The late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century marked the beginning of the change in gender roles. Women in the Victorian era were expected to stay at home and the best job described to them was that of maintaining the household. Men, on the other hand, were the superior sex and the primary breadwinner. Peiss in her book, cheap amusement, gives an account of how the life of the Victorian woman transformed with the turn of the nineteenth century while that of the man remained the same. Elaine Tyler May on the other hand in homeward bound gives an elaborate description on how consumer behavior shaped the gender roles and relationships. Also, she explains how the cold war affected the heterosexual couples. From the two authors, men’s and women’s social and economic roles were centered on consumerism.
Cheap amusement explains the life of the people of New York before the turn of the nineteenth century in two dimensions; the lives of the people who lived in mansions on Fifth Avenue and those who lived in the slums in Mulberry Bend (Peiss 11). Families consisted of four to six individuals with the working class earning about fifteen dollars weekly. The families had little income at their disposal, as they were required to pay high rent among other expenditures. This made all the family members of legal age work to earn a living. Consequently, there was no time for leisure for the working families with the unmarried daughters included. Peiss clearly brings out the role of the woman in this society as a subordinate being who belonged in the house. When free, the women would sit on verandahs or at times visit their mothers’ houses, which in most cases were across the street (Peiss 13). There were, however, different scenarios. If one earned seventeen dollars or more, they were lucky enough to take inexpensive excursions and occasional trips. They also made theater trips and paid a visit to the amusement resorts in the Coney Island during summer. It is, however, important to note that families spent only 2.4 percent of their earnings on entertainment and leisure activities.
The post-war period on the other hand comprised of a society that was seeking refuge in the family due to the return of peace and prosperity. Women had blue collar jobs since the world war two required the men to go away for war. Unlike in the turn of the twentieth century, the society saw them capable just like the men. Due to the new sense of security and peace, there was tremendous growth in family building and fewer divorce cases. Both men and women were aimed at maintaining the family unit and therefore, the roles of husband and wife were reclaimed as they had previously been dropped during the hard economic times experienced during the American depression.
Although the man was the chief breadwinner of the family, he was allowed to spend his resources on leisure, and it is the leftovers that were used for rent and other family expenditures during the turn of the nineteenth century. They were allowed to arrive home late at night, go out with their fellow men or spend time reading newspapers. This applied to all men, whether employed or unemployed. Some would go to the social hall where they would spend their time playing cards.
Around this period, marriage was almost a loveless affair and was constituted for procreation. Peiss elaborates that during this period, the economic role of the man was centered on consumerism as he was expected to make the money and the then spend it.
Cheap amusement elaborates the evolution of the responsibilities of the woman from a mere domestic worker to an industrial worker. She describes how the wives were limited to the house and had no time for having fun. Their unending responsibilities such as chopping wood, making their bread and bearing “thirteen” babies would not have allowed them the luxury.
Any recreation activity still proved tedious, as they were required to prepare the picnic necessities and ensure that their children and husbands looked the part. This was, however bound to change. The unmarried women mainly took over the job market between the 1880s and the 1920s.
Most of these women were aged between sixteen to twenty years (Peiss 34). They worked to support themselves and their families. The working, just like schooling and marriage, became an important step in every woman’s life. This was a remarkable change as compared to the Victorian woman who was regarded as a needlewoman, a domestic servant among other marginalized duties (Peiss 36). Despite their new life as workers, they still had a hard time making choices regarding leisure time and as a result, they rarely went out at night.
The situation, however, did not last for long since their job ranks supported the mercantile industry in New York. Most of the women who worked as saleswomen had a lot of power that enabled them to manipulate customers, managers, and supervisors into getting what they desired. This shows that the woman was slowly taking over the role of breadwinning in the family, although the salary was still little. Women were no longer afraid of the men as demonstrated by Peiss, who describes how the barmaids took actions against harassment and pay cuts (Peiss 46).
Work culture had a significant impact on the role of women. Women of American origin had an attitude of self-education and uplift just as their men. Italian workers, on the other hand, were less inclined and not as aggressive. Therefore, it is the cultures and ethnic practices that made the women behave as they did. With time, however, the working class women developed new cultures and unique traditions, which were different to their families’. They mingled with each other regardless of ethnicity or religion.
Consequently, the women were able to share a lot, especially on matters concerning sex, before work and during breaks, something that was considered as a taboo previously (Peiss, 50). Lack of this knowledge had ensured that these women remained subjugated by it for a long time but not anymore. Such kind of knowledge enlightened the women on their relationships with men, especially during leisure (Peiss 51).
Most of the single women loved to dance. By 1910, there were about five hundred public dance halls. The dance places were considered secure by most of the immigrant groups. With time, however, the middle class started seeing them as inappropriate and places that made the women get into the white slavery (Peiss 98). The priority of both the men and females was to get entertained. The dance culture reduced the need for proper introductions between the males and females as strangers would readily associate and offer each other company to the dances. Despite the fun, the women were not financially stable, and this made them offer sexual favors to the men to ensure that they achieve the new way of life (Peiss 109). The Coney Island excursion was yet another of the places people went to spend their leisure time. The place was, however, full of criminals and con games. Movies too are an addition to the working class men and women formed the majority of the audience. As expected, spending leisure time in the postwar America was not emphasized as much as most of the activities sought to strengthen the family unit. If they were to take place, they involved the whole family to enhance the ties.
Despite the women having new roles in society as workers, they still earned below the living wage. There was, however, time to socialize. Clubs began to emerge, and each woman was expected to keep up with the trends, especially when going out for balls, movies or entertainment. A common practice involved adopting the names of a trendy storybook especially those that signified romance and wealth.
The young working class had a difficult time having romantic relationships in the turn of the nineteenth century. Many of them lived with their families while others lived in houses belonging to the same sex. Therefore, “privacy could only be had in public” and this led the couples in the halls, streets, and halls, where they were free to nurture their intimate relationships (Peiss 65). However, as mentioned, the relationships in this period were not based on love but procreation. In May’s Homeward Bound, romantic relationships throbbed. The number of the middle-class citizens was higher as compared to the turn of the century hence consumer scale was higher and family life affordable.
In postwar America, consumer behavior changed. Around this period, both men and women concentrated on the family life. Most people got married while still young, and childbearing was on the rise. This led to a period commonly referred to as the baby boom. Around this time, consumption was family based and not in search of leisure as experienced at the turn of the nineteenth century.
At some point, the country’s need for lasting peace and prosperity required the people to put individual priorities aside. For example, couples who got divorced remained together to show that the family unit was stable. Consequently, upholding this ensured reduction of cases of discrimination along the lines of race, class or ethnicity. It made the country appear united and peaceful with the family taking the most important role in creating the new postwar America.
The cold war demanded that the United States remain united to show the Soviet Union that there was solidarity. For this reason, there were increased marriages especially the young people, and as mentioned earlier, there was increased the birth rate (May 5). Unlike their grandparents, the people in this era of the cold war believed in companionship and procreation too.
The men, therefore, worked hard to provide for the families with the women nurturing the family. They were not interested in having fun and going out for entertainment. The roles of the two genders, therefore, matched those of the pre-gilded age only that the women during this era were allowed to have white-collar jobs. Though not in totality, gender, ethnic and racial discrimination was on the lower side just to portray America as a united nation to the outside world.
In conclusion, men and women’s social and economic roles were centered on consumerism. This is evident from the two monographs by Peiss and May. The writers have done a good job in informing the readers on how consumerism influenced gender roles. The writers also elaborate how the women’s gender roles set a platform for the new gender relations. During the turn of the nineteenth century, the women became liberalized, and this led to them to adopt new ways of spending their leisure time. Unfortunately, most of the activities did not promote the family life, especially among the single women. In the post-war America, however, the family unit was of much importance and therefore, both genders had a role to play in ensuring that the unit remained intact. Their priorities when it came to consumerism demanded them to put the family first something that was not experienced a few decades before.
Works Cited
May, Elaine Tyler. "Homeward Bound." 1988. Web. Sainsburyse books. 26 February 2016 <http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9780786723461_sample_269219.pdf>.
May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era . New York, NY: Basic Books, 1988. Print.
Peiss, Kathy. Cheap Amusement: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1986. Print.
