Women: Before, During, After World War Ii

On the morning of December 7, 1941 a surprise attack conducted by the Japanese Navy on the United State naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii resulted in America’s involvement in World War II. While the rest of the world was at war, America stayed neutral until the attack on Pearl Harbor which ironically was intended as a preventive action towards America’s involvement in the war. After the attack, America entered the war, a war that the Americans were not prepared for. America just has gotten out of the Great Depression in the 30s and was still recovering. The war brought about draft and new job opportunities for men and women. Nancy Potter, a teen during the time described the effects of the war, "I think for girls and women, and perhaps boys and men, of my generation the war forced them to grow up prematurely. It made them far more serious about the bare realities of life: life, death, values. It robbed them, in a sense, of some childhood" (Women and WWII). The war brought about many changes in society and ideals. World War II changed the traditional gender role of women, and shaped women’s lives today. It wasn’t until recently that women began to gain equal rights as men and seem as an equal. Traditional role of women is to be domesticated, be a good wife, bore children, and stay home to cook and clean. These societal ideas were deeply rooted in us since the past. Although women that are mothers are still expected to take care of their children and take care of the household, mother are not expected to be stay at home mothers. These changes in societal ideals are recent and it was not until the 1940s did the life patterns of women truly changed. (Yalom) Women of the past were considered inferior to men, not only physically but also intellectually. Women could not able to own their own property and were not allowed much freedom. Girls received little education and learned how to cook, clean, and care for children from their mothers. Resulting in the stereotype

Cited: Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. Women’s History in America. Women’s International Center, 1995. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. . Evans, Sara Margaret. Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America. N.p.: n.p., 1989. Print. Hartman Strom, Sharon H., Dr, and Linda P. Wood. “Women and World War II.” What Did You Do in the War Grandma? N.p., 1995. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. . McElroy, Lorie Jenkins. Women’s Voices. Vols. Vol. 2. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. “Rosie the Riveter.” Women in Transportation. U.S Department of Transportation, 3 Dec. 1999. Web. 17 Dec. 2009. . Sherrow, Victoria. Women and the Military. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Yalom, Marilyn. A History of the Wife. N.p.: Harper Collins, 2001. Print.