of a man in a Fascist nation is to do what he can to elevate the state to higher power or assist the state in whatever means necessary in its goals. As is evident to anyone studying this period in history, Fascism “repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism…” meaning that it is most certainly not afraid to use force or war to accomplish its objectives. A Fascist, especially a male Fascist, aspires to be a hero to his country and an ally to the state or nation of which he is a part. A woman ...
Women’s role in society changed quite a bit during WWI and throughout the 1920s. During the 1910s women were very short or liberty and equality, life was like an endless rulebook. Women were expected to behave modestly and wear long dresses. Long hair was obligatory, however it always had to be up. It was unacceptable for them to smoke and they were expected to always be accompanied by an older woman or a married woman when outing. Women were usually employed with jobs that were usually associated with their genders, such as servants, seamstresses, secretaries and nursing. However during the war, women started becoming employed in different types of jobs such as factory work, replacing the men who had gone to fight in the war in Europe. In the late 1910s The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had been fighting for decades to get the vote for women. As women had contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands for political equality. As a result, the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution became law in 19...
7 May 2010 “Fascism in Germany and Italy.” Online Essays. 10 July 2007. 7 May 2010 “Italian Fascism.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
Mussolini, Benito. “The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism.” The Human Record . By Alfred J. Andrea and James H. Overfield. Vol. 2. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 2 vols. 399-400.
2006. Brief HIstory of Mussolini and the Fascists in WW2. January 6. Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.custermen.com/ItalyWW2/History/Fascists.htm.
Only thirty years after the Piedmontese army marched into Rome to unite Italy under one government, the country suddenly found itself on the brink of the twentieth century and a rapidly changing world. The twentieth century would mark the beginning of great changes throughout Europe, and Italy would not be left untouched. What set the stage for these changes, though, were the years just prior to, and directly after 1900.
...e, although the Renaissance was considered a revolutionary time period that sprung immense developments throughout Europe, this era however did not bring change to the identity and power of Renaissance women. As a result of analyzing the prejudiced regulations of female versus male sexuality, the misogynistic ideologies of society as conferred through literature and philosophy and the life of notable female Renaissance figures, it is evident that women failed to attain an era of rebirth, therefore delaying the development of female strive and liberty. The advances in the Renaissance have only served to mold the female gender even deeper into their ladylike roles; the wraths of men. Ultimately, with the fear to battle against injustice, the vision for absolute equality and strive for full feminine potential have failed to be accomplished in the shaping of our today.
The question of women’s agency, in moving history holds a long history dating back to the ancients, then turning away from that in small degrees during the Renaissance. Most notable in this change comes from the capital of education, the Italianate states. Home to rife differences in attitudes towards women, it also hosts the origins of the discussion around women’s purpose. The current field largely finds inspiration from writers during the American 1970s women’s rights movement, and it shows in the modern origins and their influence. However, the field’s creation date loom farther back than such a recent movement, easily dating back to Plato and Aristotle. Beginning with a negative view of the female sex as inferiority, the study of women and their rights progressed to Giovanni Boccaccio’s creation of female biography in 1374, and further developed with a female voice in 1405 under the pen of Christine de Pizan. Clearly, none of the prestigious scholars could have predicted the alterations and growth of the discussion surrounding a people group often considered subhuman.
The 1940’s were a turning point for women in the workforce. Women were perceived to be the weaker sex by society and faced social prejudices in efforts to become part of the workforce. The common belief was that women were intellectually inferior to men, incapable of making decisions regarding their household, and should not work outside of the home. Their job was to maintain the home, raise the children, and be supportive wives of the working husband.
During the Great War and the huge amount of men that were deployed created the need to employ women in hospitals, factories, and offices. When the war ended the women would return home or do more traditional jobs such as teaching or shop work. “Also in the 1920s the number of women working raised by fifty percent.” They usually didn’t work if they were married because they were still sticking to the role of being stay at home moms while the husband worked and took care of the family financially. But among the single women there was a huge increase in employment. “Women were still not getting payed near as equally as men and were expected to quit their jobs if they married or pregnant.” Although women were still not getting payed as equally it was still a huge change for the women's
"The manner in which Mussolini and the Fascist Party gained possession of the government was regarded in most foreign circles as an illegal act of violence." (3) As the nation of Italy began to suffer great debts, Mussolini had been summoned by the King to form a government to aid in the economic needs. This marked the birth of the Fascist Party in Italy. In the beginning of his rise to the top, Mussolini was popular amongst his people. His popularity was high, and people began to trust in his judgment and ideas. (4) He was, in essence, saving the people from the turmoil that had ensued the nat...
Reich, J. and Garofalo, P. (ed.) (2002), Re-viewing Fascism: Italian Cinema, 1922-1943, Indiana: Indiana University Press.