Call for Papers
Women as Wives and Workers: Marking Fifty Years of The Feminine Mystique
Saturday 30th November 2013 at Royal Holloway University of London
2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Feminine Mystique’s publication. From the outset, Betty Friedan’s text had an enormous influence on academic and popular audiences, selling millions and shaping
feminist discourse about the housewife throughout the Western world. Yet at the same time, full-time housewifery was becoming both a less common experience and a cultural battlefield. Since the 1950s, levels of employment amongst married women (notably white women) have risen enormously. Women have increasingly been confronted with the ‘superwoman’ paradox, which Friedan herself encapsulated: writing about ‘the zombie housewife’ and ‘the problem that has no name’ whilst being a working wife and mother. Many other women likewise negotiated domesticity and paid work, but their experiences were by no means uniform and were shaped by various other factors including race, age, sexuality and socio-economic status.
This conference aims to draw these themes together by offering an opportunity to explore The Feminine Mystique alongside discussions of women and employment. Areas of consideration may include but are not limited to:
*Women’s paid employment
*The Feminine Mystique, its impact and critiques, for example with regards to race
*The international impact of The Feminine Mystique
*Domesticity and the figure of the housewife: experiences, rights, cultural portrayals
*Discourses of motherhood and fatherhood
*Evolving notions of family
*Gender and education
*Notions of ‘having it all’ and being ‘Superwoman’
*The National Organization for Women: its impact, legacy and critics
*The development of women’s organisations and networks since the 1960s
We invite papers that address these topics either broadly or specifically.
While papers with a particular emphasis on mid-twentieth century America
may be given priority, we also encourage scholars to present work with a
comparative perspective (across time and/or space) or looking at other
geographical areas. Panel submissions are also welcome. A special issue
of History of Women in the Americas based on the conference papers is
planned, subject to the usual peer review procedure.
‘Women as Wives and Workers: Marking Fifty Years of The Feminine Mystique’
is the sixth annual conference of the Society for the History of Women in
the Americas (SHAW) and is being co-organized with The Bedford Centre for
the History of Women at Royal Holloway University of London. The
conference organisers are Helen Glew (University of Westminster), Jane
Hamlett (RHUL), Sinead McEneaney (St. Mary’s University College) and
Rachel Ritchie (Brunel University).
A 250-word abstract and a short biography should be emailed to
thefemininemystiqueat50@gmail.com by Monday 14th October 2013. Please use
the same email address for any other enquiries about the event.