Kvinnor, giv akt! En studie av uttryck för genusstrukturer och skötsamhetsideal i tidskriften Morgonbris under första världskriget.

Abstract

This thesis explores how the Swedish magazine Morgonbris depicted women's new roles in the workforce during World War I and whether these depictions challenged or upheld contemporary gender structures. The study addresses two main questions, how Morgonbris portrayed women's new roles in the workforce and how this portrayal challenged or upheld contemporary gender structures. And also how the magazine integrated the ideal of respectability to engage and mobilize female workers, analyzed through Ronny Ambjörnsson's descriptions of respectability ideals. Using Hirdman's gender system theory, which examines the maintenance of gender power structures through separation and hierarchy, and Ambjörnsson's work on respectability ideals, the study employs a qualitative content analysis of articles from Morgonbris during the war years. By identifying and analyzing expressions of class and respectability ideals, the research uncovers strategies used to engage and mobilize female workers. The results show that Morgonbris portrayed women's entry into traditionally male-dominated labor sectors as a significant shift that challenged established gender roles. Women's increased economic contributions disrupted traditional family power structures, though this progress was often seen as temporary. Additionally, Morgonbris depicted women as active agents in the socialist peace movement, emphasizing their role in maintaining international solidarity and combating the war's devastation. This portrayal challenged the traditional view of women as passive and apolitical, showing them instead as central to the 2 socialist struggle for peace and social change. The magazine also highlighted the importance of education for women, arguing it was essential for their empowerment and raising the next generation with socialist values. In conclusion, Morgonbris actively contributed to the discussion on gender roles during World War I by portraying women as essential economic contributors and active political agents. This representation challenged traditional gender norms and demonstrated the potential for lasting social change through disrupting established hierarchies.