Ap European Women Dbq Essay

The First World War presented European women with ample opportunity to step up and demonstrate their strength; however men of this era had conflicting opinions of how capable women were to take on a man’s occupation. Therefore, it was necessary for women to prove their abilities and destroy the widespread belief of their stupidity and ignorance.

To begin, it was during this era of World War 1 and directly after this that women were able to prove themselves as vital members of the economy and society of Europe. In Document 1, a picture depicts the harsh patriarchal society that women were forced to change by showing a woman being ignored by a man. The purpose of this photo of a female figure arguing that women were strong enough to save men

The anti feminist point of view can be seen in Document 5. This document shows a letter from a british soldier -- Private G.F. Wilby -- to his wife in which he forbids her from educating herself or applying for a man’s position. The perspective of Wilby is so against women because he believes that an advance in his wife's career means she won’t be girly enough anymore. This absurd way of thinking carried over to many other men’s lives too. For example, the author of Document 2 diminishes women's’ jobs throughout the entirety of his letter. However, the overarching intent of this letter is to make sure women do not take on important jobs during the war because they are only fit to being mothers and wives. Finally, Document 7 shows the percentage of women in the workforce over a number of years. These statistics were polled directly before, during, and after World War I in France. As expected, there is a heightened number during the war, but the number drops lower after the war than it was before the war. This unpredicted decline can be blamed on the incredible animosity men have for any advance for