The Changing Roles Of Women During The Vietnam War

Women during World War II became warriors. They overtook and played the men’s role in their household. Before their men went overseas, the norm was for them to get married at a young age. These women started volunteering in war-related organizations in order to support war efforts. When the men left to fight, their women became proficient at things they wouldn’t have dared to do before. The war made a lot of women stronger and opened lots of doors and opportunities. They would manage their finances, be excellent housekeepers, fix cars and do handyman work.

This was a very important time period for women because they were finally starting to seem like more than just housewives. Many of them worked full time along with providing for their families. Despite the struggles, the war became a way to bring the nation together to fight for one common goal.

The U.S. government worked with advertising agencies, women’s magazines, radio producers, and movie makers to persuade women to take jobs outside the home. A fictional character named Rosie the Riveter was often used for this purpose. This character appeared on posters and in popular songs to promote work as a patriotic duty for women. “Rosie was usually depicted as a temporary worker, typically a middle-class housewife who left her comfortable home to serve her country and who was eager to return to housework and domestic life after the war”(2).” Despite this portrayal, however, a large percentage (close to 80%) of women who held wartime industrial jobs had already been employed before the war in the types of low-wage women’s jobs mentioned above”(2).

Women were not subject to the Vietnam-era draft, but thousands volunteered. For some women, the war offered an opportunity to travel and postpone marriage and motherhood, still the expected roles for young women in the 1960s. Some military women offered to go to Vietnam because they wanted to support the war effort or to see for themselves what was really happening on the ground. Others enlisted in the military for college and employment benefits after recruiters promised they would not be sent to Vietnam.

In the war of independence many people focus on the generals and the everyday men fighting for their independence and the struggles which they endured during the war such as the lack of supplies. However people seem to forget the women in this war, who also suffered for their country and they did their part on and off the battlefield. Also during the fight against Britain we had foreign allies which aide us on the battle field. Both women and our foreign allies are often forgotten in our fight for independence.

This was the start of major social change. Before the war, women had been content to stay at home to bring up the family and do domestic work. It was considered unbecoming for a woman to work. During the war it was considered unpatriotic not to.

Women have always played a part in war. "Independent surveys estimate that the number of women in war both civilian and non civilian during Vietnam was between 33,00 and 55,000". (Marshal 4-5) Women were generally treated as second class both while serving and when they returned home. The draw to the war for many women was wanting to become nurses but not having to take out large loans or cover costs of schooling.

“Not all women wore love beads in the sixties.”(Officer, Nurse, Woman) Many women volunteered for their spots in the war; they didn’t just want to sit at home and do nothing. These women saved our husbands, sons, and brothers. They fought for their families in their own way. Women volunteers became heroes. Women were important to the Vietnam war from being nurses, warriors, and rescuing children from the terrors of war.

The roles of women and men in the Vietnam War varied greatly due the stereotypical characterizations of society. While women were not included in the draft, protected from its brutality and tragedies, men were forced from their homes, enlisted in the army. In O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, women are portrayed as apathetic towards Vietnam soldiers. They are the homebound sex, too fragile and moral to be aware of the world outside their own, and unable to empathize with the emotional baggage that the soldiers carry. Through The Things They Carried, O’Brien characterizes women as ignorant and thus, insensitive towards the men’s pain in war.

During WW2 the presence of men at home was to a bare minimum. The impact this had on women was felt throughout the nation. How women would be looked at would be changed forever. They had to uphold various positions that were usually held by men and reevaluate their roles as homemakers. Their lives at home had changed; they were no longer the primary care giver. They also joined different parts of the military. Due to men being away at war during WW2 women were forced to participate in the workforce, which would change their view of their position in society.

When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new

McCormack talks about the Vietnam war, and how it has affected women, surprising most being psychologically healthy. This source is a journal from the URI database, written from University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom. This will be useful in my essay, because I assume that when they are talking about how veterans are coping, they are mostly referring to men since men mostly have served in war. It is interesting to see this experiment only on women, and how they have coped with the experience 10 years later.

Being a largely patriarchal society, the traditional concept of the Vietnamese woman lies in her roles as a daughter, wife and mother. A lot of importance is placed on a woman’s reproductive ability as well as her ability to care for her children. They are expected to prioritise the raising of offspring and welfare of the household over anything else. The failure to follow these expectations often lead to massive disapproval by the entire household. Hence, migrating to seek better opportunities for work and money is not a desirable choice because of the backlash they would face.

Another way woman had positively influenced the war was through the assisting in the operation of stores and businesses. Due to all the men enlisted in the war the government came across a job shortage there were not enough men to work in stores. women jumped at the chance to help, and support their family's while they were at it. Although woman could not have jobs that required high responsibility woman could work in jobs such as secretarial positions, as clerks, cleaners, ect. This was a major stepping stone to woman proving their equality with men in society and the workplace.

Vietnamese women were very active during the Vietnam War between 1950 and 1974. Through the Vietnam War, women were able to get motivation and ideas to spark gender equality. Before, Vietnamese women were treated like second-class citizens to Vietnamese men due to a number of reasons, such as old Confucian traditions and oppressive husbands. These women did not question this way of life because of the deep rooted traditions of gender roles. During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese women went through many social changes that helped generate ideas for gender equality. While some migrated to America in order to start new lives away from the war, others stayed back and