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Tonight we are joined by Jenny Richardson presenting a lecture titled "The Awful Significance of Trousers:” Illustrating Gender through Workwear, 1914–1918." We look forward to welcoming our members! #ADHVirtual
On the 12th June 1917, an article appeared in The Guardian in which the journalist commented on the lack of attention women wearing trousers in public initiated: ‘The awful significance of those trousers seemed lost on the general public.’ #ADHVirtual
Concern over women undertaking heavy manual labour in previously male dominated industries, manifested itself in cartoon representations highlighting the change in women’s appearance, most notably in the wearing of trousers. #ADHVirtual
Fred Spurgin was an early 20th century cartoonist who is known for his depictions of stylizing and gendering women wearing trousers. These depictions often occurred on postcards. #ADHVirtual
Spurgin produced a series of stylised cartoons, in which female munition workers are shown as having cinched-in waists, wearing delicate blouses made seemingly of floaty, transparent fabric, clad in stockings and high-heeled shoes. #ADHVirtual
Lou Taylor warns in her book The Study of Dress History that cartoons should be treated as a certain type of representation not as a true and accurate depiction of dress. #ADHVirtual
Articles praising women’s work appeared alongside pictorial articles reassuring the public that women’s inherent feminine characteristics still existed despite their new roles. #ADHVirtual
Femininity was central to the debates about women’s shifting roles in the First World War both in terms of behaviour and dress. #ADHVirtual
The message conveyed by this cartoon below reveals concerns over the gender power struggle. It demeaned the work that women had been carrying out during the war and reminded them of their traditional role in society. #ADHVirtual
It was not unusual for many of the pre-war tropes to be re-mastered/ redrawn - such as the husband struggling with children whilst the wife went out of the home to carry out her war work and neglected her family. #ADHVirtual
Comic representations contain an unspoken agreement between the artist and viewer that the image is an exaggeration and a caricature, but its value as a commercial object communicating popular ideas must also be considered. #ADHVirtual
In Adorned in Dreams, Elizabeth Wilson cites the wearing of trousers by women as the most ‘significant fashion change of the twentieth century.’ #ADHVirtual
Cartoons featuring women wearing trousers sometimes depicted a level of sexual frustration as they prevented men's enjoyment of women’s bodies. #ADHVirtual
