Publisher's Synopsis
As a short documentary and pictorial history of women's experience of work, "Austrlian working women" captures both women's own voices and those of others who have shaped that experience.;Women have always done different work from men. This has never been a matter of choice. Women's work has been shaped both by their bodies and by the way men, and to a lesser extent women, have understood those bodies. Ideas of maleness and femaleness have probably done more to shape women's lives than the time consumed on bearing and rearing children.;Divided into sections shaped both by historical period and theme, the book includes short extracts of documents such as diaries, letters, court records, newspaper reports, advertisements, parliamentary papers, union records and literary extracts. Organized chronologically, the themes include positions vacant, letters home and extracts from novels.;Aveling and Damousi make a special contribution through their introductory and integrating commentary, which is incisive, reflective and cohesive. Setting out to challenge preconceived views of women, of work, and of women's work, the book will appeal to students in women's studies and Australian studies courses, as well as the general reader.;"Australian working women" challenges preconceived views of both women and work, and women's work.;The book will appeal to students in women's studies and Australian studies courses, as well as anyone interested in women and work.;Marian Aveling is Senior Lecturer in History at Monash University, Melbourne. She is the author of ***Australians 1832 and the editor of ***Westralian voices: documents in Western Australian history. She lives in Nottinghill, Victoria. Joy Damousi is a tutor in history at Monash University and she lives in Balaclava, Victoria.
