<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: How Cultural Values about Women are Manipulated
Review: Honey examines the mechanics of first changing social values that make women working in primarily male jobs socially acceptable and then how the pre-war values are restored at war's end.The Rosie the Riveter campaign is so interesting because these values, which were first a barrier and then an open invitation for women to work outside the home, were changed over a very short period of time to meet the labor needs of war and then changed back just as overtly. This campaign is an excellent lesson in how social values hardly are cast immutably in stone or are somehow seen as unchangable because of religious, moral, or other social objections. Honey does an excellent job of describing the mechanics of this campaign. A lesson to anyone arguing that any social group should or should not be barred from any social activity.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting view of World War II Propaganda
Review: Honey presents a view of wartime propaganda aimed at getting women into the work force. Her main sources are the saturday evening post when discussing the middle class women who were urged into the workforce and true story when discussing the working class women. She presents an unconvincing argument. Unconvincing? Her sources were mismatched...one being a weekly magazine aimed at all genders, the other a monthly aimed only at women. We really have no way of knowing that true story was only aimed at working class women any more than we know that only lower class individuals watch Jerry Springer. Her samples were completely uneven, her sources from the saturday evening post vastly outnumbering those from true story. She completely ignores women of color. However, having said that, the book is not a "bad book". As a historian in training I have often had to limit myself more than I would like, so perhaps that explains the complete lack of a discussion on race and ethnicity. The first chapter clearly presents a view of the various government organizations that were created to organize and mobilize the propaganda machine, and that alone is worth the price of the book. Her analysis of her sources is decent as well...especially that of true story. The various story synopsis that she presents are amusing, and her conclusions are worth a look. I would not reccomend it as the only source to read on ww2 propaganda, but is a good addition to the scholarship on the subject. And for the layman, don't worry, it's very readable..she does not spout off jargon like other authors. Good for high school and above.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting view of World War II Propaganda
Review: Honey presents a view of wartime propaganda aimed at getting women into the work force. Her main sources are the saturday evening post when discussing the middle class women who were urged into the workforce and true story when discussing the working class women. She presents an unconvincing argument. Unconvincing? Her sources were mismatched...one being a weekly magazine aimed at all genders, the other a monthly aimed only at women. We really have no way of knowing that true story was only aimed at working class women any more than we know that only lower class individuals watch Jerry Springer. Her samples were completely uneven, her sources from the saturday evening post vastly outnumbering those from true story. She completely ignores women of color. However, having said that, the book is not a "bad book". As a historian in training I have often had to limit myself more than I would like, so perhaps that explains the complete lack of a discussion on race and ethnicity. The first chapter clearly presents a view of the various government organizations that were created to organize and mobilize the propaganda machine, and that alone is worth the price of the book. Her analysis of her sources is decent as well...especially that of true story. The various story synopsis that she presents are amusing, and her conclusions are worth a look. I would not reccomend it as the only source to read on ww2 propaganda, but is a good addition to the scholarship on the subject. And for the layman, don't worry, it's very readable..she does not spout off jargon like other authors. Good for high school and above.
<< 1 >>
| 
