Health, balance, and women's 'dual role' in Britain, 1945-1963
This thesis examines the role and currency of medical and psychological languages and anxieties in discussions of womenâs work, housework, marriage and motherhood in Britain between 1945 and 1963. More specifically, it traces the emergence of the âdual roleâ, a life balanced between work and home, as the product of competing and colliding concerns over childhood and adult illness. Arguing for a granular and contingent approach to historical knowledge and experience, it analyses a series of conversations and transformations, each of which contributed to shifts in ideals of appropriate, ethical, and healthy behaviour. In moving beyond existing histories of women, work, and home, this thesis takes a complex look at the medical politics of post-war feminism and counter-feminism. It identifies and explores important sites of contestation and collision, in which new orthodoxies and compromises were formed. Through close review of disregarded post-war literatures on motherhood, male health, housework, fatigue, loneliness, selfhood, ageing, the therapeutics and prophylaxis of productivity, overstrain, caring, morbidity, psychological conflict, and the relationship between medicine and political transformation,
Cooper, Frederick George
Medicine ; Psychiatry ; Feminism ; Post-war British Society ; Health History
Health, balance, and women's 'dual role' in Britain, 1945-1963. This thesis examines the role and currency of medical and psychological languages and anxieties in discussions of womenâs work, housework, marriage and motherhood in Britain between 1945 and 1963. More specifically, it traces the emergence of the âdual roleâ, a life balanced between work and home, as the product of competing and colliding concerns over childhood and adult illness. Arguing for a granular and contingent approach to historical knowledge and experience, it analyses a series of conversations and transformations, each of which contributed to shifts in ideals of appropriate, ethical, and healthy behaviour. In moving beyond existing histories of women, work, and home, this thesis takes a complex look at the medical politics of post-war feminism and counter-feminism. It identifies and explores important sites of contestation and collision, in which new orthodoxies and compromises were formed. Through close review of disregarded post-war literatures on motherhood, male health, housework, fatigue, loneliness, selfhood, ageing, the therapeutics and prophylaxis of productivity, overstrain, caring, morbidity, psychological conflict, and the relationship between medicine and political transformation,
health balance woman dual role britain examines_role currency medical psychological language anxiety discussion woman_work marriage motherhood britain specifically trace emergence dual role life balance work home product compete concern childhood adult illness arguing contingent historical_knowledge experience analyse series conversation transformation contribute shifts ideal appropriate ethical healthy behaviour move_beyond exist history woman_work home take complex look medical politics post_war feminism counter feminism identifies explore important site contestation collision new orthodoxy compromise form close review disregard post_war literature motherhood male health selfhood age therapeutic productivity caring morbidity psychological conflict relationship medicine political_transformation