Throughout World War One, gender played a large role in determining one’s responsibility. For men, the task was to fight in the war. War has always symbolized manhood, and there is nothing more masculine than fighting in the war. To help recruit men, many posters were displayed everywhere, emphasizing masculinity. In Britain, enlistment posters called for men to enlist, and made the posters appealing by focusing on manliness. In one recruiting poster in Britain, lions are roaring to show the calling for men.
The lion that is roaring is a strong, powerful looking male lion, and is standing on the British flag. His glorious mane shows his valor. Around him are other lions, which are female, yet still well-built. These lions represent the other countries allied to Great Britain. They are shown as female 
War, specifically the front, was exceedingly brutal, and it was not what the men expected. One soldier describes the violence. “This style of warfare is extremely modern and for the artillerymen is doubtless very interesting, but for the poor common soldier it is anything but romantic. His rôle is simply to dig himself a hole in the ground and to keep hidden in it as tightly as possible. Continually under the fire of the opposing batteries, he is yet never allowed to get a glimpse of the enemy. Exposed to all the dangers of war, but with none of its enthusiasms or splendid élan, he is condemned to sit like an animal in its burrow and hear the shells whistle over his head and take their little daily toll from his comrades. Cramped quarters breed ill temper and disputes. The impossibility of the simplest kind of personal cleanliness makes vermin a universal ill, against which there is no remedy. Cold, dirt, discomfort, are the ever present conditions, and the soldier's life comes to mean to him simply the test of the most misery that the human organism can support. He longs for an attack, to face the barbed wire and the mitrailleuse, anything for a little”[1] This describes he role of the common soldier as well as the discomforts and misery of life in the trenches. It illustrates the continual struggle of the artillery. Only the men have to do this, for this was their role and what they have to put up with. Showing how awful the front in this memoir relates to All Quiet on the Western Front, as it displays the horrors and suffering the war caused. Men’s role in the war required them to prove their masculinity. However, they were not the only gender that played a role throughout the war.
Prior to the First World War, stereotypes had depicted men as being the war heroes while their women took care of matters back home. World War I gave rise to a new role for women, as they became more and more useful in the productivity of the war effort. During the war, women were able to carry out tasks that were previously taken care of by male workers, which allowed more men to fight on the front. Women thus assumed a new image as the “behind the scenes” heroines of the war.
The first instance of female assistance in Britain was the establishment of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, also known as FANY. Nurses in FANY were known to drive ambulances, as well as to set up field hospitals and soupt kitchens for the troops. Similar to FANY, the Women’s Royal Navy Service (WRNS) and the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) provided direct services for the soldiers who were fighting on the front. The women who worked in these divisions were able to provide their services by doing domestic services such as cooking, cleaning, and mechanical work. Women were recruited heavily, as there services freed up more men to participate in combat on the front. Women of the WRNS and WAAC were praised in Britain for their patriotism and their hard work, however, the roles other women played, were not looked upon as highly by men in the community.
In the absense of several male domestic workers during the first world war, there was a great need for help in the workforce. This need provided a new role for women during the First World War. While initially there was a rise in female unemployment, as middle-class citizens couldn’t afford to pay for servants, maids, etc. many factory jobs were left unattended to in the absense of the male soldiers. As a result, many of the jobs that were previously held by men, were given to women during the war. The women who held these jobs were motivated by freedom and increased wages, although on most accounts they only received half the amount that men received. The “Munitionettes” were the most important of the female factory workers as they produced 80% of the weapons and shells used by the British Army during the war. The jobs they held were often extremely hazardous, as the worked with poisonous materials, but their dedication to improving the reputation of women was enough to motivate them to continue. Although it may have improved the image of females at the time, there efforts were not given much reward. When the men who had fought in the war returned, women were dismissed back to their homes to make room. Despite the fact that they were given little recognition for their dedication, the women of Britain played a large part in the communal effort in fighting the war.
In World War One, a country’s involvement in the war, meant the participation of every citizen, regardless of age or gender. It was inevitable that each citizen became involved (unfortunately this national wartime unification does not exist in present day U.S.A). He or she has an obligation to help their country in this time of need, whether it means losing one’s job and going to the front lines, or taking up a new job in an assembly line in a factory. The success of the war effort by the Allied powers was as much, or more of a result of the efforts of the men, women, and children on the home front.
Women played a huge role in WW1, more than in any previous war. Women produced most of the supplies that were use by the soldiers fighting in the war. Many women took factory jobs, and for the first time, large amounts of women were out working instead of filling their usual role of staying at home. This threw a huge curve-ball at the idea of women’s role in society. The inspiration for these hard-working women was the fact that the majority of them had husbands, boyfriends, and brothers that enlisted. They were also working for their children. Children may not seem like they had much affect on the war, but they actually did (Most likely unintentionally). Children, along with women provided the inspiration for many men to enlist. They were what the men were fighting for. In big enlistment rallies, men who did not enlist would be approached by children who gave them white feathers, symbolizing their lack of manhood. Men who were not fighting in the war were not a complete disgrace. Many Men who did not enlist worked in factories making supplies or helped to supply the army with food .
Food was in short supply because of the war. Certain items like sugar had to be rationed. However, rationing didn't always leave enough food to keep the troops properly fed. In order for there to be more food for the army, the government urged the people at home to help solve this problem by growing their own gardens at home and making their own food. This way, more food could go to the soldiers on the front lines rather than to the people at home. If something like this were to be proposed today, there would be outrage. Many people today lack that all for on and one for all mentality. Today I feel that the media is causing the American people to loose confidence in their nation by shining a bad light on our military involvements and our way of life while focusing on what other countries think of us. The patriotism and commitment-to-countries seen in WWI is admirable. These days we need something to bring our deeply divided country together.
World War I set a new precedent for the stereotypical ideals of war. Not only were men important for their physical contributions on the front and in the trenches, but the contributions of women and the support of the community played a large role as well. Thanks to the strides made during the First World War, the burden of warfare is no longer solely carried on the shoulders of men, nor are women simply dismissed to taking care of the home. The efficiency of today’s armies can thus be attributed to the progress of World War I and the effect it had on our views of gender, community, and war.
By Ben Reynolds, Conor Buckley, and Will Huff
Sources
· http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/wrns.asp
· http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/womenww1_four.htm
· http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/focuson/womeninuniform/default.htm
· Goldstein, Joshua S. War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. Cambridge University Press, 2001
· Seeger, Alan. http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/memoir/Seeger/Alan1.htm#II
[1] Seeger, Alan. http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/memoir/Seeger/Alan1.htm#II
