 | Copies of the catalogue (with illustrations) can be obtained from Richard Overell
and Other Documents, 1700-Present.
INTRODUCTION
"I believed I was a complete person and didn't need another half to make me whole." 1
Sexpectations: Single White Females, is an exhibition curated in conjunction with the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the Centre for Women's Studies at Monash University. As women's studies students engaging with the issues arising from a feminist research agenda, we have been given the opportunity to do so within the context of the institutionalised library space. The exhibition aims to engage critically with the material on two fronts-from the position of singledom and of womanhood, culminating in an exploration of the particular stereotypes and assumptions arising from the notion of the 'single girl.' 2 'The single girl' poses itself as a problematic category, marginalised as it is from mainstream notions of womanhood by several factors. As Penman and Stalk observe, 'Singleness' is regarded as "the real antithesis to marriage and the traditional female role".3 In Western cultures it is this traditional female role as wife and mother which generally defines what being a woman means and how women should act. With state ideologies and cultures enforcing the family unit as the cornerstone of society and making women's central role within this structure, women's identities and histories are inextricably linked to those of the family.4 Hence fulfilment in life, social status, and a sense of purpose and self, are made available to a woman upon marriage. Phallocentrically prescribed social and scientific discourses posit women as the negated 'other' of a masculine norm. Status, recognition and identity seem to be attainable solely through a relational association to man, such as that offered by marriage. Where does this position the single girl? The single woman is either ignored or rendered socially invisible, a marginalised figure displaced within the traditional cultural ideology which defines a woman's status and identity in relation to a man. Unable to attain status and a definite position within society via marriage, the single woman becomes "socially ambiguous in a male defined society".5 She is a deviant, unable to fulfil the 'natural female role'; 'abnormal' and 'unhealthy' because she does not bear and raise children; of no 'value' as she has no status in relation to man. From these constructions of womanhood, various negative stereotypes of the single girl emerge. As we explore in this exhibition, these stereotypes include the idea of the single woman as requiring a husband and marriage for fulfilment, or establishing a career as an inadequate substitute for the fulfilment and purpose motherhood brings. As a University collection, the rare book material is drawn primarily from Western academia, and many accounts of women are those of educated white men, rather than Western women, women of colour or Non-Western persons. Attention must be also be drawn to recognising that the rare books collection encompasses texts as varied as documents, pamphlets, magazines, manuscripts, journals, books, and contentious materials vulnerable to mutilation or defacement, if allowed free public access. These texts range from eighteenth century accounts to the present. We have drawn upon this (in some ways diverse, in other ways limited) collection to expose, challenge, and deconstruct the various contemporary and historical assumptions and representations regarding the 'single girl', which we have categorised under the five subheadings: the conduct of women in the public and private sphere; women in education and careers; sexuality and the single woman; love, courtship and marriage; and single suffragettes. Inevitably, the selective process of categorisation has resulted in the further omission and marginalisation of some texts and representations concerning single women, which we were unable to assign to any of the aforementioned categories. Therefore, while one of our aims is to utilise the diversity of the collection in making our account of the single woman, we recognise that this account is limited both by our selection process and by the availability of the resources in the collection itself. As feminists and students of the Centre for Women's Studies, our agenda resides not only in challenging the stereotypes assigned to the notion of the single woman, but taking into account the methodological considerations that curating an exhibition space raises. We were particularly interested in acknowledging the absence of women's histories in institutionalised spaces, exploring the manner in which singledom is denigrated in favour of a model of marital life, and highlighting the theoretical productions of social knowledge which construct and perpetuate the stereotypes of the 'single girl'. We were also concerned to recognise the patriarchal myths and structures pervading varying disciplines and expose these myths by adopting a subjective approach to evaluating texts, and deconstructing the stereotypical assumptions inherent in the texts. Finally, we wished to explode perpetuating and existing stereotypes of single women that are no longer acceptable. Evidently, our aim is not to accept and perpetuate the myths which reside within the texts constituting Sexpectations: Single White Females, but expose them for what they are: myths promoted by patriarchal society in order to render women passive and dependent upon men. As Tuula Gordon comments, single women constitute a heterogenous group and personal experiences of singledom vary greatly. Hence they are difficult to categorise into any particular stereotype.6 Singledom is not failure, but an alternative lifestyle to be celebrated, promoted and recognised as emancipatory, fulfilling and valuable to all those who want to be 'single girls'. We wish to express our thanks to Richard Overell and Brian Gerrard at the rare book department at Monash University for their all their help, patience and enthusiasm in assisting us to curate "Sexpectations: Single White Females." We also extend our gratitude to Jo Steele, partner of the late Barbara Hanrahan, who has kindly allowed us to adopt her strong and beautiful image as the frontispiece for our exhibition catalogue and poster. [1] Hunt, Janet, "Home to a Quiet Place", In Scutt, Jocelynne (ed), Singular Women: Reclaiming Spinsterhood, Atermis, Melbourne, 1995, p.143. [2] The 'single girl' deals predominantly with the notion of the young single woman, hence excluding a discussion of divorced women, the 'spinster' stereotype, or the single mother. [3]Penman, Robyn, and Stolk, Yvonne, Not the Marrying Kind: Single Women in Australia, Penguin Books, Australia, 1983, p.1. [4]Gordon, Tuula, Single Women: On the Margins?, Macmillan, London, 1994, p.20. [5] Penman, Robyn, and Stolk, Yvonne, Not the Marrying Kind: Single Women in Australia, Penguin Books, Australia, 1983, p.31. [6] Gordon, Tuula, Single Women: On the Margins?, Macmillan, London, 1994, p.157. 
Twelve linocuts : a suite of prints / Barbara Hanrahan. Canberra : The Officina Brindabella, 1990. Description: [15] sheets (51 cm. x 38 cm.) in portfolio : all ill. ; 72 cm. Limited edition of 100 copies. Image used by kind permission of Jo Steele, literary executor of the late Barbara Hanrahan.
 From Left to Right Sarah Ashford, Rae de Ross, Kim Toffoletti, Sarah Horodecki.
Historically, single women represented the antithesis of what it conventionally meant to be a woman, and this similarly applied to social perceptions of their `sexuality'. With the exception of the chaste woman and the virgin, singleness tended to imply some level of abnormality, where single women were either seen as unhealthy and promiscuous. The latter representing sexually insatiable seductresses who were the ultimate agents of man's downfall, or the other extreme: as sexually frigid. Labels centring around an essentially `good' and `bad' woman dichotomy served to alleviate some of the ambiguity surrounding sex and the single woman. Scientific analyses proffering conclusions of women's sexual desires being sublimated, or of indulging them secretly, were common. Given the phallocentric dominance of social and scientific discourse, conceiving the single woman positively as an active, `sexual' creature was unthinkable, at odds with the status quo from the Victorian era up to the mid-twentieth century. Under a prevailing patriarchal mythology, `singleness' was not a viable alternative to marriage, and it was only within the confines of this institution that women were supposed to be sexual, albeit to satiate the desires of her husband, and to procreate. Essentially, the only significant purpose of sexuality was reproduction. Rhetoric regarding the single woman generally assigned the deviant roles to the spinster, the dangerous `siren', the whore and the lesbian. The formulation of such extreme outgroup stereotypes served to socially control single women, exceeding tolerable bounds of eccentricity and perpetuating patriarchal ideology in regard to the cultural production of what was legitimate sexual practice- `penile thrusting in the vagina'. Whilst all other forms not endorsed by medical, legal and theological discourse were denounced as immoral, immature, the embodiment of a social evil or in the case of lesbianism rendered socially invisible. Exploring tangential issues of birth control, masturbation, alternative sexualities and prostitution, the following section `sexuality and the single woman' attempts to expose past ideologies. By juxtaposing contemporary documentation and resources with older texts, it aims to illuminate current progress or alternatively to explode possible regress concerning the realities of single women's sexual nature and to shed new light on what it means to be a `sexual' single woman without a man's influence.
From the late 19th century, freely available abortifacients and contraceptive devices were sold over the counter and explicitly advertised in newspapers and magazines. Advertisements for ladies, married or single who,
Although such advertisements addressed and acknowledged female sexual activity in and outside the confines of marriage, albeit by traditional coitus, education regarding the various methods of contraception applied only to married women. Regardless, single women still had access the knowledge, and knew that controlling fertility was possible by purchasing birth control devices. It was not until the early years of the 20th century that a mass of puritanical legislation suppressed the birth-control information and the advertising of such devices and abortion, in addition to raising the legal age of consent - for girls of course.
In this first edition, Skitch specifically addresses the prevailing "moral laxity" regarding uncontrolled sexual activity with an abhorrent disgust. Espousing the knowledge of various contraceptive methods for women advocated by Dr. Marie Stopes, Skitch catered for a large female audience, however, single women were not acknowledged as potential users of such contraceptive devices. Married women were the explicitly acknowledged group deserving informed precautionary measures, as their sexual activities were socially sanctioned. Nonetheless, Skitch promoted the `female cap' as the most reliable device, as it "is in the hands of the wife herself". Indicative of an enduring pattern, the device requiring no level of responsibility by the male partner, would certainly have appealed to young women choosing to protect themselves when sinking into the abyss. All young women take heed!!!!
Endeavouring to educate the "large audiences of women only", Smyth challenged the traditional ideology regarding the use of several preventative measures of contraception. Her lectures on such matters were extremely popular and gave an important `informative' service to women. Smyth offered detailed analysis of prevalent preventative methods; rejecting such myths as `coughing' to reject semen from the vagina, and the `holding of the scrotum' during emissions so to diminish escaping semen as ineffective. In emphasising the absolute imperative to use contraceptive devices, Smyth goes as far as to state that the,
Arguing the rhetoric of a greater social responsibility, Smyth proclaims that young women "can best serve humanity and Christianity by preventing the [unnecessary] bearing of children", and consequently lessen the evil practice and suffering in regard to the murder, "annually, of tens of thousands of infants....this can be done without injury to the health or violation of moral or physical law, makes it not only a right but a religious duty" (p.24).
Tokology proclaims that adequate sexual education, avoiding the possibly `leading' specifics, will help young women gain an understanding of "how to govern and guard themselves", and will as a consequence reduce "the temptation to produce abortion for the purpose of shielding one's character." (p.245). Stockham's examination of young women who indulge in the `personal pleasures' and "produce miscarriage for pleasure and selfish interest" is a harsh and impassioned sermon. For Stockham, and much of the concensus of the time, to conceive that "any morbid pleasure could antagonise the natural [female] aspiration to such an extent that one could destroy the viability of her own offspring" was intolerable (p.242). Using extremely powerful imagery to ensure that no young female reader would dare walk this path, irrespective of her being a woman "seduced under false representations by a man who feels no responsibility for his own offspring" or "having lost [her] virtue under promise of marriage", Stockham states emphatically,
Blacker emphatically argued that birth control was seriously inimical to women's health, producing consequences of both the physiological and psychological variety. Professing that a woman's intent to willingly inhibit some natural process via contraceptive use (within the confines of marriage of course!) caused,
Taking an almighty `moral' sword to Dr. Stope's `propaganda' regarding birth control methods, Blacker espouses religion and eugenics, and threatens all women that the pernicious and unnatural nature of contraceptive devices ultimately leads to the degeneracy and extinction of the race (translation: a threat to patriarchy and the maintenance of a sexual system that perpetuates intercourse as the sole means of procreation and women as passive reproductive machines). What young woman needs any further persuasion against `immoral indulgence'?
As previously outlined, the issue of abortion throughout the past few centuries has been considered mostly as a great social evil by both the church and state. Griffith's analysis reflects the social disgust in regard to abortion that was still evident in the mid 20th century. In particular, his use of powerful metaphors and imagery would have undoubtedly served to sway any young woman from even considering the act if required. He states harshly that such mechanical interference was "the canker eating at the root of society. Abortion destroys life" (p.162).
In the phrase of the title of Anne Summer's 1975 book, Damned Whores and God's Police, the term, `damned whores', represents the `bad' women, the great army of impure girls participating in promiscuous activities and threatening the very fabric of society. In reality, for many single women trying to survive without financial support of any kind, and competing against unequal pay as was (and still is) the case in the 18th and 19th centuries, they chose to sell the one commodity men did not possess - their bodies. As old as patriarchy, prostitution paradoxically exploited the sexuality of all women - the `good woman' who was denied sexual expression, and the `bad woman' who was simply regarded as a `sexual vessel' protecting the virtue of the former from excessively sexed men (Summers, 1994).
First published in the middle of the 18th century, Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, is of undoubted historical value. Cleland captured the fashionable houses of the London underworld and sinks of iniquity through the narrative of Fanny Hill's sexual apprenticeship. An honest and shocking account, whereby 18th century readers trespass into the inner sanctum and experience "joys, ardours, transports, extasies [sic]" of a prostitute's lot (p.16). Describing amatory exploits, Fanny remarks,
Pearl's light hearted, yet startlingly candid report on the sexual habits of those of the Victorian era, illuminates the "distinguished harlots and professional beauties" along with the supposedly respectable and righteous gentlemen who traversed the "gaslight improper". A semi-biographical text centring around the adventures of "Skittle - the self crowned queen of harlotry....much sought after by fast young swells...[who] had bolted to that hot bed of abomination", the reader is taken into the contaminated ground of the famous Burlington Arcade where women parade "themselves as the western counterpart of an eastern slave market". Pearl presents an image of debauchery, where young prostitutes represent nothing more than some "emancipated maid servant" to patriarchy, no less. No acknowledgment or social comment is given in regard to the motivations or sacrifice of these women in participating in this profession. However, the paradoxical necessity of satiating uncontainable male desires is implicitly, and frequently, alluded to.
A poem of a young woman's angst and woe, unrequited love and tarnished chastity. This work presents the familiar story of promised yet unfulfilled love, a young woman who is left bearing a child with no other choice but to fall disgracefully as a victim of seduction. Predictably, the rhetoric which circulated with Victorian analyses of the `causes of prostitution' frequently cited seduction as the reason why innocent, `chaste' women chose to denigrate themselves amidst the scourge of the great social evil. As acknowledged in this insightful 18th century social poem, this supposedly moral debasement also stemmed from a need to survive due to economic deprivation;
This item is a late 19th century report on the vices rapidly corrupting the youth and manhood of Sydney, which Banks presents in a pseudo-moralistic stance concerning the great social evil of prostitution. Explicitly, he blames female frailty for the perpetuation of a profession that ultimately cannot be prevented. Expressing no delusions regarding the successful extermination of the profession, he states,
The expected repertoire of mother-blaming is most evident in attributing cause to the enduring service of whoring, questioning the lack of `knowing' by mothers of where and what their young girls, `as young as 13' are doing.
Regarding the latter points, and centring on an inherent dispositional argument, Blair proclaims that the proliferation of prostitution is due to a class of common women who have had no choice "in the matter - who were born and bred in sin - whose parents were thieves and prostitutes before them" (p.6). However, he passionately sets aside poverty and seduction as justifiable instances that could be pleaded stating that,
It is also important to highlight the ethnocentrism evident in Blair's closing remarks where he attributes a great deal of blame to,
From the outset, Foote explicitly adopts the moral high ground and espouses religious abomination in reflecting on the perpetual demand for demoralising indulgence,
Foote reports the most devastating physiological effects such vice elicits in order to discourage his female audience from participation. What single or married woman would dare risk exhibiting all the marks of moral and physical degradation,
Clearly, Foote's analysis reflects a portrayal of prostitutes that is anything but the stereotyped `female'. However, he also acknowledges that prostitution is a necessary evil, one, that if it did not exist "our wives and daughters would be unprotected from the insidious advances of libertines and the forcible outrages of men of reckless passion" (p.177) concluding,
And still this debate continues with the same old verbosity....
The sexuality of women has been the subject of great speculation, inaccurate rhetoric and, most devastatingly, institutionalised repression during much of Western civilisation. Most fundamentally, elaborate measures have been designed by an enduring patriarchy to enforce heterosexuality as a means of assuring male rights to physical, economical and emotional access (Rich, 1980). This included the glorification of the angelic virgin, and condemnation of those diabolical women who partook in sexual activity outside of marriage. Diversity and variability with regard to female sexuality has been almost denied in historical stereotypes of the single woman. It is evident in most of the texts looked at that one means of heterosexual enforcement was rendering the lesbian possibility invisible. The destruction of records and letters documenting the realities of lesbian existence served to promote the enduring theoretical and political doctrine which regarded women as `innately heterosexual' (leaving prostitutes out of consideration) and as `naturally frigid'. To explain any `other' preference, single women were seen as being abnormal in their `fundamental pulse' or not privileged enough to be chosen by a man so as to unleash their dormant sexual mechanisms. In reality, the single women who did have sexual desires and satisfied them, had potentially greater sexual freedom and choice than their married counterparts through celibacy, auto-eroticism, heterosexuality or lesbianism.
This early 18th century dialogue between a young and an old maid examines many issues relating to the virtue of women, but rarely speaks of illicit desires, masturbation or the purity of celibacy as would be expected. However, in one small section the `gals' do discuss the inherent sexual pulse in women and acknowledge that the,
Clearly, contemporary notions of women's contrariness and frigidity, in comparison to her `rational' counterpart have been well grounded in the minds of both women and men since the early 1700s.
Examining a wide range of issues, Tissot's 200-year-old exploration regarding female abuse of amorous pleasures is somewhat reminiscent of `verbal warnings' concerning masturbation still passed around to young women today. Most references concerning masturbation were directed towards the unmarried woman, obviously because, in the married state, no other fulfilment was required beyond passively satiating a husband's desire. Tissot explicitly informs women that frequent indulgence of such a pernicious habit "destroys the constitution, afflicting it in a most extraordinary manner" (p.31). As expected, any consequence of females' sacrificing themselves daily to a destructive frenzy of auto-eroticism involved severe biological manifestations,
Any single woman of the day should have required no more discouragement than that! Nonetheless, there was always more, and never was it simply limited to a `make you go blind' outcome. Females partaking in daily manual pollution could further be subjected to,
This possibility of an untimely death, presumably suicide, seems incomprehensible. However, in the order of the day where `feminine' qualities of youthful beauty were glorified, and a much required asset to `capture' a good man, incurring such serious side effects as the following must have rendered life for a young `fiddler' worthless;
Who dared to callously interfere with the clitoris?
A more contemporary analysis regarding the "habit of masturbation" (p.16) set amongst a myriad of other issues of sexuality that a mother should be discussing with her daughter. Horn refutes that it is an acceptable practice for young women to explore and indulge in auto-sexual satisfaction, and advises mothers that the "best cure for masturbation is prevention", simply because "any habit that weakens the body is a vice and should be stopped" (p.16). Importantly, she heeds the warning to mothers that ,
Similar to the previously mentioned resource, physiological deficits are incurred by those young women who `fiddle';
Reminiscent of a pretty grand orgasm?? Nonetheless, Horn is adamant that any enduring pattern of clitoral stimulation will affect `normal' coition later in life, where the individual will not achieve sexual satisfaction. Such proclamations undoubtedly served as a deterring factor so that young women accepted that the real sexual juncture involved only penile penetration, not any focus on a woman's clitoris. You be the judge.
Best known for her works on sex education and birth control, this was Marie Stope's first text, appearing in 1918. Her frankness and strong advocacy regarding healthy female desires ensured a certain amount of controversy. As previously alluded to, many considered her work as `evil propaganda', and all of her works were banned at various times in some states of the U.S. Nonetheless, amongst women, Dr. Stopes's texts were extremely popular as she acknowledged critically the inaccurate portrayal of female sexuality,
As early as the 1900's subversive female activism was attempting to explode the enduring myths of false dichotomies, such as good/bad, liberated/sexually promiscuous woman from within the phallo-medico inner sanctum. With metaphors of fluid, irregular oceans, Dr. Stopes explores the obvious moon-month rhythm in women to explain the supposed irregularity related to female sexual appetite,
This `in your face' approach sets itself as contradicting every enduring natural law that the function of the sexual instinct is to lead man and woman to mate, within the institution of marriage, for the purpose of procreation. Endeavouring to expose the diversity of sexual fulfilment, less the physiological and psychological detriment espoused in texts pre 1950, Madonna's fantasies serve to `normalise' acts such as masturbation, sadomasochism, homosexuality and bisexuality to name but a few.
The real scientific study of female sexual behaviour only began in the middle of the 20th century. Kinsey and his colleagues were the first to provide substantiated data on which contemporary arguments about the expression of feminine sexuality are based. For the first time, the reality of female sexuality and sexual indulgence was scientifically acknowledged as a natural state of affairs and freed women from the repression of the Victorian attitude of compulsory frigidity. Impressively, Kinsey reported that women were sexually active "33 % of participants had experienced pre-marital coitus" and widely diverse in their expression of sexuality, "25% [of single women] having had sexual contact with another woman". Kinsey's elaborate investigations served not only to acknowledge and report as `normal', the carnal appetite and behaviour of women, but also to educate men, who had previously been indoctrinated into believing the fallacy of woman's inherent `asexual' disposition. For example, the opinion expressed in literature prior to Kinsey's studies, proclaimed that nocturnal dreams in the female were "an expression of some neurotic disturbance, and that `normal', well adjusted females do not dream to the point of orgasm". Additionally, the fact that nocturnal dreams were not considered as universal in the female unlike the male contributed to their pathological status. However, Kinsey's studies revealed otherwise to 1950s readers. Approximately, "two-thirds (about 65%) [of women] in the sample had dreams that were overtly sexual. For 20% the dreams had proceeded to the point of orgasm" (p.196). Would anyone have considered 80% of the male population experiencing nocturnal emissions as neurotic, immature and psychopathic?? Kinsey's attempts to deconstruct and explode the myths, represent a marked progression in the assessment of female sexual behaviour.
Does it not speak for itself? Mercier was an Australian cartoonist most famous for his depictions of everyday life in Sydney. Placed alongside Kinsey's text, this wonderful cartoon shows an embarrassed woman in the 1950s having her previously ambiguous sexual drive illuminated and exposed to her male counterpart.
This rare text is positioned in the exhibition's section of Love, Courtship and Marriage (flat case 3, no.43). Hutton's makes some brief remarks concerning the abnormality of sexual inversion (p.117), however, such recognition of lesbianism by no means implied acceptance. As previously discussed, most reference to the `sexually inverted woman' was scarce, and when acknowledged in text, frequently connotations of unnatural, perverse and sinful served to illuminate great deviation from the normal cultural pattern of female desire. It was most incomprehensible that a woman would have carnal desire for a member of her own sex. Predictably, such a departure was characterised by anomalies in a woman's physical appearance,
All sexually inverted women - take note, you are conspicuous!! Obviously, a female's sexual attraction to another woman likens her not only in desire, but in appearance to her male counterpart. But, this is consolidated even further, Hutton states,
Cultural assumptions regarding the sexual inverts need to "feel herself to be a man in a woman's body" (p.115) stem most directly from psychoanalytical doctrine that swelled around supposedly intellectual discussion of sexuality. Most evident in this text, Hutton surmises, that a woman's assumed dismay at her own lack, and developing `fantasy' of possession of the prized organ, is the catalyst for a female rejecting her inherent feminine role and subsequent assertion of a masculine type desire. Could it truly be that simple? We think not.
An extraordinarily beautiful portrayal of nude lesbians embracing was selected to juxtapose the deviant, unnatural portrayal regarding sexually intimate relationships between women.
Privately printed for limited circulation of 125 copies, Mayne goes into detailed analysis regarding the sexual attraction and activities of same sex individuals. It is rather interesting to note that although his descriptions and theorising are elaborate and include much reflection on Sappho, Mayne scarcely diverts his attention to female homosexuality. Any tenet concerning homosexuality espoused in this text is purely of male orientation, and most plausibly for a discrete and exclusively male audience.
Along similar lines later taken by Kinsey, this publication explores the ready-made theories in regard to single and married women's sexual frigidity and passivity from a psycho-sociological position,
Whereas Kinsey's analysis of female sexual behaviour was undoubtedly built around a male defined framework, Ellis applied a model specifically tailored for women. Impressively, he explored the nature of the menstrual flow (akin to Stopes) and its coincidental relation to sexual behaviour and was able to establish conclusions such as female desire being stronger before and after menstruation. Extending his analysis further into topics such as auto-eroticism, and sexual coldness, Ellis provides timely quotes which ultimately serve to leave the reader aghast, for example,
BOTTOM SHELF Capturing female `sensuality' and `sexuality' was predominantly done from the male gaze. Single women, most often, young, flawless, heterosexual beauties, were presented as the idyllic images of pure and virtuous (but also stunningly gorgeous) wives-to-be and spuriously dangerous sexual siren. Only an external sameness of sexuality, and images of intentional provocation are directed at the male/camera eye. However, older portraits juxtaposed against contemporary works such as that of Andre Rival, clearly demonstrate that there is no singularity concerning the sexual woman - only plurality.
Pictured as the seductive beauty, this `special' spread in Picture Post is structured most obviously for the male gaze. Antithetical to the virtuous woman, the young and single Kim Novak is the dawn temptress, the `siren' conspicuously alone and inviting, but as the caption adds - still needing something (a man perhaps??) to lean on. Novak's poses and positioning, particularly, the frame at the news stand with Playboy and Man magazines behind her add to this inviting, yet wanting, quality . Her dress - the slinky black number, is not the dress of preference for morning wear by any respectable young woman; and that `sultry' look is....shameless!!!. Imagery such as this served to maintain the dichotomy of the `good' and `bad' woman, whereby only the latter was ever capable of indulging the male fantasy - "any man strong enough" that is.
What is the pin up girl? Will the real sexual beauty please show herself. Analysing the comments underneath these portraits of women over the ages, once again the reminiscent good woman, bad woman dichotomy continuously turns up. Having servicemen of the day indicate which of twelve pictures of women they most preferred (ranging from old masters to screen favourites and popular pin up girls) the picture by Roye (no.11) was chosen first because it was,
Conversely, the portrait of Dorothy Macguire scored second best due to her representing a "reminder of home, an idealised wife", typifying the young woman men would most like "one day to meet and wed." An image of homeliness, and unelaborated beauty. One officer commented that she was not like the seductress pin up seen frequently in barrack-rooms and papers, "....people are getting bored with them". Noticeably, the `bad' woman is for fantasising about and no serious ties, and the `good' woman, akin to a Dorothy Macguire, is the potentially virtuous wife. Girls, choose wisely if you want a man for life.....
Appealing to the male voyeur, this double page spread of male delight portrays two very different, sexually appealing, young women. The diverted gaze, the uncurtained hair, the bare neck and shoulders of "Our Siren of the Sun", typifies the male fantasy of a sexually available yet predictable wanton woman,
Could any man be so lucky? The dichotomy of `good/bad' is rendered differentially as a choice of women situated as `bad' and `really bad'. The contrasted image of the more mysterious, ambiguous seductress, "Our Lady of the Moonshine" who is....
....is an unattainable possession, representing pure fantasy and not fitting with societal expectations of a `good' woman. Whereas, the perky `siren' is fantasised as potentially captured within the patriarchal realms of marriage by her male audience. Ain't she sweet.....
This `how to' book provides all the wisdom required for photographing the `sexuality' of woman. Halmi provides well-worn examples of women in see-through dresses standing in shallow waters; women lying on beds draped only in sheets; and the sultry, demure glances toward the male audience and slightly away to procure the `ambiguously interested' position. Additionally, he gives his readers (presumably male) the most important clue to successful photography - "know thy subject" completely and intimately and procure an "abundance of female psychology". Is that really all it takes to capture a woman's internal and external sexuality?
This resource was selected as a counter representation to the previous images of women, Self-Images of 100 Women illustrates an expression of contemporary female identity and sexuality. The product is a collection of powerful self-images depicting "self-aware, distinctive and thoroughly positive" women captured as subject, not object. Contradicting the portrayals of `women's sexuality' in earlier texts and resources that served to capture a kind of `sameness', this book undermines the ideals of beauty and perfection which essentially utilised the `good-bad' dichotomy.
For the past 25 years, Stanton's art works have illustrated the darker edges of our collective sexual imagination His portrayal of sexy, powerful women and weak, yet physically fit men, present possibly the perfect antithesis to the sexually submissive woman which had dominated the sexual literature of the past three centuries (and yes, even in regard to contemporary depictions: check out the latest Cleo, or Cosmopolitan).
Images of single and married women in unconventional sexual roles, strong women overpowering the `weak, helpless male', serve to upset the balance of dominance in sexual relations between men and women. Although, the female specimen is "big-breasted, small-waisted, has long legs in high heels, strong jaw line, high cheekbones, fiery eyes and cascading hair", she possibly serves solely to satiate male desire. Yet, such a body image, with the exception of the high
heels, is undoubtedly reminiscent of the powerful Amazonian as it contributes to illuminating the `horny' sexual pulse in women.
BOTTOM SHELF Nowadays it is widely acknowledged and accepted that when a single woman partakes in public discourse (via a career), she gains much personal satisfaction, achievement and other benefits, such as economic independence from men. One only has to step back in time to 1968, however, to discover rampantly sexist and misinformed stereotypes of the career woman. For example, Edwin Lewis, in his text Developing Woman's Potential, writes; "the girl who aims for a career is likely to be frustrated and dissatisfied with herself as a person...(and) less well adjusted than those who are content to be housewives"7. Women may also be deemed `unfeminine' from this rejection or delaying of marriage by potential readers (men), and for this reason `career women' tend to be photographed and presented in an `attractive' manner in the majority (if not all) of such historical texts. Further, a rigid binary is common; women can't be married and maintain a successful career, they must `choose' one or the other. With regards to single women partaking in education, the patterns that prevail are congruent with that of single career women. Education was viewed in a variety of manners throughout history; as a substitute for love (and marriage) for ugly women, as a complete waste of valuable time and resources, as a way in which to catch a `smarter man', and a `hobby' for the interim between childhood and marriage. Yet one common theme underlies all the texts under scrutiny; education for women is not for the woman's intellectual development per se, but rather as a means to end up with a man regardless (if all goes according to plan!). Therefore, it is not incorrect to ascertain from the texts I have selected for this sub-section of "Sexpectations" that both careers and education for single women placed them in the category of `other'. They did not conform to the rigid domestic sphere but instead were ridiculed, and patronised, and still remained as patriarchal objects.
[7] From Penman, R. & Stolk, Y. 1983. Not the Marrying Kind: Single Women in Australia. Melbourne & Sydney: Penguin. pp 100.
BOTTOM SHELF
Jessie Ackermann makes broad and rather disconcerting generalisations concerning young Australian women of the early 1900's. A particularly striking example is to be discovered on page 267; "In Australian there is, of course, the usual percentage of girls who are next to brainless - the Teddy bear style". One must wonder what the `usual' percentage is in other countries! She also flatly refuses to label them as possessing "studious habits" (p. 269) and denies then the ability to concentrate or commitment to successfully partake in "serious reading" (ibid), as they are "completely absorbed in their looks, dress, and self - a blight in the social fabric" (p. 267). Ackermann appears not concerned for the improvement of intelligence for the sake of the young women per se, but rather because "a trained mind is a great aid in the proper and systematic plans of housekeeping" (p. 275). She encourages parents, however, not to believe the myth that education is bad for a girl's brain and, contrary to much opinion of the time, considered education safe for the developing nervous system of young women (ibid). Easily the most disturbing statement flows from the mouth of a M.P. (who remains anonymous - for good reason) who undeniably equates women with attractive doormats;
In his next point, he completely oversteps the line of common decency when her says "in order to remain for ever the toys and playthings of men, girls must give up the supreme pleasure of being able to think" (p. 277). Congruent with this notion of women having to make the choice between education and having a man, Ackermann discusses how education can be a viable alternative for marriage (p. 279).
According to Charlotte Stopes, women were `allowed' to participate in University as early as 1867. More status, however, was attributed to the men who attended. This can be seen in the manner in which women were excluded from obtaining property qualifications. Their historical privilege indeed! Stopes discusses the fact that women are able "to take advantage of their opportunities" (p. 186), and as such, higher education is not wasted upon them. She furthers her `equality of opportunity' case through such statements as "those who exclude women are learning that they themselves suffer by the exclusion" (p. 188). I would, therefore, be inclined to label Stopes a `pioneer feminist', and appreciate her inclusion of a text from John Stuart Mill;
The Getting of Wisdom is an autobiographical novel by Ethel Florence Lindesay, who wrote under the male pseudonym, Henry Handel Richardson. The novel is set in Melbourne in the late nineteenth century and describes the author's experiences at her school, Presbyterian Ladies College.
Sophia seeks to logically discuss the reasons for equality of opportunity for women, utilising philosophical arguments that concern the similar nature of both men's and women's souls. She also discusses the equal status of women's organs; "Our brain is perfectly like theirs...and we have all the organs they have, and apply them to the same purposes as they do" (p. 24). Sophia then accuses men of "bastardly jealously" (ibid) when they exclude us from sharing in the same opportunities. Women's participation in the sciences is seen as a threat, for women may then be able to successfully compete with men in this discourse:
Sophia also bravely declares that if women were to share in the sciences on par with men they would be "much less subject to the vanity" (p. 27) that accompanies such status. She concludes by explicitly stating the power dynamic of the time in a circular fashion; "Why is learning useless to us? Because we have no share in public offices. And why do we have no share in public offices? Because we have no learning" (p. 27).
BOTTOM SHELF FLAT CASE 2
Poor little Nicki has to fly on an aeroplane all by herself as her grandmother lives 10,000 miles away! Luckily, one air hostess, Miss Howard, takes Nicki under her wing and lets her help `serve' a man's drinks! How exciting! On returning home, Nicki receives a special invitation to attend air hostess training college! Young women are taught "good posture" and how to "walk correctly" (p. 14). Nicki also learns that she does not yet fulfil the criteria required for entry into the classes; she is not 21 years old, nor between 5ft 3ins or 5ft 10ins! She does, however, fulfil one very important criterion; she is under 10 stone. The airline must have rigid standards - imagine if some of the airline hostess were `fat' and therefore `unattractive to the male passengers! - they wouldn't enjoy their flight as much! Nicki is also unmarried, and must keep this `available' status. Obviously, one `career' must be selected; a woman couldn't possible have both the careers of marriage and air hostessing! How would there be enough time to clean the house and have the meat and three vegetables on the table by 6 o'clock if one is jet-setting around the world? Nicki thinks that she would make a "much better hostess than a pilot" (p. 21), as she thinks that pilot has far too much to remember in order to keep the aeroplane from crashing!
Michelle was innocently flying her kite in a Sydney park one day when she was `discovered' by a modelling photographer. What a lucky girl! Her picture turned out `pretty' enough to be included in the following edition of a glossy magazine, which launched her `career' as a child model. She was able to professionally develop the necessary deportment and posture skills via her enrolment in a grooming school for ladies (and ladies to be). A woman's career, even when it commences from such a young age, is to be assisted by learning how to conduct oneself in a proper (read: feminine) fashion. Can you even hope to imagine her delight when it was announced that she was to partake in a television commercial? She was bursting with excitement, as television meant that she would be permitted to wear makeup! Michelle learnt, however, that it wasn't all glamour, but involved real `work' of learning a few lines, frequently changing her dress and waiting around under hot lights. Yet the spectacular results made the experience all worth it!
Corish constructs an inflexible model for "Tomorrow's secretary" in this 1960 text. On offer are numerous rigid instructions on how a woman must conform to the expectations of a career that encompasses much "importance and dignity" (p. 35). Meekness and passivity are equated with the feminine; "unnecessary noise" (p. 35) is not indicative of being ladylike, and "doing things quietly is one of the signs of an efficient secretary" (p. 35). A woman is also instructed that her feminine maintenance should be kept private, as a secretaries' desk is not a "dressing table" (p. 32). She is also required to read newspapers and books to facilitate intelligent conversation with the telephoning clients, not for her own intellectual development! Further,
Sybylla conceptualises the "power of thought" as a far more negative affliction for girls than boys in her 1903 novel (p. 24). She desires not the farm life where she grew as a child, but "longed for the arts...(and) borrowed every book in the neighbourhood" (p. 26) Further, she acknowledges that "women's only sphere is marriage" (p. 177), but personally rejects this domestic `career' with her statement that it is "the most horribly tied-down and unfair existence going" (p. 47). Consistent with the other texts considered in Sexpectations, she herself describes the dichotomy of marriage/education:
As the closure of this fictional text draws near, Sybylla had the opportunity for marriage, which would alleviate her poverty, but `her brilliant career' and passion lies in allowing her creative juices to flow in her writing.
Misogyny for those women less than beautiful is rampant in this letter. The author (anonymous and presumably male) states that "Monash University is afflicted with a totally disproportionate amount of ugliness". He goes further to cite that Monash contains triple the national average of ugly women, 875 out of 1000. One must question who has performed this `survey' (if at all!) and who makes decisions regarding what constitutes ugliness. Again, heterosexist assumptions reign supreme and the author assumes that ugly women do better in University simply because they do not date and therefore have increased study time. Further, a problematic dichotomy is created; ugly women need to do well at university to secure a career (no man will marry and support them), but non-ugly women do not require to do well at university and support themselves as they are attractive enough to catch a man. This binary between education/career or love/marriage is to be seen in other texts of this exhibition and is therefore a common theme. The author continues on; "The Geneva Convention to be invoked to compel some women to use cosmetics" and such a course of action would cause these women to radiate sex appeal and "at last become a worthy object of male attentions". `Object' being the operative term here; women are required to transform their naturally occurring state into that which is deemed more attractive for men.
"Be warned" tells the author of "femme fatales" at Monash who have "been engaged in an intensive training program for weeks before University begins, so that they may get themselves up to date with the most modern techniques in man-trapping". The author (again, anonymous) cites several approaches women used to `catch their man'; from The Shy "Show-Me-Around" to the "Big Sister" type. He describes women as a sex as "potentially dangerous", not unlike that of wild mushrooms growing in one's backyard! The conclusion offers little hope against their powers "Control, if you can, your primitive urges and take up lawn bowls instead". Interestingly the author makes a clear distinction between ladies and those women who do not label themselves ladies, who are free, he asserts in the footnote, to "meet the author behind the engineering block any week night after 10". This type of dualistic thinking is inherently problematic, as it asserts `loose' and overtly sexual women as evil and `naughty' and places `chaste'/'virginal' women as good and ladylike. That is, being described as ladylike does not provide the scope for a women to be aggressively sexual - a notion extrapolated in other areas of the exhibition.
There were many single women to choose from at Monash in 1965, and this article provides potential male partners with their necessary details. Women are presented only as objects of male desire, with the accompanying heterosexist assumptions in tow. Miss Deakin Hall - Jane Cocks - is the "girl with the healthy outdoor complexion, as though she just had a romp in the hay. She likes her males tall, dark, masculine and clean-cut". Miss Science - Pat Lucas - is "built reasonably well...We could only make her smile by saying "Sex". Miss Ski Club - Hannah Silman - "claims to have come to university because she wished to further her education (how bizarre is that!?) ". The editors couldn't but help to continue the blatantly sexual theme of the article when they linked Hannah's horse riding hobby with Freudian sexual imagery. Miss Independent - Pauline Hammerman - claims to enjoy horse riding also and "boxing" - to which the editors add a question mark - to indicate their surprise at her un-feminine hobby. This patronising also occurs in the text below Miss Engineering - Jill Dunn - as she includes football as one of her hobbies. Her ideal man is "tall, dark, unattainable and sadistic...This is a good cue for all you latent sadists to go after this girl with whip cracking". Indeed.
Apparently, `yes'; as according to this article women are now able to successfully participate in the public sphere just as men do. Several women's careers in traditionally male sectors are cited - Town Planner of New Britain, Lord Mayor, Architect, Physicist - so these women must, therefore, have intelligence on a par with that of men. That is, the ballot papers are not wasted on such women. Even though this article acknowledges that women can partake in male discourse, it merely states (as opposed to challenging) the obvious unequal distribution of salary of the time. Miss Evelyn Sharp, although holding the most senior position of any women civil servant of 1948, must accept that her salary will "still be graded below that of any man holding a similar rank" (p. 12). As with all women discussed (and attractively photographed) in this article, she is titled `Miss' - indicative of her marriageability. Men reading this article can discover how women have, in the author's opinion, justified their voting capacity and they can also simultaneously go `shopping' for an attractive future bride!
As per Picture Post 7th February 1948, the message is clear; women are free to engage in non-stereotypical careers as long as such careers do not render them unattractive to men. We learn of the bizarre (yet undoubtedly attractive) `Elephant Girls', who discarded their traditional, stable careers as telephonists and receptionists to join the circus. But who could blame them when the "applause rings in their ears as if they had never heard hands clap before" ? (p. 27). The article even goes so far as to suggest that "they're contented - not precisely with the elephants, but with life and all it means" (p. 27). Clowning is also presented to the reader as a viable career alternative for women, where women like Ruth Cavallini "forgot her restrained home background" (p. 27). Choosing the alternative career path of a circus girl appears more liberating for women, than that of a secretary in the 1940's, as clowns and elephant girls are `allowed' to be active and loud in the manner in which they conduct themselves. The question remains - would it be permissible for such women to consume food in public?
William Alexander cites numerous examples of how women were drastically excluded from formal education in countries such as Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome. In the latter, it was not deemed as the least bit necessary to educate young women in anything but domesticity, as they would perform no other role. Similarly, as women were only objects of "romantic heroism" (p. 42), their education "tended chiefly to enable them to shew (sic) themselves in such a manner" (ibid). Women needed to gain attention and `catch' wealthy men, and participation in education did not facilitate this; men only desired aesthetically pleasing wives. Alexander clearly stated a dichotomy for women;
BOTTOM SHELF This collection of Rare Books considers the concept of love and the single woman. Throughout history, literary discourse has closely affiliated the pursuit of marriage with the presumption of there being a natural tendency for women to regard this institution as their primary vocation. The concept of the "Single Woman" has been medicalised against the binary opposition of the good-married woman, both problematising and denying her sexuality. Advice books advise women of their duties in the domestic sphere, in order to appear homely and attractive to prospective husbands or to please the ones they have secured. Marriage is promoted for the welfare of the "fairer sex" and in one case, for the benefit of the Nations. These concepts culminate in the "social bibles" of young women, in the form of comics, romantic novels and all-round survival guides which assume a single, female audience whose priority in life is to be attractive in courting a man, and then successfully marry him in order to live happily ever after.
BOTTOM SHELF FLAT CASE 3
Hutton attempts to fill the void where advice has been given to women contemplating marriage, but not to single women. This book aims to "give clues to the psychological factors which may be playing a part in single women's troubles" and to indicate constructive ways of dealing with them. Unlike traditional advice books of the time, Hutton explicitly recognises the sexual needs of single women. She explores the emotional problems women experience when they are expected to "live out their lives as best as they may without any natural adequate fulfilment of their normal physiological functions". Loneliness is believed to be the basic problem for single women who are "deprived of a mate and denied children". Hutton takes a Lacanian psychoanalytic view when exploring the sexual problems of single women, particularly in her chapter concerning sexual inversion and sublimation. Although this book is written with an emancipatory gusto, Hutton does fall victim to essentialist presumptions of the time, such as seeing women's sexual needs as merely reproductive and assuming women need a male partner to be a parent.
This text is rather like a physiological guidebook to marriage. In the chapter "When to Marry- how to select a partner on the `right' principles", Byrne's "principles" are traditionally conservative and medical at that. The best age for women to marry is between 18 - 21 years and 21 - 25 years for men, according to Byrne's doctrine. If men marry earlier that this it is "detrimental to their health, they become partially bald, dim of sight and lose all elasticity of limb". Single women on the other hand, "rarely have any bloom on their cheek or fire in their eye by the time they are 25 ... there is no freshness to be seen in a maiden of 30...". Byrne, presumably a white, middle-class male believes "the rich are qualified for marriage before the poor, owing to the superiority of their ailment". In concluding remarks, Byrne describes his requisites for "a well-formed woman:" [both physically and socially]- small head and chest, short arms and legs, voluminous thighs....plumpness is essential to female beauty and childbearing reactions". "Nothing can be more orderly, right, proper and holy for women than marriage".
Gisborne also wrote An Inquiry into the duties of Men. It is interesting to note the use of the term "men" as opposed to the "female sex" which implies "otherness" and an essential reference to the biology of women. Gisborne claims this text describes the duties of women in the middle-higher classes of British society. Its "design is to promote the welfare of the female sex". This is quite a Christian- oriented text promoting women's moral obligations in the face of God. Gisborne attempts to cover a wide range of topics pertaining to women's everyday activities, including chapters on female conversation, dress, employment of time, considerations antecedent to marriage and duties of matrimonial life. The importance of the female character, particularly the three characteristics "which are of never-ceasing concern to the welfare of mankind" reveal Gisbourne's disposition that women, both single and married must submit to men in all aspects of their daily life. These characteristics which Gisbourne sees as most desirable in a woman are: 1) the contribution daily & hourly to the comfort of husbands and brothers in the intercourse of domestic life; 2) forming and improving the manners and dispositions of men; and 3) modelling the human mind during the early stages of life. In concluding, Gisbourne states that women should be subject to her head, the husband, as the Church is subject to Christ, it's head. "Her willing obedience is a branch of her connubial duty...".
Essentially this text argues that reform is needed in all government institutions, including schools, to better educate young, single women about the "delicacies of womanhood". Broad maintains that the male-centred teaching methods of the time do not adequately prepare young girls for the demanding role of womanhood, nor do they foster and encourage practical marriage skills. These assertions support popular beliefs earlier this century which maintained that women's education and vocational training should naturally be centred around nurturing, domestic activities. Implicit throughout this text is the assumption that marriage and motherhood are instinctive vocations for women, and much of what is taught by male teachers in schools is irrelevant to women's pre-determined domestic careers. Broad strongly argues that girls be taught not by male teachers, but by mothers and wives about lessons in courtship, marriage and motherhood. She also demands that a "Women's Committee" be set up by the Government who will "pay [Ifraktur]50 to women of approved schooling, pay [Ifraktur]5 to a woman on the birth of her first child and pay [Ifraktur]200 when a woman marries". Not only does this text present marriage and motherhood as a kind of vocational salvation, but it implies a financial salvation in the pursuit of such "careers".
BOTTOM SHELF FLAT CASE 4
The basic premise of this work is that marriage is the only means to strengthen the Kingdom, and that the neglect of marriage is a threat to the Nations. This text follows the history of the institution of marriage through the Bible, Heathen times and Roman times. The style is highly religious and included are Spartan laws and punishments for those who do not obey the rules of marriage. Borrowing from Plato's "Book of Laws", the author describes how "men from the age of 21 years should marry or in default pay a mulct [penalty] in proportion to their fortunes". Some courts of the world thought so highly of marriage for the benefit of the State that magistrates "disposed of virgins as they saw expedient for the advantage of the Commonwealth". Once a girl was of child-bearing age, she could not remain single, the State ordered that no women be left unmarried. One of the most interesting historical artefacts presented in this text relating to single women, concerns Spartan Laws and the delegation of "virgins" to aspiring husbands, by court magistrates,
Rev. Harry Jones was a Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, and Prebendary of St.Pauls. This highly moral and ethical text presents marriage and "other great matters" such as sin against the Holy Ghost, gambling and drunkenness, as they stand in relation to the Holy Scriptures. According to Jones, love as the original human instinct, manifests itself in the institution of marriage. The Bible is a continuous channel of teachings about the relation of love between man and woman. Women, Jones argues, can find in the Bible those stories of romance which they so desire for themselves, such as that of Abraham and Sarah. But the
Jones in keeping with his belief that a single women's ultimate role is that of a wife, lends some advice to young women in courtship. Young women should not succumb to the "mysteriously blind influence of love, and seek to marry a handsome man who may not be a desirable spouse". Men on the other hand, should seek a women "of good temper and homely thrift". Conclusively, Jones regards the bride as the "best image whereby to picture the Church of Christ".
Written by two women, this text emphasises the necessity of equality in the marriage between a woman and man. The target audience also encompasses single woman, warning them of mistakes they can make in selecting a partner for marriage. Philip and Murray are highly critical of traditional, religious marriage ceremonies, as they argue that
This socio-cultural perspective is quite radical considering the abundance of Christian-orientated, matrimonial advice published at this time. The underlying tone of this text is that young women should actively participate in the establishment of marriage and not let their expectations be shadowed by modesty. Philip and Murray stress the importance of financial security for young women,
Gregory asserts that it is "dispicable for a (single) woman to think it essential to happiness to be married, this is a false and gross indelicacy of the sentiment". Contrary to this statement, he believes that his daughters may "attain a superior degree of happiness in a married state, to what you can possibly find in any other". In maintaining the common stereotype of the unmarried older women, Gregory warns his daughters that unless they marry, they may seen by society as "isolated, frustrated and forever incomplete...". In questioning marriage women can be seen to be suffering from a masculinity complex and take on "undesirable feminine characteristics".
Gregory however, asks his daughters to marry for no other reason than to make themselves happy and respectable, "marriage will make you respectable in the eyes of the world and make you most useful members of society".
BOTTOM SHELF
This collection of romantic novels is dedicated to the Right Honourable the Lady Lansdowne, a woman Mrs. Manley respects and admires. It is the dedication preceding the novels that says a great deal more about the concepts of romantic love and fiction at this time, than the novels themselves do. Lady Lansdowne went to prison alongside her husband for 18 months, "giving up her home luxuries to comfort her imprisoned husband". Manley greatly admires this "act of love" and dedicates these stories of passion to the Lady.
Manley claims that she has attempted the same literary design as "Mr. Dryden's tales of Boccace and Chaucer but with a far unequal performance." Overall, this text highlights the great importance and admiration ascribed to romance and acts of passion, and the sense of activity they had in both single and married women's lives in this era.
52. Real Romances (Sydney, Transport Publishing Co., [195-?]) no. 22. 52. Secret Dreams Romances (Sydney, Colour Comics, [1967?]) no. 8.52. Love Song Romances (Sydney, Colour Comics, [1965?]) no. These romantic comic books of the 1950's and 1960's are indicative of the ways in which pop-culture during this time, represented the importance of romantic escapism in the lives of young, single women. Female characters are portrayed as slim, attractive twenty-something's in search of fulfilling romance, with of course the "ideal man" . The "right charmer" (man) is "naturally" presented as intelligent, handsome and more often than not independently $wealthy$. The cartoon captions are loaded with physical descriptions of the expectably beautiful female characters,
Both Real Love and Real Romances have black and white "pin-up" boys on the back cover such as Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. Perhaps more interesting than the stories themselves are the advertisements inside the front and back covers for products such as "slim legs", "bustomizer" and various other cosmetics promising to give (single) women the body by which to allure and capture these fairytale men. Story titles which promote the representation of the ever-dependent, relationship (hetero) seeking single women include, "I was Too Demanding", "Million Dollar Baby", and "I was a Fat Girl- no man will ever want me, I shall have to live my life as a spinster!". You only need to pick up a contemporary women's magazine to realise that single women are presented with the same expectations and ideals today as they were in the 1950's, only perhaps with a more subtle sledgehammer.
The "Woman's Own" magazine of the 1950's published this pink-cloth text with the intention of advising single women in all aspects of life, from cooking ideas to interior decorating to the latest beauty tips. Including romantic fiction and guidelines for securing a perfect marriage, this text is a collection of "tried and tested" advice as how to achieve better relationships with men, and more importantly, keep their attentions. The chapter on beauty specifically instructs women how to apply makeup in order to make yourself more attractive to men, "its the little things that count...beauty day by day... a weekly program to look your most attractive". One article written by a man explains what makes a woman attractive,
With regards to single women, this text is strongly motivated towards the assumption that the priority in life for all women is marriage, and as such many articles advice women of the joy in successfully choosing a male partner, " Is he right for you?"... "7 ways to charm a man"..."Marriage with all it's problems, is as has always been, the happiest state on earth in which a woman can find herself".
This text has the definite presence of being a "social bible" for young women, its hundreds of pages are filled with articles ranging from beauty, fashion, cooking, love and marriage, the home, family interests and hobbies. The chapter entitled "Every wise woman" instructs young single women on the three important stages of attaining a successful relationship with a man. "First catch your man..."
There are explicit instructions on what to wear for your first date, what to discuss and whether you should allow him to kiss you or not (he being the active kisser).
"Petting on a first date is a big mistake!". Such advice progresses to marriage and represents a typical 1950's portrayal of the housewife and mother as visible and valued members of society, only in relation to the male breadwinner,
BOTTOM SHELF The texts drawn upon to pose a study of the `single girl and her conduct' may be loosely divided into two categories: the public and private. The various home management, cooking and domestic texts, and women's magazines extol the virtues of homemaking and housekeeping, a notion predicated upon the presumption that a woman's fate lies within the sanctity of marriage. Such assumptions stem from the dominant ideologies and cultural norms which position women's identity and status as inextricably connected to marriage and the family. In anticipation of her impending fate, the single girl must be trained for and familiarised with the conduct expected from her in the private, domestic sphere. While failing to discuss the `single girl' per se, it is the ideal model of domestic behaviour that these home manuals provide, making them important to an examination of the conduct of single women. So too must the young woman familiarise herself with the behaviour expected from her, upon emerging into the public realm. Confounding social mores are outlined in the handbooks on etiquette, with detailed and articulate guidelines deeming what is `appropriate' conduct for the lady in society. Critical advice and shrewd observations regarding the manner in which young women conduct themselves in public further promulgate the importance for the `single girl' to uphold the virtues of modesty, morality and tact, hence ensuring her acceptance into the world of womanhood. The texts selected in the analysis of the conduct of the single girl provide an exemplar of the means of social control inscribed upon the female body. Phallocentrically prescribed ideological constructs promote and enforce the celebrated model of femininity, to which the young single girl woman is encouraged to conform. An evident `lack' of representations of the single woman in mature adult life in these domestic texts enforces her deviancy from the model of marriage and motherhood, rendering her obsolete with regard to the dominant paradigms structuring notions of `woman.'
The re-issue of this early 19th century book advising women on proper manners demonstrates the persistence of the image of the Victorian lady into the 20th century. It aims to uphold the lofty moral principles of modesty and behaviour expected from the young lady, putting forward precepts on the topic of manners-
On conversation, gossip and tattling-
On waltzing-
This volume has much to offer the young single girl upon entering society. Pearls of wisdom promulgated include -
Gone, at any rate for the present, are the days when it was a breach of etiquette almost unpardonable to dance more than three times with any one man. Should a girl dance four times during the evening with the same man, her watchful chaperone would invariably say afterwards, "Are you engaged to Mr Trotter, my dear? If you are not, you ought to be, "such is the perversity of human nature!" (pp.24-25)
The learned, witty and humorous Lady Wortley Montagu (1690-1762), astutely observed and articulated the vices and follies of Eighteenth-Century English society, as well as commenting upon Eastern life and manners throughout this collection of letters and works. Her often intimate and personal correspondences with her husband and close friends reveal the `standards of delicacy and propriety' of her time, although she was capable of much frankness. Several references are made with regard to the single woman, notably her disdain at the impending marriage of an old maid to a beast of a man deemed "filthy, frightful, odious and detestable."
This rare first edition from 1783 contains a collection of letters in which John Andrews provides his perceptions of the French and English ladies with regards to disposition, deportment, education, tastes and amusements. It provides an interesting study in the distinctions between the social behaviour of French and English women, as perceived by the authoritative eye of a prominent gentleman. It is essential reading for any young woman keen to note the qualities held in esteem and of value to the male species when scrutinising women in society.
Grounded in the `great fundamental principles of Christian faith', the advice given to the daughters of England begins thus- "as women, then, the first thing of importance is to be content to be inferior to men- inferior in mental power, in the same proportion that you are inferior in bodily strength." This only proves advantageous for women of overt bodily strength, so it seems. It further continues to reflect upon "how the daughters of England- those who have but few servants, or, perhaps, only one- can sit in their father's homes with folded hands, when any great domestic movement is going on, and not endeavour to assist is a mystery I have tried in vain to solve..." Hmm, beats me. Mrs Ellis however, outdoes herself upon proclaiming- "Society! What a capricious and dignified idea this word presents to the girl just entering upon womanhood! What a field for action and sensation! What an arena for the display of all her accomplishments!!" I can hardly contain myself either.
It is a mother's duty to advise her daughters of the behaviour and conduct appropriate for single women within society. Lady Sarah Pennington, due to circumstances beyond her control, was forced to abandon her babes, yet reminds them in this poignant account `that you still have an affectionate mother, anxious for your welfare, writing to give you some advice with regard to your conduct in life'. She warns of the deceits and falsehoods of the world, and the dangers it holds for the woman alone. Advice is given on how to behave, and how to act, with sincere concern expressed regarding the moral welfare and maintenance of virtuous character in still young and influential girls.
Table Talk reported upon the weekly movements of the Melbourne social set, documenting on, amongst other things, the social occasions pivotal in a young girl's life such as the `coming out' ball.
This shows the ideal of the young, virginal woman who is placed in perfect stead for wooing by a potential suitor; a position from which, it was hoped, marriage would ensue to fulfil her role and identity as wife and mother.
The Book of Household Management includes sanitary, medical and legal memoranda within its study of the origin, properties and uses of all things connected with home life and comfort. Notable is the significant portion of reading space devoted to the science of cooking. As every prospective wife-to-be knows, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so what better skill for the single girl to develop but a love of all things culinary? Step-by-step instructions ensure even the most uninitiated home-maker of success, with delectable recipes such as puree of wood pigeon, vegetable marrows in white sauce, and liver dumplings.
Second only to Mrs Beeton's Household Management, this new, updated and greatly enlarged version promotes housekeeping as education, with the reader being reminded that,
Aw shucks, every little girl's dream....
Perfect for the trousseau of the young woman-to-be, this "enduring reference book for the modern woman" provides the single girl with everything she needs to know in anticipation of a life of future marital bliss. Sections including "Culture- how to broaden your intellectual interests", "Handcrafts and hobbies, old and new ideas for the leisure hours", and "Cookery- a basic course in wise catering", provide the prospective home-maker with the ideal training course in femininity.
Endeavouring to take `the widest possible view of woman's sphere', this volume provides not only training in the domestic arts, but caters for the single girl whose potential interests lie outside the home, with advice upon topics as varied as poultry keeping, careers for woman, and women in politics. It advises that "Every woman should include a knowledge of good indoor games and entertainments amongst her accomplishments" and promotes housework as " a source of exercise which has a decidedly health giving value." Such enticements would no doubt turn any young woman against a life of singledom, in favour of family, husband and home.
The following dialogue is taken from a section entitled "Informal Interviews and Casual Conversations: The Young Lady in Literature",
Take heed, happy home-makers and readers of The New Idea, for the masculinizing scourge of the male workplace is bound to transform your beloved daughter into "less of a woman"!! Do take solace however, in the social-chit chat and marriages of the month that line the pages of The New Idea and provide an exemplary model for the young single woman to aspire to.
This sentimental and syrupy account extols the virtues of motherhood and the satisfaction such self-sacrifice brings. Inchfawn dotes upon `baby mine' and the joy to be found in family, home and hearth. She intimately reflects upon the lovable characteristics of `John', the genericised hubby,
There appears little scope in this perfect equation for the lone woman, ignored and rendered invisible when outside the status and identity acquired via `her man'.
BOTTOM SHELF The suffragette movement of the late nineteenth century constituted what is now regarded as the `first wave' of feminism. The battle for female suffrage plays a relevant role in exploding the myths surrounding femininity and the stereotypes of the single girl. Marking the first organised campaign and significant challenge to the power systems inherent to a male-dominated culture, women's suffrage fought for political and economic rights, such as women's right to attain an education, to vote, and to enter the professions. These basic civil rights challenged the traditional perception of women as domestic, subordinate `creatures', worthy only for marriage and raising a family. The notion of the independent woman allowed the woman who chose to be single to attain identity and status within society outside familial structures. Of course the suffrage movement was not confined to single women alone, with its agenda being of great relevance to Western women across all social and class divisions. Yet with regards to our emphasis upon the `single girl', we perceive it as apt to pay homage to the emancipatory and militant movement that paved the way toward transforming not only the basic civil rights of women, but society's restrictive and oppressive perceptions of single women. Women over 30 were given the vote in Britain in 1918, and in 1928 they gained equal franchise with men. Women in Australia had the vote earlier than their English counterparts. Women in South Australia could vote from 1894, and by 1908 female suffrage was the rule in all the states. When the Commonwealth was established in 1900 all adult Australians had the right to vote regardless of their sex. On display are several books on the Pankhursts, the most famous women involved in the suffragette movement. One of them,. Adela, came to Australia. The illustrations in Punch and The Graphic show different aspects of the campaign. The militant suffragettes used tactics such as arson, bombing, and chaining themselves to railings. Possibly the most famous incident involved the suffragette, Emily Davison, throwing herself in front of Anmer, the King's horse, during the running of the 1913 Derby. Emily died of her injuries.
|
