Role of Women in World War One

role effect women World War One.

Women during the First World War

This paper discuses in regard to women who were required to abandon their traditional role as housekeepers during the First World War. These individuals were virtually forced to employ all of their efforts in order to provide for their families, for soldiers on the front, and for their countries as a whole. Even with this, it is only safe to assume that the conflict also assisted them in being recognized on a social level.

In addition to the effect that it had on a series of countries and on society as a whole, the First World War also played an important role for women all across the planet. The conflict provided women with many opportunities, considering that they basically had access to areas that they could not interact with before. Most men had to leave their jobs with the purpose of going to war and women thus had the chance to occupy these roles and demonstrate that they were perfectly able to work in domains where they were generally discriminated until the time. The masses are inclined to express gratitude toward men only when they come across the concept of warfare. However, women are equally responsible for war efforts and one can virtually consider that they also serve during the time when men are on the frontlines.

The General Context:

The First World War raised public awareness concerning a series of concepts and the fact that women held great power during wartime started to be visible even before the conflict actually started. The fact that they were accustomed to the traditional worldview of women made it difficult for individuals to realize the fact that women were capable of thriving in many domains that men were successful in. Some governments actually focused on exploiting women and they did not hesitate to devise recruitment campaigns meant to enlist women. It was basically as if the desperate conditions that they found themselves in enabled people to acknowledge the important role that women could play in war efforts.

Women were typically perceived as individuals who could only be seen in church, in school, and at home. "This philosophy was to change drastically during the course of the war, as women took over from their absent men in hundreds of new and challenging occupations, many of which had previously been considered inappropriate" (Gavin 1). One can basically claim that the war was essential when considering the history of women across the world. Their hard work and determination reflected in the fact that they came to have larger wages, better job opportunities, and they even came to be in direct competition to men in some labor markets.

Not only were women important as a tool that could assist communities when men were not around to work, as they were also used as motivators meant to assist soldiers and simple people to get actively involved in war efforts. Posters and even cinema showing women influencing men to take up arms against their enemies were particularly effective. Women and children were displayed as potential victims of the war and they were thus essential in persuading soldiers on the front to push even stronger with the purpose of saving their families. Those who feared that their families would suffer as a consequence of the fact that they were no longer able to care for them were influenced in going through with their intention to fight for their country by presenting their families with allowances. The image of women sending off troops was typical when regarding war-related posters and films, as this made it possible for individuals to see women as powerful persons who were capable to look after the household in spite of the fact that their men were no longer around to assist them (Grayzel 9).

While most women managed to earn a living for themselves and for their families when their men were on the front, others failed to do so and government thus had to manufacture the image of the invincible woman at times. Even with this, it was obvious that the war had removed many social differences and that people were no longer inclined to discriminate women on account of their presumed inability to perform certain tasks.

Feminists:

Feminists perceived the war as an opportunity to prove themselves and to obtain a serious advantage in their struggle to be recognized as equal individuals. While most people initially failed to observe that there were little to no differences between men and women in some, "governments as well as other organizations quickly seized upon certain images of women to help translate the complicated political and diplomatic crises that had led to the outbreak of war into much simpler terms" (Grayzel 9). Feminists were quick to take advantage of this opportunity and started to publicly lobby in regard to the important role that women played in the war.

Although feminists are generally known to be pacifists, the first global conflict provided them with a reality that they were unable to question. This was practically the moment when they needed to decide whether they should stick to their principles or if they should act in accordance with their countries in getting involved in the war. It would thus be absurd to claim that they abandoned pacifism, as they simply prioritized their goals and reached the conclusion that they needed to involve all of their efforts in cooperating with the majority of individuals in their countries (Cavendish 740).

It is difficult to determine if feminists actually wanted to exploit the situation to their own advantage, considering that it seems perfectly natural for many individuals to express interest in wanting to support war efforts when his or her country is at war. Many feminist leaders started to lobby with regard to the war and influenced most of their followers to encourage men to join the war. "Feminists had organized two imposing peace marches in 1899 and 1907, in connection with the disarmament conferences at The Hague" (Cavendish 740). This influenced many individuals that it would be wrong to provide women with the right to vote, as this would presumably make it extremely difficult for countries to go to war. The defenses of many nations would have become weakened and the respective nations would no longer have the ability to mobilize sufficient individuals and firepower to defend their countries.

Although they were already involved in a conflict where they intellectually fought their governments with the purpose of coming in possession of several rights, women came to consider that it was important for them to refrain from identifying with women in other countries. They believed that foreign women needed to be considered enemies and thus made it possible for a nationalist form of feminism to dominate their thinking. As a result, not only were women determined to support men in fighting their enemies, but they were also resolute on discrediting concepts like peace and negotiation. "The minority of women who stayed with their pacifist ideals were reviled by their former comrades" (Cavendish 741). In addition to being castigated by their former companions as a result of continuing to promote peace, feminists who did this were also provided with harsh treatments by their governments. The authorities considered that individuals who refrained from wanting to support their countries in war efforts needed to be judged on account of expressing defeatist attitudes.

Many governments failed to observe that feminists could play an important role in war efforts and lost the ability to use this asset as a result of portraying warfare as a concept that was only related to men. Even with this, feminist communities in some countries did not hesitate to start off pro-war campaigns. A great deal of individuals believed that these leagues were ineffective because they failed to concentrate on one of the most pressing matters in the country. Women generally focused on domestic topics and this made it difficult for outside individuals to look at them as a group that supported the war. However, their interest in discussing domestic matters was related to their determination to keep conditions safe while their men were at war (Cavendish 741).

Women put across a great deal of patriotism and this was visible through the fact that the number of women who were against the conflict was smaller than the number of women who was in favor of the war. Even with the fact that most women were initially inclined to support the war and everyone who expressed interest in promoting its benefits, conditions gradually changed as the war neared its ending and as most individuals experienced disillusionment as a consequence of the high number of casualties that resulted from the conflict.

The war was not only important because it provided feminists with the chance to prove themselves, as it was also essential for women worldwide because it practically forced them to take a stance concerning conditions in the world (Kritzman, Reilly, DeBevoise 39). This was no longer a matter of interest, as all women needed to get involved in providing for their families while their men were no longer there to do so. One can even claim that women experienced both distress and benefits as the war started, considering that the suffering that they went through during the conflict reflected positively on their image.

The First World War provided women with the opportunity to get actively involved in leading their country. The years preceding the conflict actually prepared feminists for what was to come. "From 1900 to 1917 increasing numbers of women were drawn into the effort to reform a wide range of the nation's political, social, and economic problems" (Lemons 3). The conflict did not only provide these women with the ability to prove themselves, as it also made it possible for them to unite with the purpose of fighting for their rights.

A great deal of feminists realized that it was impossible for pacifism to exist in a society like the one in the early twentieth century. The moment when it actually started further contributed to this belief and influenced them in trying their luck while men were on the front. Even with the fact that many individuals believe that women betrayed their cause at the moment when they got involved in war efforts, this is not really true, as they simply modified their agenda with the intention of having it involve an exceptional concept. The case of Emmeline Pankhurst perfectly exemplifies the stand of feminists during the First World Conflict. In spite of her passionate pacifist beliefs, she acknowledged the fact that she needed to adopt desperate attitudes in desperate time. "With a patriot's vigor she recruited men for the British army, enlisted female volunteers for the home front, and reared three war babies" (Snodgrass 413).

In contrast to opportunist feminists, feminists who maintained their pacifist thinking throughout the war expressed fear with regard to the effects that the war would have on them and on their community as a whole. Even with the fact that they too were familiar with the positive effects that the conflict could have on themselves as women, it was difficult for them to think about the possibility of losing their men on the front. They were well-aware that it was extremely difficult for a single mother to make it in a patriarchal society and went through great efforts with the purpose of raising public awareness concerning the detriments that war efforts could bring on (Lemons 4).

Most feminists were inclined to blackmail governments with the purpose of providing them with suffrage rights in exchange for getting involved in the war. Even with the fact that the authorities were well aware that women would eventually get these rights, it was believed that it would take at least another decade before they would actually come to get them. However, the First World War assisted women in being recognized for the indispensable role that they played in their country's well-being. The Women's Bureau in the U.S. was one of the most important elements promoting the feminist movement in the country consequent to the war. The conflict is indirectly responsible for the movement's emergence, as it was initially composed out of a series of feminists who were determined to pervade society and to become recognized for their abilities in business and in professional fields in general.

Women in the Land Army:

Although they were involved in a different kind of warfare, women at home also had to employ all of their strengths in succeeding in their missions. Farms needed to continue to produce resources and they actually had to produce even more than they did before because of the increasing needs on the front. Women in the UK were particularly desperate because it was difficult for them to survive while German forces sunk American ships meant to transport goods to Britain. The fact that men were continuously dying on the frontline made conditions even more critical, considering that many women realized that they needed to take matters into their own hands as long as there was no one else who could assist them in working the lands. Similar to their counterparts on the front, these women had to work in dreadful conditions and could barely earn a living for themselves and their families. They were especially concerned about saving fuel and resources and they were thus inclined to perform most of the work by hand. Recruitment requirements were not necessarily important, as recruitment offices would express little to no hesitation in regard to recruiting individuals who were unable to pass all of the tests. "Patricia Vernon, who joined the WLA aged 14, told the recruiting office that she was 18 and was immediately accepted" (Women in World War One).

By the end of the war women demonstrated that there were very little domains where they could not work and managed to raise sufficient support with the purpose of being recognized as equal individuals. Approximately one million British soldiers died during the war and more than two million were wounded. This makes it possible for one to observe the gravity of the event and the critical condition that women found themselves in at the end of the conflict. These individuals were provided with the harsh reality of life and were virtually obliged to do everything in their power with the purpose of recovering from the state that they were in. Many women actually realized that it was very inefficient for them to continue to take on traditional jobs and started to focus on more controversial fields. Individuals who supported their countries all across the conflict apparently claimed that nothing could influence them in returning to their previous jobs. The conflict was thus essential in making these women and society as a whole accept the fact that the role of women had experienced much progress as a result of the war.