Women's Identities at War - by Susan R Grayzel (Paperback)

About the Book

Women's Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War

Book Synopsis

There are few moments in history when the division between the sexes seems as "natural" as during wartime: men go off to the "war front," while women stay behind on the "home front." But the very notion of the home front was an invention of the First World War, when, for the first time, "home" and "domestic" became adjectives that modified the military term "front." Such an innovation acknowledged the significant and presumably new contributions of civilians, especially women, to the war effort.

Yet, as Susan Grayzel argues, throughout the war, traditional notions of masculinity and femininity survived, primarily through the maintenance of--and indeed reemphasis on--soldiering and mothering as the core of gender and national identities. Drawing on sources that range from popular fiction and war memorials to newspapers and legislative debates, Grayzel analyzes the effects of World War I on ideas about civic participation, national service, morality, sexuality, and identity in wartime Britain and France. Despite the appearance of enormous challenges to gender roles due to the upheavals of war, the forces of stability prevailed, she says, demonstrating the Western European gender system's remarkable resilience.

Review Quotes

This engaging book questions how the experience of World War I reshaped women s identities in Britain and France.

"Iris"

A provocative and worthwhile [book] and a welcome addition to the growing literature on women and war.

"Journal of Military History"

A wide-ranging cultural history of women in Britain and France during the first world war.

"Journal of Contemporary History"

Refreshingly comparative in scope, the book shows how the Great War was inscribed on the bodies and the lives of millions.

Jay Winter, Cambridge University

This is an excellent, well-argued text, and an immensely valuable contribution to the continuing debate about war and society.

"History: Journal of the Historical Association"

A provocative and worthwhile Ýbook¨ and a welcome addition to the growing literature on women and war.

"Journal of Military History"

"Refreshingly comparative in scope, the book shows how the Great War was inscribed on the bodies and the lives of millions.

Jay Winter, Cambridge University"

"This is an excellent, well-argued text, and an immensely valuable contribution to the continuing debate about war and society.

"History: Journal of the Historical Association""