Jessie Street: Context

Jessie Street: Context

WW1 - Whilst men were fighting in the war, it was unusual for women to have any sort of role in society outside of the domestic. -

WW2 During WW2 women were actively recruited for industry jobs, not just in traditionally female roles such as food and clothing, but also in traditionally male jobs such as: factory work, shipyards, official war artists. The change in perspective, from WW1, developed out of f necessity. The demand for industry based products and services did not halt during the war. Government faced the challenge of an economic depression if they did not find a solution for the lack of

Employment. The logical and obvious solution was to entice women into the workforce. This was done through a number of propaganda including American character "Rosie the Riveter" and news reels that showed women supporting the war effort by making parachutes and bomb casings in factories. This campaign sought to actively recruit women into the workforce. Generally women happily obliged, despite that they were paid at considerable lower wages than men, almost 54 % lower.

When men returned home after the war had finished, women were expected to step down and return to home duties. However, many women were not satisfied to do this. Australian industry had continued to be successful during the war because of women's labour. manufacturing grew rapidly, with assembly of high performance guns and aircraft a specialty. The number of women working in factories rose from 171,000 to 286,000. Many enjoyed the work and were not satisfied with the prospect of being relegated to home duties. Additionally, many women resented the lack of choice; they felt that the choice of being a "home mother" should be available for them and not be presented as a negative, prison like obligation. Many women were also happy to return to home duties, but resented the way that home life was presented in this way. The fact that women had taken on male jobs and maintained successful industry output, raised issues of inequality in gender. Firstly, women were paid considerably less than men for the same job. Secondly, men were allowed to sell their labour for the highest price, also I they had a private income - say from inheritance or property investment - men could claim a job whereas women were denied this right. Thirdly, the serious lack of social services available to women who were at home was concerning. There was no support for women who were pregnant, with small children, limited health services and no support for family planning. The lack of these services was highlighted during the war as women took on labour jobs and realized the need for a stronger community approach to domestic life.

Jessie Street - Born in India, moved to Australia to attend University. - Prominent political figure for over 50 years both nationally and internationally: Australian suffragette, Indigenous rights and human rights activist. - The only Australian woman delegate at the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and established (co-founder of) the UN Commission of the Status of Women and Charter of women's rights. - campaigned for women's rights: economic emancipation of women workers and for married women; economic independence of married women, equal employment opportunities regardless of marital status, the right to compete with men in labour market, family planning and education. - - Street secured a commitment from a number of unions to make applications for equal pay, influencing the Australasian Council of Trade Unions' endorsement of equal pay in 1942. The substantial result was the creation of the Women's Employment Board that set wage rates for women war-workers at 60 to 100 per cent of male rates. - ffor a closer look at Street's personal context, her successes in influencing political and social policy; http:// adb.anu.edu.au/biography/street-jessie-mary-grey-11789

Is it to be back to the Kitchen? Broadcast on ABC Radio s National Program 17th April 1944. Important because the form and style of her speech reflect the medium in which it was presented. Style can be characterized as direct, conversational and casual.although public broadcast, radio was an "intimate and personal medium" for many people as it was the centre of national communication for the household. So think about it as Street's voice speaking directly to the home. Although characterized as feminist, consider the time in which the speech was delivered. The word feminist has certain connotations for many people, these connotations arise from the 1970s Feminist movement - led by theorists and activists such as Greer, Sontag. Street is speaking in 1944. Her feminist perspective is shaped by the discourse of human rights; economic and social equality for women.

Annotation of Text 1st Pgph: Tone of the address is conversational and direct "good deal of talk" Her audience? Tone and modality are intrinsically linked to her audience. Her style is also heavily dominated by the presence of rhetorical questioning: "Must they be made to return to the home?" And then the listing of wartime workplace occupations in one phrase; "factory, the office, off the land" which introduces the scope & variety of jobs women had.

2nd Pgph "To me" indicates personal opinion, using ethos in her argument. Street was a prominent political figure, she would be well known to the nation. Therefore her use of ethos here builds trust between audience and composer. Use of the inclusive "it makes me think we've already forgotten the reasons why we're fighting this war." Use of emotion arousing words "liberty...democracy...eradicate fascism and Nazism in every form." Using pathos here to appeal to nationalistic feelings, "every form" drawing parallels between fight for democracy overseas and here in Aus, need to eradicate ignorance and inequality. The use of rhetorical questioning frames her argument, prompting her audience to begin thinking for themselves, weighing up the argument she pushes forward. Use of strong diction "barred", "severely, "forced". Use of deliberate pause " - back to the kitchen" Alliteration and metaphor " still has strong roots in Australia" Theme of this Pgph: liberty and freedom have been granted to women during the war, it would be contradictory and hypocritical to revoke that liberty when men returned from fighting for these same ideals.

3rd Pgph Repetition of word"forced" equating connotations of war. Appealing to pathos of family life, a woman should not be forced back to the home, it is ot a chore. The use of the word "forced" is a slight against the act of bearing and raising children.

4th Pgph In this Pgph, Street balances her argument. She has already appealed to the pathos of her audience. Now she applies logos to her argument, presenting practical solutions for the issue. Advocating for change in societal structures and communities. Opening line "And while we're on the subject of..." continues the conversational tone. "Renders the home less of a prison" metaphor representing the lack of choice and the restrictions placed on married women. Use of an anecdote to reach out personally to her audience; "Just think of the prospects of family life..." Presents the issue in a more personal manner. Use of parallelism: "If we want more women to choose home life, we must make home life less hard." Effect= appeals to logic by stating solution clearly and directly. Use of expletive (short word or phrase intended to emphasize the folder rounding words) "Well" then by using conjunctions to list options "we can have crèches and kindergartens and supervised playgrounds" effect = emphasizes the many options available to change societal structures. Final sentence evokes nature of the debate, it's about having the element of freedom in choice, a basic civil liberty in a democratic society.

5th Pgph Use of expletive "anyway" to draw attention to next main point of argument; women can make valuable contributions to industry. Use of transition words "in other words" to bring unity to her point that the inexperience of women in industry exists because they are denied the opportunities. Again, point is clear and direct.

6th Pgph "More skilled workers than less" anastrophe (reversal of word order) This Pgph Street makes the point that more skilled workers will benefit society. Uses question and response technique and parallelism to create logic: "Remember, we couldn't exert a full war effort...so how can we exert a peace program..." "Everyone knows" = inclusive, implying the factual information, a general view. Use of listing to convey the exhaustive amount of work to be done in social services: "short we are of houses and hospitals and offices, of furniture, of bathroom and kitchen fittings..." Use of emotive "tremendous amount of work." Use of the inclusive "we" referring to "we"as a country to signify unity in the cause. "It took a total war effort to show us what we could do with our own resources. if we can raise money for war we can raise it for peace, surely." Use of antithesis here to create clarity. However the use of "surely" is almost exasperated in tone, could connote sarcasm. Emotive diction "inexcusable". Appealing to the pathos of memory pre-war, "to live under the conditions so many endured before the war."

7th Pgph Begins with a questioning tone, reflecting the need to question the gender inequalities that exist in workplace. "secret isn't far to seek" alliteration to draw attention to the next phrase. "It's simply that they get paid less - they are cheap labour". This phrase is deductive in nature, a conclusion drawn from a set of premises and contains no additional facts. "women not only threaten the wage standards of male workers, but they also threaten the standard of living for all workers." parallelism to create balance. "The obvious and just way to avoid this is to give equal pay to both men and women." direct and clearly stated. Again, deductive in nature.

8th Pgph Use of cliche "to put it in a nutshell" creates a personal tone. Use of personal statement that draws on the same ideals outlined in the introductory Pgph, therefore creating balance in the argument. "democratic, free, liberty". Use of anaphora to create rhythm when cementing final message: "that women should...that home life should..." Intent to motivate and inspire with final message, use of alliteration of plosive sound "peacetime problems" to sharpen the image. Use of metaphor "spirit of determination and conciliation" invoking the same nationalistic feelings used to fight oppressive regimes in the war.

Things to consider... Purpose: Challenging a pre-existing societal belief, seeking to disprove social belief system and advocate for change. Also recreating a social perspective,"let's change our view" Consider the relationship between composer and audience and how this is built through rhetorical devices. Consider our response today, that this is still a valid and contemporary argument? The changes to discrimination laws in the workplace.