Women in the Second World War
The World War II changed the lives of millions of people. Thousands of men were enlisted to the armies of their countries. They changed their cozy hometowns to the battlefields. However, the women’s life had been changed as well. The Library of Congress reveals the stories of life of American females in the exhibition “Women Come to the Front”. These individuals have followed their own ways during the wartime (“Women Come to the Front”, n.d).
Toni Frissell was famous photographer for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar before the World War II. But she switched to the war reportage with the beginning of the war. Frisell wanted to prove to herself that she could cope with real job (“Women Come to the Front”, n.d). She overcome objections of her family to travel around the US and world to become an acknowledged war photographer. Her photographs were widely used in promotional campaigns because they helped to change the public perception against women in uniform as well the black Americans during the War.
The life of Dorothea Lange has been changed after the Pearl Harbor attack. She was hired by the War Relocation Authority to take pictures in the Japanese internments. Previously, Lange dealt with farm families, who were displaced during the Great Depression. However, this experience was not enough to make her ready to the civil right issues she faced during her wartime position. Lange dedicated herself to photograph the signs of human courage and dignity of the Japanese citizens (“Women Come to the Front”, n.d). Therefore, many of her photos were censored. Like Frisell, she changed the perceptions of negative image. However, her photos were not approved by the governmental institutions.
At the beginning of the World War II Marvin Breckrinridge Patterson also was a photographer. However, she accepted the offer by Edward Murrow to become the first female staff broadcaster for CBS in Europe. She held dozens of reports from various places, including Berlin. Patterson was one of the first radio workers, “who used short-wave transmitter to broadcast on locations” (Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, n.d). However, her career has ended with the marriage to American diplomat Jefferson Patterson. Her attempts to continue working as a photographer also failed because of her husband’s career. All in all, the war made Patterson to changer her job and then to quit it completely.
References
Library of Congress. (n.d). Women Come to the Front. Retrieved Jul. 22, 2015, from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/
Library of Congress. (n.d). Marvin Breckinridge Patterson in Women Come to the Front. Retrieved Jul. 22, 2015, from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0009.html
