Warfare has always been experienced differently by men and women. In many cases, men are in the frontline and face different conditions as compared to women who are on the home front. World War I is one of the most discussed wars that the world has experienced so far. The sheer extent to which the war affected people in different countries around the different continents around the world is appalling. The structure of the society was shaken by World War I. People no longer lived according to the norms they had known before. Both men and women had to adjust in order to fit the societal experience brought about by the war. Though suffering was experienced by both men and women despite where they were during the war, their experiences were completely different thus making it important to look at these experiences from a deeper perspective.
The Experiences and thoughts of men during World War I
At the beginning of the War, men felt that being part of the troops that were on the frontline was an honorable thing to do. Men who joined the army were seen as patriotic and loyal to their countries. In this perspective, any man who had the strength to go out to fight would voluntarily join the force without any resistance. The feeling was that of enthusiasm as many men wanted to serve their countries. In Britain for example, joining the army was seen as a noble cause and many men would volunteer to leave their families and join the frontline. In addition to this, it was seen as betrayal for fellow countrymen to be on the frontline while one was left at home. Such a person would not earn the respect of the society as he was seen as a traitor who did not love nor respect their country. In this perspective, the thoughts and experiences of men ...
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... need be. It is also important to note that in countries such as Russia, women actually joined the forces and fought on the frontlines.
Figure 2. Women who worked as trench nurses during World War I. Accessed from http://australia.gov.au/sites/default/files/agencies/culture/library/images/site_images/trenchnurses.jpg, Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
In summary, the experiences of men and women on the frontline and on the home front respectively were different. However, one common factor is the trauma and suffering that both parties due to the war. As men went out to fight on the front, women were left to rebuild a society and fill the roles played by men who were no longer there. World War I broke down the society in a huge way. After the war was over, it was difficult for both men and women to start their lives all over again as they had to adjust to a new social structure.
The First World War presented European women with ample opportunity to step up and demonstrate their strength; however men of this era had conflicting opinions of how capable women were to take on a man’s occupation. Therefore, it was necessary for women to prove their abilities and destroy the widespread belief of their stupidity and ignorance. To begin, it was during this era of World War 1 and directly after this that women were able to prove themselves as vital members of the economy and society of Europe. In Document 1, a picture depicts the harsh patriarchal society that women were forced to change by showing a woman being ignored by a man. The purpose of this photo of a female figure arguing that women were strong enough to save men
American women in World War II brought significant changes which although people expectation that life would go back to normal they modify their lifestyle making women free of society pressure and norms, because the war changed the traditional way to see a woman and their roles leading to a new society where women were allowed to study and work in the same way than men. Creating a legacy with the principles of today’s society.
Some women enlisted in the army to fight on the battlefield. Their reasons varied as some fought for money and
Many women during WWII experienced things that they had never done before. Before the war began women were supposed to be “perfect”. The house always had to be clean, dinner ready on the table, laundry done, and have themselves as well as their children ready for every event of the day. Once the war began and men were drafted, women had to take on the men’s role as well as their own. Women now fixed cars, worked in factories, played baseball, handled the finances, and so forth. So, what challenges and opportunities did women face on the home front during WWII? Women had many opportunities like playing baseball and working, they also faced many hardships, such as not having enough food, money, and clothing.
World War Two was the period where women came out of their shells and was finally recognized of what they’re capable of doing. Unlike World War One, men weren’t the only ones who were shined upon. Women played many significant roles in the war which contributed to the allied victory in World War Two. They contributed to the war in many different ways; some found themselves in the heat of the battle, and or at the home front either in the industries or at homes to help with the war effort as a woman.
World War I was a very deadly war with over 100 million human casualties(deaths plus injured). Therefore war is a very transformative event for humanity, because it always affects individuals, societies, and even the world in a pessimistic way.
When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new liberation. When the men returned from the war they found competition from the newly liberated woman who did not want to settle for making a home (Melman 17). This new class of women exercised a freedom that shocked society.
When the war was over, the survivors went home and the world tried to return to normalcy. Unfortunately, settling down in peacetime proved more difficult than expected. During the war, the boys had fought against both the enemy and death in far away lands; the girls had bought into the patriotic fervor and aggressively entered the workforce. During the war, both the boys and the girls of this generation had broken out of society's structure; they found it very difficult to return.
...and the responsibility to be just as patriotic and dedicated as any other. When the war ended and the men returned, women weren’t required for the occupations, and this stirred a yearning in women to be once again sovereign, and perhaps the time set a scene for a path to complete gender integration and a women’s rights movement.
In the times of darkness where women used to be worthy enough just to take care of the housework, kids, and husband; accordingly, women were categorized as housewives while men were the ones who work for the livelihood. It is important to highlight the women role in World War II because besides the war, deaths, ambition and misfortune; women during the World War II where for first time in the history; women were valued and they free themselves from the stereotype role they had. The time of labor inequality in the World War II between women and men was staring to break down; however, women were still stigmatized to just be able to work in jobs such as nurse and the textile industry. The timing of the initial advance
The role of women in society was unchanging. It was quite remarkable how stable their role remained for so long (135). While still recovering from the Depression, Europe managed to mark the beginning of the biggest war in history. They first took over Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. And after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, the United States entered the war. The main transformation World War II made for women in American society was there were man...
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, millions of men were sent to join allied forces and many jobs were lack of labors. In the meantime, the war led high deaths and injuries. Therefore, most women had started to take a role to manage families and took the place of men and their jobs as men had gone for flight during the war. According to a research (Consena and Rubio, n.d. P.156), women usually recruited and worked in dangerous job positions, such as air flight, dangerous
However, when the war was over, and the men returned to their lives, society reverted back to as it had been not before the 1940s, but well before the 1900s. Women were expected to do nothing but please their husband. Women were not meant to have jobs or worry about anything that was occurring outside of their own household.... ... middle of paper ...
This war was massively destructive to the people involved in it. Despite the brutalities, many soldiers still agreed to enlist in the war due to the concept of nationalism. Nationalism
When the war began men had to leave their families and jobs behind. World War I was a complete war because all of the world’s assets had to be used and the entire nation’s population was involved. Anyone that had the ability to work had to work. The women had to take up jobs and went through a lot changes in order to support their families during the war. World War I gave women with the chance to have a significant part in the victory of the war which had an impact them and changed the lives of all women forever.