HIST/280: Women's Roles In Society

Throughout HIST 280 the theme of women’s roles in society has been prevalent. Women have been established throughout history as homemakers and caretakers of children, dependent on men for economic stability. This was exemplified in a Module 5 reading, which stated that piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity were hallmark traits of mothers, daughters, sisters, and wives1. A dichotomy has also existed: women have been categorized as either promiscuous and immoral or as domestic and submissive. For example, black female slaves were labeled as either a Jezebel: sensual, sexual, and impure, or a Mammy: maternal and “not just another slave” in Module 42. This division becomes complicated in Module 7A due to the new context of working women
in cities. The song “Heaven Will Protect a Working Girl” criticizes the double standards placed on women and the ways in which women would explore their sexuality and depend on men for economic stability. The first verse of the song describes the typical situation of a young girl leaving home for the city to earn wages. The girl’s mother sets the scene and describes what city life is like in the lines:
The city is a wicked place as anyone can see / And cruel dangers ‘round your path may hurl.
These lines correspond directly to the reality for working women in cities. Despite unions, women were still marginalized3. This draws attention to the idea of cities as a dangerous and immoral place for women, who have always been expected to represent purity and morality in society. This meant that working women were still expected to practice moral self-regulation, but close proximity to men in cities made this difficult. Indeed, many women endured sexual harassment at work4. This shows that working women were supposed to be the combination of women who were promiscuous and immoral and women who were domestic and submissive, an impossible double standard to satisfy. The second and third verses of the song provide more context about city life for working women and their relationships with men. Two lines in particular paint a clear picture of how men and women interacted:
When you are in the city’s giddy whirl / From temptations, crimes and follies / Villains, taxicabs and trolleys…For soon the poor girl met / A man who on her ruin was intent / He treated her respectful as those villains always do
By working in cities, women had “unprecedented freedom” to pursue pleasure5.
This allowed a new category of women to emerge. In addition to the “promiscuous” or “domestic” woman, “Charity girls” were respectable working women who also engaged in sexual activity. Men would “treat” working women to drinks and other forms of entertainment, often in exchange for sexual favours6. Women who engaged in this type of activity too often would be criticized for being promiscuous, but in many cases it was necessary for them to survive. Women were still dependent on men for economic support because they were considered “second class” wage earners7. This is further evidenced by department store managers encouraging women to supplement their wages by finding a “gentleman friend”8. Therefore, it is clear that women could not financially support themselves and often turned to men for assistance. This further emphasizes the double standard, as women were required to maintain a balance between working respectability and being perceived as immoral. Men in the song are described as “villains”, which indicates a particular stance the song takes on working women and their relationships with men. Attempting to maintain this double standard would often place a woman’s good reputation in jeopardy, and many women rejected pleasure in favor of her own morality for this
reason. In the final verse of the song, emphasis is placed on a specific kind of working girl, one who prioritized her morals, criticized charity girls, and dismissed any men who took interest in her. This is described by the lines:
Stand back, villain! Go your way! / Here I will no longer stay … /Although you were a marquis or an earl / You may tempt the upper classes / With your villainous demitasses.
Many women rejected pleasure seeking so as not to ruin her reputation9. The song represents this by creating a very specific goal for its subject, to send her wages home to her family. However, some women would take advantage of men’s expectations and then evade their advances10. This shows that even women who held themselves to high moral standards still needed to financially depend on men. Many women would judge other women for participating in activities that men and upper classes enjoyed, such as “paint, powder, and tight skirts”11. The song is stating that the man in question is of some means, but the working girl will not be tempted by him because of her morals. In this way, the girl is choosing to avoid maintaining any double standards by refusing to become entangled with any man or woman who could ruin her good reputation. She has chosen a side, one that enables her to continue earning wages but requires her to reject her own selfish desires. “Heaven Will Protect a Working Girl” portrays a theme of female sexual freedom versus the respectability of working women.
The descriptive language of the song shows examples of how men and women interacted and the double standards that existed for women. Women often needed to rely on men for financial stability, but interacting with men too often would invite criticism of their morality. The concept of “charity girls” created a new category of women who were both respectable and exercised sexual freedom. Many women also practiced moral self-regulation and rejected men who expressed interest in them. The song is written from this perspective and establishes the idea that remaining pure and moral will allow its subject to continue to provide for her family instead of pursuing her own selfish
pleasures.