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20th century women's roles
The impact of the Second World War on women
The impact of Mussolini's rule on the italian people
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Recommended: 20th century women's roles
During the 20th century, the role of women changed dramatically and continued to develop. Men fighting in the war and Italy shifting from an agricultural to industrial society were mainly responsible for this adjustment. They were identified as more than a tool for procreation and maintaining a household. For the first time, women were granted with the right to vote (De Grand, 1976, p. 948) . Their active involvement increased in democracy and industry jobs. However, once Mussolini and the Fascist regime came to power, the setting changed again. Once again, women returned to experiencing poor treatment outside and inside the home. A variety of legislation was passed to enforced feelings of helplessness and reflect their old treatment. With …show more content…
Women in a fascist society were characterized to be submissive women but strong, disciplinary mothers. This role was extremely emphasized to younger girls attending school. Mussolini painted the ‘ideal woman’ as one following the traditional values raising a family, happily procreating. The value of family was a main aspect of the female’s role in society. This was mainly due the influence subsequently following Mussolini mending ties between Italy and the Papacy State. He relayed the importance of the Church’s teachings on a variety of issues (Chokova, 2013). Instead of associating motherhood with nurturing principles coinciding with love, care, and leadership, it was associated with primarily procreating. This outlined their social position and rights were determined to implement these ‘newly’ defined roles by implementing various policies. Mussolini awarded women and families for procreation through incentives such as provisions, loans given towards births and marriages, maternity insurance, and organizing specific departments to handle infant and family health. Abortion, prostitution, public breastfeeding and other rules that suppressed the sexuality of women were put in place by all authorities. Women soon found themselves struggling to keep control over their own bodies. Mothers of all Italian classes were forced to feel incompetent, dependent on the matriarch, and uneasy. Their gender roles were further reinforced by the ‘ideal’ pictorial image Mussolini advertised. The slim, chic modern woman was condemned in fascist propaganda. Instead, they were replaced with women who were rounded, and wore maternal, conservative
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).
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.
Thesis Statement: Men and women were in different social classes, women were expected to be in charge of running the household, the hardships of motherhood. The roles that men and women were expected to live up to would be called oppressive and offensive by today’s standards, but it was a very different world than the one we have become accustomed to in our time. Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker, but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the
Today, nothing remains of the former social role of women. Nearly all professions are open to women. The numbers of women in the government and traditionally male-dominated fields have dramatically increased. More women than men earn bachelor’s degrees. Many women's groups still prevail and are major political forces. Although the two movements hoped to achieve different things and used different tactics, they still came together to gain women’s rights and have achieved more than anyone would have ever anticipated.
Women were granted the right to work in labor industries, as all the men joined in the World Wars. Even though women were still discriminated in the workforce by receiving lower pay than men, the number of women working increased around the United States. After women began changing the labor industries, their voting rights were granted, changing the political views of the United States. Even though women were discriminated against throughout society in the 1920’s, they still fought for their rights as women that deserved an important role within our society. This change in women’s attitude has influenced women across the world to value themselves and their importance.
As men went off to fight in the Great War, women had to step in and took the places of men in factories and other work fields. However, after
In Italy the strong presence of Catholic religion and organizations influenced Mussolini’s policies concerning women. Although the fascist ideology intended to abolish class struggle by establishing a new corporative society, its ideas about the role of women in such a society remained very conservative. Hitler had similar beliefs about the role of women in a Nazi society but he never tried to force them to stay home, indeed, he supported their participation in industrial production.
This paper will explore the historical research that indicates what roles women were allowed to play in Rome, including the Ellis textbook for some of the basic facts. Additional research information comes from another book by Bauman which contained some more detailed information on the topic of the role of women in government and politics in Rome. I also used three internet websites, one of which is an encyclopedia (Wikipedia) for general overview information, and the other two of which are highly respected organizations, PBS and BBC. I also accessed two articles from the EBSCO Academic Search Complete library databases which helped me to understand some of the complexity of trying to explain the role of women in Rome.
"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...
Families were the basis of Roman society while the dominant males-paterfamilias, “held absolute authority over his children” (Spielvogel 129) and others in his household . Roman citizens were classified with three names to differentiate them from other families, but women were usually only known by one. “Females shall remain in guardianship even when they have attained their majority”, (Spielvogel 119) upper-class women were never granted true freedom, but they started making breakthroughs and found ways around the “guardianship” of the males in their households.
the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy or to work with it. He
Il Conformista is very much a political thriller, but also a surreal, psychologcial reflection which serves as a commentary on both fascist Italian society, as well as anthropogenetic sociological tendencies in general. As the title implies, the film explores what it means to conform within a society, considering the common humans tendency of seeking “normalcy” given modern cultural and political landscapes. In this case that normalcy is found in an emerging fascist society under Mussolini, one that Italo describes in the radio station at the beginning of the film as returning to its “ancient virtues.” of “similarity and reciprocity.” Therefore it is implied that this type of fascist society has a uniformity inherent within it, as it seeks
All were to work for the common good, and trade unions or strikes were forbidden. Every profession had its own corporate branch, and all problems were to be solved through negotiation. This may seem very democratic or reasonable, however the fascist state controlled the issues of the negotiating sides, wages were very low and so were the living standards. Although there were many cons, some benefits Mussolini provided was through his economic policies. He started with improving road systems by building motorways,and reclaiming the Pontine Marshes, which helps provide more land prevent malaria. He began to promote the “Battle for Grain” which doubled the grain production in italy, as well as the “Battle for Births” to increase their