Scan barcode
A review by vreadsabook
Women's Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France During the First World War by Susan R. Grayzel
4.0
The book, ultimately, was a really good summation and discussion of women's identities during the period. Grayzel's final point, that drastic gender changes were ultimately contained throughout the period by constant revisions and suchres throughout the war such that there was no need for drastic restructuring after the war, I think holds up very well at the end of the book.
That said, there are many problems with the book. One is Grayzel's unwillingness to address men's roles, which could have furthered her point. I found myself asking if the shift of men from fathers to soldiers meant there wasn't a change. Likewise, Grayzel doesn't address how the state's taking over of fatherhood may have influenced further change later in the period. Likewise, Grayzel often falls into the trap of assuming the word "motherhood" always shows continuation, but often she does not try to define the word in the context.
Another major problem is her comparison between Britain and France. There are a lot of cases where she glosses over discrepancies between the two in a way that isn't that simple at all. Also, many chapters, such as chapter five, simply don't have enough evidence to support representations of both cases. While the comparison didn't necessarily drastically harm the book, I'm not sure it was necessary in all cases.
In the end, however, the book was a very useful book to read and debate as a grad student, and I think it makes a strong argument against those that might claim that gender roles had to be drastically reconstituted in the interwar period.
That said, there are many problems with the book. One is Grayzel's unwillingness to address men's roles, which could have furthered her point. I found myself asking if the shift of men from fathers to soldiers meant there wasn't a change. Likewise, Grayzel doesn't address how the state's taking over of fatherhood may have influenced further change later in the period. Likewise, Grayzel often falls into the trap of assuming the word "motherhood" always shows continuation, but often she does not try to define the word in the context.
Another major problem is her comparison between Britain and France. There are a lot of cases where she glosses over discrepancies between the two in a way that isn't that simple at all. Also, many chapters, such as chapter five, simply don't have enough evidence to support representations of both cases. While the comparison didn't necessarily drastically harm the book, I'm not sure it was necessary in all cases.
In the end, however, the book was a very useful book to read and debate as a grad student, and I think it makes a strong argument against those that might claim that gender roles had to be drastically reconstituted in the interwar period.