Changing Gender Roles: Impact of World War II

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Prior to World War two, gender roles in the household were pretty simple. Men went out to work and made the money for the family, as women stayed home to tend to the children, cook, and clean the house. All of this seemed like a lifelong routine, however, little did they know how they would be living such different lifestyles by 1939. World War two prompted drastic responsibility changes for women and children in and out of the household. To begin, when the war started it was obvious that many women were alone after their husbands left for battle. Because of this, women needed to contribute in a variety of ways that they never experienced before. As is it stated on National Women's History Museum, “For many women, World War II brought not …show more content…

Immediately after it started, many were transported from their homes and taken to completely different places away from home. The History Learning states, “Children were massively affected by World War Two. Nearly two million children were evacuated from their homes at the start of World War Two; children had to endure rationing, gas mask lessons, living with strangers etc” (Trueman 1). This could have been extremely tough for a kid, especially if they were being separated from their families. To continue, those children who were still around helped by “scrapping”. Basically, they went out and found materials that could be reused or used to develop something that was needed. “My Learning” site states, “Children were also encouraged to help recycle materials that were in short supply to make equipment needed for the war. Many aluminium items were called in for recycling so that they could be used to make aircraft” (Northampton 1). Although it may not have seemed like a lot, the effect children had was insane. By doing what they did it allowed for more materials and weapons to be made for the soldiers on the battlefield. In conclusion, women and children had very different lives when the second world war began. They did many great things to contribute to the war and had a long lasting effect on the turnout of it. Without the help of some women nurses and children, there is a chance that many more lives could have been lost and the result of the war may have been completely

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