How were the changing roles of women viewed during World War II in Australia and is it any different today?
As women started to have a higher place in society, many different opinions uprose, questioning if this was a good thing that women were viewed more equally to others or if it was a bad decision, changing their roles would destroy the grading system that was viewed at the time. To this day, some aspects of the deal of remained the same. Many women believed that the experience was beneficial to them and the rest of society and after the war, they stayed in these military or 'man' roles; however other women wanted to return to their original work after the war (Carrodus G, Delany T, Mcarthur K, Smith R, 2012). Some people argued that all women needed to go back to their original positions after war.
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Sheila McClemans, an Australian woman from the war said (Commonwealth of Australia, 2004),
"You learn a lot from living in with a group of girls; we were all much enriched by the experience. Better people for it. You were not just yourself, you behaved, became part of something much bigger than yourself." On the other hand, there were many strong reasons why women decided it was a bad idea. Professor AP Elkin from the University of Sydney Archives said (Commonwealth of Australia 2004); "A number are deterred by fear, or impression of snobbishness. Many girls are genuinely attached to their homes, and the desire that they should not leave them for comparative hardships, possible unpleasantness and risks of membership of a 'fighting' service, is mutual between them and their parents." |