Discuss women in the 1930s?

Answer 1

wow spakarun really wants you to think it was that bad. come on man, chin up, it wasn't like we were all living in a Jewish ghetto.
Yes, times were hard, especially for inner city people and farmers out west. It wasn't called the Great Depression for nothing. But the people weren't turning on each other like dogs. Families were working together, supporting each other. In some parts of America, like the Ohio valley, farming was still successful. The people also turned to silent movies and radio to take their mind off their troubles, which helped Hollywood become the booming place it is today.
The point of the question was women in the 1930's. Women had the right to vote. Many of them had turned from the ankle-length skirts of their grandmothers, and were wearing more modern dresses, with short sleeves and hemlines to their knees.
Most of them still prefered to stay home and be housewives, unless they were single or widowed. In those days, if a married woman was working, it was a shame on her husband.
.

Answer 2

Imagine what it would be like to have a family full of brothers and sisters. Babies wrapped in blankets, no clothes underneath, their families couldn't afford them. Imagine all your other siblings in ragged hand-me-downs, and old scraps you found on the street. You're all so depressed, because Dad lost his job. You have to wait in line, all of you, every morning, really early, babies are still asleep, all for a microscopic crumb or crust of bread. This was the 1930's: The Great Depression was bearing down on all; the Hindenburg air ship burned; Charles Lindbergh's baby was kidnapped and later found dead. Follow us as we sail through the headlines of the New York Times and the articles. Imagine, just imagine.


The 1930's was a time of depression, the Great Depression. The Great Depression lasted from the late 1920's all through the 30's. During this period, many people were unemployed, and many families didn't have much food. In this time, many other events occurred in our world, some being the following. One was known as the Dust Bowl. During the year of 1930 most farmers would get quite an amount of rain, and healthy crops. But, once the year changed so did the weather. The mud dried up and turned into dust, and that was the start of The Dust Bowl. Although the dust was bad there still was some good to come out of this period; the farmers heard that in California there was gold, so most of the farmers tried to go there. The Dust Bowl lasted until 1936.

In 1931 the "Star Spangled Banner" became our national anthem. Another main event that happened in 1931 that was: Believe it or not, scientists had begun experimenting with the idea of transmitting images over long distances. In 1931, the television was in its infancy. At the time, people didn't realize that in 50 years televions would be the main toy and entertainment of the century. Another big hit in the 1930's was for the whole family to gather around the radio. It was their main way to hear the news, except for going into town, which was a place they didn't go every day.

Daily life in the thirties was hard and stressful. What if you came home and your wife yelled at you because you had no job or your husband threw a fit because there was no bread? This was how most people were in the thirties, miserable. The lines for bread were long and they lasted long too. The jobs were very hard to get especially in 1933. Imagine if you had to live in the thirties.
The development of new types of fibers in the early 30's was finally bearing fruit. In 1937 the Du Pont company in the USA was able to make nylon stockings for the first time, although they were not yet available in stores to the general public.

The major painting of 1937 was titled "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso. It was nearly 8 meters long. This painting reveals a bombing, while a soldier lays dead on the floor and a women is screaming wildly.

The famous American women pilot, Amelia Earhart, disappeared on a flight around the world in July of 1938. She was two thirds of the way around when her plane was believed to crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The fashion of the 1930's was very different than the fashion today. Hats for both men and women were popular for both day and evening wear. Dresses were often cut of the bias to allow a smoother drape of the fabric. Women wore long halter topped dresses, lace frocks, negligees, and corsets. Men wore suits with a matching top hat and over coats.

So, now can you imagine what it would be like to live in the 1930's? Sometimes stressful, sometimes worrying, sometimes miserable, But always full of hope for a better time.

Answer 3

WOW there is a lot of info here already.
most people think of the great depression of the 30s. there were also good times for those not afflicted. some women were flying airplanes etc.
maybe for your essay -- instead of just talking about the women in the 30s -- maybe you could expand it a little, rake a different approach.
much like Star Trek, maybe you could write the essay from the point of view of a time traveller from our day travelling back to the 1930s. not only can you describe life for the women in the 30s, but you can also state how that differs from today or not. your essay can come to a conclusion with whether women are better/worse off now or then.
GOOD LUCK

Answer 4

from the late 1920`s to the mid to late 1940`s. the adverts that I have picked have to a large extent been governed by the position of them to the spine of the magazine and the actual physical condition of the magazine. Many interesting adverts could not be used as to scan them would harm the publication which in all cases is now over half a century old. This explains why there are a fair number of car ads...they appearing at the more prestige pages at the start pages of an issue. This is a shame as many of the more interesting ones are hidden somewhere in the middle.

That said I hope you find this selection of great interest. Looking at them will make you realise how thankfully times have changed for women, and that wartime certainly gave them a hand...it is a hand that must not be allowed to slip. Women in the last century and early 20th paid a heavy price for common suffrage, while women who went to the factories in the wartime gave birth to girls who would take this struggle on through the sixties and seventies to achieve what has been seen to be the almost 99.9% equality with men, certainly not 100%; at least in the western world.

From my perspective as a single parent and someone who runs a single parent group here in Plymouth UK, women are in danger of "losing it" in the common parlance of today. In the 80`s it was not uncommon for a woman member to be independent with her child , and remain in membership for 2-3 years and sometimes longer. This continued until the early 90`s. Of late, the last 5 or so years things are changing. No longer do women stay in membership for a long time....living and making their own way in society along with their children. We are lucky to get a few months of membership before the parent meets a guy...and leans on him for an emotional..and sadly a growing financial crutch. Despite the spoken words of these women....(20-35 years) that they seek independence, it is not very long before they meet a man....who often has abandoned one family, and either have him move in with them.....or while still maintaining that they are "solo" (and struggling on their own) seek near constant male emotional support and even worse, financial support too. It may be argued that this is good for the children. Personally I feel it is better, especially for female children, to see an independent and socially stable mother. Things on the ground here though are such that I have dairy products in my kitchen with a longer shelf life than a typical single mum`s "singleness" here in Plymouth!"

Women must not drift back!....Surely it was not easier in days past?.....