Hillary Maxson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780824866693
- eISBN:
- 9780824876937
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824866693.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
In the aftermath of World War II, many Japanese women felt impelled to exorcise “martial motherhood,” a stoic, tearless, child-sacrificing gender ideal constructed by the state throughout the early ...
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In the aftermath of World War II, many Japanese women felt impelled to exorcise “martial motherhood,” a stoic, tearless, child-sacrificing gender ideal constructed by the state throughout the early twentieth century. At the Mothers’ Congress of 1955, mothers from across the country gathered to reclaim motherhood from the state and began to redefine motherhood for themselves in the postwar era. This chapter argues that the Mothers’ Congress represented a moment of transition from the wartime concept of “motherhood in the interest of the state” to the postwar idea of motherhood in the interest of mothers. Furthermore, the influential power of the organizers of Japan’s Mothers’ Congress was fundamental in the creation of the 1955 World Congress of Mothers. This was the first instance in which Japanese women became international feminist leaders, and they did so through the language of matricentric feminism.Less
In the aftermath of World War II, many Japanese women felt impelled to exorcise “martial motherhood,” a stoic, tearless, child-sacrificing gender ideal constructed by the state throughout the early twentieth century. At the Mothers’ Congress of 1955, mothers from across the country gathered to reclaim motherhood from the state and began to redefine motherhood for themselves in the postwar era. This chapter argues that the Mothers’ Congress represented a moment of transition from the wartime concept of “motherhood in the interest of the state” to the postwar idea of motherhood in the interest of mothers. Furthermore, the influential power of the organizers of Japan’s Mothers’ Congress was fundamental in the creation of the 1955 World Congress of Mothers. This was the first instance in which Japanese women became international feminist leaders, and they did so through the language of matricentric feminism.
Petra Goedde
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780195370836
- eISBN:
- 9780190936136
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195370836.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Political History
During the early years of the Cold War, women were active participants in all major peace advocacy groups, and they continued to work in traditional women’s peace organizations, such as the Women’s ...
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During the early years of the Cold War, women were active participants in all major peace advocacy groups, and they continued to work in traditional women’s peace organizations, such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). They also created new groups, such as the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), Women Strike for Peace (WSP), and Another Mother for Peace (AMfP). Some groups relied heavily on their identity as women and mothers, others not at all. Regardless of how much or little they emphasized a special feminine disposition toward peace, these activists believed that their common experiences as women and mothers united them across national, ideological, and religious divides. Gendered language in the Cold War discourse on peace reinforced the notion that women had a special predisposition toward peace. The gendering of peace empowered women in the political realm, but it also allowed male-dominated political elites to marginalize peace as a women’s issue.Less
During the early years of the Cold War, women were active participants in all major peace advocacy groups, and they continued to work in traditional women’s peace organizations, such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). They also created new groups, such as the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), Women Strike for Peace (WSP), and Another Mother for Peace (AMfP). Some groups relied heavily on their identity as women and mothers, others not at all. Regardless of how much or little they emphasized a special feminine disposition toward peace, these activists believed that their common experiences as women and mothers united them across national, ideological, and religious divides. Gendered language in the Cold War discourse on peace reinforced the notion that women had a special predisposition toward peace. The gendering of peace empowered women in the political realm, but it also allowed male-dominated political elites to marginalize peace as a women’s issue.
Jocelyn Olcott
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780195327687
- eISBN:
- 9780199344833
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780195327687.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines the organizational and geopolitical rivalries that gave rise to IWY. It considers how long-simmering ideological tensions between the International Council of Women (ICW) and ...
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This chapter examines the organizational and geopolitical rivalries that gave rise to IWY. It considers how long-simmering ideological tensions between the International Council of Women (ICW) and the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF)—dubbed WINGOs (women’s international non-governmental organizations)—fostered competing visions for IWY. While the WIDF and its allies saw IWY as linking women’s issues with human rights, their Cold War rivals linked IWY humanitarian concerns and development strategies. Australia provides a case study of the growing rift in civil society between WINGOs and feminists and the tensions between those working within the rules of the game to those who wanted to change the game entirely. The chapter examines the Australian case to demonstrate the ways that IWY highlighted generational differences, particularly between younger women’s liberationists and older, more establishmentarian activists.Less
This chapter examines the organizational and geopolitical rivalries that gave rise to IWY. It considers how long-simmering ideological tensions between the International Council of Women (ICW) and the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF)—dubbed WINGOs (women’s international non-governmental organizations)—fostered competing visions for IWY. While the WIDF and its allies saw IWY as linking women’s issues with human rights, their Cold War rivals linked IWY humanitarian concerns and development strategies. Australia provides a case study of the growing rift in civil society between WINGOs and feminists and the tensions between those working within the rules of the game to those who wanted to change the game entirely. The chapter examines the Australian case to demonstrate the ways that IWY highlighted generational differences, particularly between younger women’s liberationists and older, more establishmentarian activists.
