Becoming a Woman of War

  ‘The movement of many men into the military and women into occupations previously undertaken by men is seen variously as bringing about permanent changes in gender roles, as illustrating the rigidity of gender relations, and as a significant element in individuals’ personal narratives of their own lives.’ ((Noakes, Lucy (2007) ‘Demobolising the Military woman: Constructions of Class and Gender in Britain after the First World War’, Gender and History, XIX (1), April pp. 143-162.))

The women of war were depicted across the country in propaganda posters, showing strength, bravery and fearlessness. In many ways, this portrayal was just. Fashion seemed to change from pretty to practical allowing women to throw themselves into the work place, from factories to the fields. However this generalisation does not take into account the importance of femininity: ‘A bright slash of lipstick, softly waved hair and a lingering trace of perfume could be seen to represent the persistence of the feminine in a masculinised world of war, a sparky message of defiance, a feisty semaphore of hope.’ ((Gardiner, Juliet (2004) Wartime Britain 1939-1935, London: Headline Book Publishing, p. 578.)) Clearly femininity was regarded to be highly morale boosting, possibly because it represented normality and familiarity in a country turned on its head, but more simply because it was something beautiful in a place of destruction. ‘Wartime discourse was complicit with the idea that a beautiful face was a brave face.’ ((Ibid, p. 579)) In addition, cosmetics were never rationed (although they were in very short supply anyway) ‘because the government recognized their morale-boosting properties for a female population who had few other opportunities to express their femininity and individuality.’ ((Ibid.))

Taking this into consideration, we feel that it’s necessary to present typical wartime fashions, such as the red lipstick and 1940’s style tea dresses. Our sub-group has two sections that will show a juxtaposition of femininity within a masculinised setting. Our first section starts the audience’s journey around the piece. We are serving tea and cake to the members of the audience- a stereotypically feminine role, but it will hopefully connote a feeling of community and a picture of the past. Our second section shows the transition of women into the war environment. For many, this period was of great change: ‘During the war, for the duration, new sets of beliefs about women, their capabilities and responsibilities emerged.’ ((Goodman, Philomena (2002) Women, Sexuality and War, Hampshire and New York: Palgrave, p. 15.)) This was the start of women being able to show not only men, but also themselves, what they were capable of. So, at the end of the weighing room we will set up a sewing factory style scene, involving a repetitive series of moves between the four of us in the scene. There will be two sewing machines set up- we hope that the mechanical and repetitive sound of these, in addition to the industrial feel to this section of the room will juxtapose with our costumes and we also plan to have classic war-time songs, such as Judy Garland, in the background.

The sewing itself is a significant aspect to our piece- the need to ‘Make Do and Mend’ was of great importance when clothes rationing was put into place in both the first and second world war. ‘Helen Johnson, aged ten when war broke out, remembered how: ‘because of clothes rationing we had to make do and mend. So we would beg old dresses from our mothers or aunts and try to renovate them to make them fit.’’ ((Ibid, p. 102.)) As a group we want to translate this idea by collecting clothes that have been donated to us, or our own clothes that we don’t wear anymore, to make a patchwork piece of material that stretches through the weighing room, suspended from the ceiling. During the piece we will be adding more and more to the material. Visually we were inspired by John Newlings’ Where a Place Becomes a Site: Values– Newling suspended a jacket covered in question marks, such like the infamous Riddler’s Jacket from Batman, from the ceiling of Nottingham’s Broadmarsh shopping centre and asked the public what they most value in their everyday life. The patchwork style will also be echoed in our own costumes, as we will be making pinnies in the same style.

Another layer to this is that we found, from The Lincolnshire Archives, that women would help to sew linen to the wings of aeroplanes during the war. This also helped with the visual aspect of the material being suspended from the ceiling, showing a sense of grandeur, and connoting the women’s work being high above us in the sky.

In summation, there is definitely an importance in celebrating women’s femininity within a masculine world, and what war meant for women. ‘Women were already beginning to enter the workforce in greater numbers before the war. But what might have been gradual and quiet progress into many previously all-male preserves was thrown centre stage with the direction of female labour into key areas.’ ((Harris, Carol (2000) Women at War 1939-1945: The Home Front, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Ltd, p. 62.)) This shows that war was a catalyst for the change of gender roles in society. Within our piece we want to put forward that women ‘had the opportunity to colonise male space, to achieve their potential in the public domain, to achieve self-determination and perhaps, in some cases, to challenge inequality.’ ((Goodman, Philomena (2002) Women, Sexuality and War, Hampshire and New York: Palgrave, p. 103.)) But fundamentally, we all want to make do and mend the Grand Stand.