Women In 1930's Education For Women

“It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. We should stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by who we are” (Emma Watson). Since the beginning of time, Eve was portrayed as the first sinner and this could be the reason why women are still paying for her sins to this day, from either education to jobs and look to stereotypes. Though now women are crawling out of the hole of inequality faster than before and soon women will be able to reach the light they have been waiting to grasp.

In the 1930s education for women differed from a man’s education whether it was a color woman’s to whites. For colored women it was very difficult to even be in a school since many of

black educational schools were hand me downs from white schools, that’s basically torn or damaged, or a bad environment in general.

“Nationally, more than one-quarter of the students in the 1930s were black. Yet they received only about one-tenth of the total education revenues. Many Americans believed that African Americans were simply not capable of excelling in school” (“The 1930’s education…”). For colored women, it was more difficult to prove their abilities than any other race. For example, Asian women were not affected as much simply because their skin color was closer to that of a white’s than a black person. As black women were treated unequally in the education department, white women have also struggled in getting a higher education. “They gave young women a chance to gain the same kinds of education as their brothers without having to spend much of their time and energy fighting the prejudice they would have faced at male-dominated institutions. At the same time, they provided a proving-ground in which college administrators, professors, and students could demonstrate that women could flourish intellectually while remaining healthy and ladylike.” (“The Value

Of…”). In the text, this proves that women can do just as much as men can and still obtain the generalization society wants out of them to be acceptable. This also portrays that women do not need a man to do the work for them as they are perfectly fine in doing what they want for their education so they can provide for their families as well. Women can get as high as an education they want now, and it does not matter if you are a different race as it is more than likely you will have a higher chance of doing what you want because many companies look for diversity.

From the 1930’s to today women have struggled in being equal to the opposite gender when pursuing in a career, whether it was being in the job in general or money. Women have been taking one step at a time to become equal with men and one of the first ‘steps’ was when World War II began. “Then, on the heels of World War II (1939-1945). American soldiers joined the fight overseas, American women filled factory jobs to manufacture war supplies” (“Feminism: Reinventing the…”). During this time many women have had a taste of what it was like working in the factories and the feeling of being one step closer to what it was like being a man in the workforce. Though when the war ended, men wanted their wives to go back to a stay at home mom and taking care of the children, many women refused. With more workers, in America, whether it was a man or woman, the trade unions made it a decision to have semi-skilled to basically no skill required work for the women, and the notion of women getting equal pay was exempted. “Help-wanted ads in the newspaper were segregated into ‘Help wanted-women’ and ‘Help wanted-men.’ Pages and pages of jobs were announced for which women could not even apply. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled this illegal in 1968, but since the EEOC had little enforcement power, most newspapers ignored the requirement for years.” (“History of the…”). During that time women have been limited in what they could be in the workforce since so many of the jobs that men overpopulated was regulated as something a woman simply cannot do. Now in the 21st-century women can do any job she wishes, for she now has the influential power and rights to do so with millions of women behind her, such as Carol Burnett who started her own show that was male-dominated, and now her show is one of the most loved shows in America. The 1930’s are completely different from today since so many women have so many job options, though the wages are still unequal, looks and fashion was one of the many things women have had to deal with.

Looks are very important for women, and women have the cosmetic companies to blame for why this is happening.

It seems if a woman does not follow what the television or magazines do, they will be considered a ‘disgrace’ to society. “By the 1930’s, mass advertisements on radio and in magazines persuaded women to purchase cosmetic products by appealing to her fear of growing old or being rejected by social acquaintances,” (Gourley 56). The beauty industry specifically targeted women, using the ideas of an often highly feminine related idea of vanity. This also talked about women’s apparel in clothing and how they weren’t able to dress casually since they would be titled, slob. As looks represent a lot in a woman, the body type of a woman has always struggled with maintaining since the ‘perfect’ body types are not what everyone has. “In the 1890’s women had full bosoms, round hips. In actual measurements they were probably no rounder than Miss Cox but they seemed so because they were shorter, tightened their waists into an hour-glass effect … Now, though, the ideal figure must have a round, high bosom, a slim but not wasp-like waist, and gently rounded hips” (“This is What…”). Ideals women that society has pushed onto women to be for them to have any chance in romance. Though many women can drift away from this the women, though they won’t admit to it, had struggled to meet the ‘set standard’ for women. This shows how after women have gained the rights of voting, gender roles

and makeup are still targeting women to get their money.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and Aunt Alexandra played a big part in stereotypes or proceeding gender roles as both of Scout’s and Aunt Alexandra’s opinion differed. An example of how Scout and Aunt Alexandra differed in manners is how both of them differed in personality. "... Aunt Alexandra was one of the last of her kind: she has riverboat, boarding school manners; let any moral come along and she would uphold it; she was born in the objective case; she was an incurable gossip" (Lee 131). From the voice of Scout, Aunt Alexandra was one of the most stereotypical women in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout portrays that Southern women are generalized as everything a man isn’t; the caretakers, weaklings, gossipers, extremists, etc. though Scout does not act like how she is supposed to. Scout continues to break the stereotypical southern girl is not just manners but also in clothing. “'You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You'll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn't change your ways ...'" (Lee 106). In To Kill a Mockingbird this portrays one of the many criticisms Lee reveals of the narrow-mindedness of Southern women in gender roles. Gender roles are not something scout wants to hear as she does not enjoy being told what she needs to be. This is a small sample of one of the many instances in To Kill a Mockingbird where Scout criticizes the Southern women for their narrow-mindedness of gender roles.

One of the most noticeable ways in how women’s roles have changed is mainly in education, jobs, clothing, and stereotypes. The 1930’s are completely different from today since so many women from many ethnic backgrounds have so many options to choose from in education and jobs mostly around the world. Though many women do not have the same rights as a man, they are catching up to men and soon women will be able to become equal to a man.