No Girls Allowed: Attitudes Toward the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
“The reason I lost my clerk job because they got too many W.A.C. [Women's Army Corps] and you know what they are for.” World War II U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade Howard Sarty wrote this to his fiancée, Yvette, to explain why he lost his Corporal status and was transitioned to a Technician. He continued, “...well one [W.A.C., pronouced "wack"] had to take my job and I had to go in the field.”(1) (See Fig. 1) In WWII, women became directly involved in the war effort by joining the military. Many people, especially soldiers, did not have a positive reaction to women in uniform. Members of the society felt that women were wrong in taking jobs from men. Many attitudes toward women in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, an organization that enlisted women in the military, were negative because women were taking jobs from men and challenging the gender roles in the World War II society. In popular media, women were sexualized and treated as a joke. Men within the military hated women for doing a man's job and challenging gender roles. Political leaders felt that women had no place in the military and fought to keep women at home.
What's a WAAC?
On May 28, 1941, the bill to create a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, to support the war effort, was introduced to Congress. Government leaders felt that women were needed to fill the gaps in the workforce so that more soldiers could join the frontlines. Women worked as clerks, typists, stenographers, weather forecasters, and other non-combat jobs.(3) (See Fig. 2) Though the bill was signed into law on May 14, 1942, it sparked a controversy about gender roles in the United States. This controversy is important to analyize and understand.
Research and Methods
This research analyzed the reaction toward women in the military by focusing on attitudes toward WAACs, women in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. I examined a letter collection, media from the World War II-time period, and many scholarly texts pertaining to WAACs. The purpose of my research is to create a better understanding of the negative attitudes toward WAACs and the reasons behind why these attitudes were negative. The WAAC is often viewed as a success for women's rights. Research on women in the military during World War II often looks at the WAAC in a positive light and downplays the negative attributes.(5) However, the creation of the WAAC did not cure sexism, especially within the military. This research specifically looks at the negative attitudes toward women in the WAAC. With this knowledge we will have a better understanding of World War II culture and a better understanding of the history of the attitudes toward women in the military. One WAAC topic that is often overlooked is the portrayal of WAACs in popular media.
WAACs Became a Hoot
Popular media had varying negative opinions of WAACs. Many newspapers and magazines depicted WAACs as a joke or as an amusement for viewers. The collection of "Winnie the WAAC" cartoons from the World War II-time period displayed a comical and often sexist parody on WAACs. One cartoon depicts a male soldier and a WAAC marching in rhythm to the marriage bureau.(6) The male soldier clearly has an uncomfortable face while the WAAC is perfectly content. This cartoon suggests that WAACs were not taking a military role seriously and this cartoon reflects the media's protrayal of WAACs as a farce. Another cartoon parodied the change in gender roles. The image depicts a WAAC showing another WAAC a sweater from a package.(7) The WAAC says "My boyfriend knitted it for me." The comic is a commentary on how WAACs are challenging traditional gender roles by being members of the military. Traditionally, the female significant other will send a gift to the male soldier. The comic is making the joke that a male would never send a gift to the female, reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Another portrayal of WAACs was hyper-sexualization. WAACs were often seen as romantically enjoyable for men. For example, in a calendar during the World War II time period, the December image was a partially nude WAAC. (See Fig. 3) This hyper-sexualization objectified WAACs and further allowed the culture to think of WAACs as a farce rather than as serious members of the military. The concept that WAACs were overly romantic was also common in "Winnie the WAAC" comics. One comic showed two WAACs walking in between two male soldiers.(8) One WAAC says to the other "We're outflanked." WAACs were portrayed as targets for male soldiers and this seems to be accepted as normal and acceptable within the media. Overly romantic WAACs were seen as a real concern and WAAC leadership wanted the WAACs to be respectable females soldier based on society's expectations. WAAC leaders attempted to curve the stereotype of the hyper-sexualized WAAC by only recruiting lady-like women and by teaching proper manners.(9) These women attracted the attention of male soldiers, however, this attention was unfavorable.
"To Relieve a Man For Active Duty"
-Howard Sarty, World War II Soldier
Men within the military strongly disliked WAACs. Women in the military were a threat to the soldiers’ regular jobs. This can be seen in WWII army soldier Howard Sarty’s case. Howard initially worked as a clerk, but his job was given to a WAAC while he was reassigned to work as a technician.(11) Howard also had a strong negative opinion of WAACs as he described to his significant other, Yvette. (See Fig. 4) Women were challenging gender roles, and men were angered by this change. Men in the army felt as though they were being replaced by women, who men considered less capable. Also, the positions that women were taking were generally less laborious and men were required to do more physically demanding jobs. These men were not happy to be giving up their office jobs, especially to a WAAC. However, many women proved to be superior and more efficient than men in these positions.(12) This likely contributed to the integration of WAACs into non-combat jobs. A woman who worked for the United Service Organizations (USO) felt that 99 percent of men within the camps felt that women should not be in the military.(13) Clearly many soldiers felt that WAACs did not belong in the military.
This attitude may also have been instilled within the military. Many military leaders, including General Eisenhower, felt that women did not have a place in the military.(14) Army Colonel McCoskrie, who later worked to train WAACs, initially felt that war was a man's job and that "women would only clutter it up."(15) Thus, the soldiers’ attitude may have been reflective of their higher ranking officers. Also, negative attitudes toward WAACs from people in positions of power was apparent in politics.
Politicians With Problems
Many politicians were opposed to the WAAC and felt that women were out of place by joining the military. Some politicians agreed with Congressman Jennings Randolph of West Virginia, who viewed the WAAC Bill as “a grave mistake.”(17) Politicians reflected how they thought their constituents felt about certain issues. (See Fig. 5) Democratic Congressman Hook from Michigan felt that all male soldiers should be exhausted before women should be allowed to join the military.(18) This opinion showed how radical an idea this bill was for some congressmen. Yet the bill passed. Many politicians that voted “yay” justified it through the nation’s need for more labor in wartime. Others felt that there were not enough young men to perform all of the military duties.(19) Thus, politicians did what they felt was necessary to win the war. Many who argued in favor of the WAAC attached a patriotic tone to the bill.(20) This forced some politicians, who may not have otherwise voted in favor, to feel as though they were enemies of the state and thus were motivated to vote for the WAAC bill.
Conclusion
Through examining popular media, military attitudes, and political discourse, one can see how WAACs were viewed negatively in society in during World War II. WAACs were depicted comically and sexualized in popular media, men in the military considered WAACs more of a problem than a solution, and many politicians did not think that women had a place in the military. Although the institution of the WAAC was considered a huge success for women, it is important to recognize that sexism was still prevalent. The attitudes toward women in the military are often more reflective of a society than the actual laws, as illustrated in this study of the Women's Army Auxillary Corps.
Author: Jacob Probst
Footnotes
(1) Howard L. Sarty, “Letter to Yvette from Howard, October 6, 1943,” Concordia Memory Project, accessed November, 25, 2015 http://concordiamemoryproject.concordiacollegearchives.org.
(2) Ibid..
(3) "The WAACs Arrive," Time 41, no. 12 (March 22, 1943): 48 and Yashila Permeswaran, “The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps: A Compromise to Overcome the Conflict of Women Serving in the Army,” History Teacher 42 (2008): 98.
(4) Members of the Women’s Army Corps Identifying Incorrectly Addressed Mail for Soldiers, Post Locator Department, Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, November 30, 1943, (1943), Photo, http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-fa14-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.
(5) D’Ann Campbell, "Women in Uniform: The World War II Experiment," Military Affairs 51, no. 3 (July 1, 1987): 137–139.
(6) R. C. Harvey, "Winnie the WAC," The Comic Journal, March 4, 2015, accessed December 16, 2015, http://www.tcj.com/winnie-the-wac/.
(7) Ibid..
(8) Ibid..
(9) M. Michaela Hampf, "‘Dykes’ or ‘whores’: Sexuality and the Women’s Army Corps in the United States during World War II,"Women’s Studies International Forum 27, no. 1 (January 2004): 13.
(10) "Prologue: Selected Articles," National Archives, March 8, 2012, accessed December 16, 2015, http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1990/spring/esquire-v-walker-2.html.
(11) Sarty, "Letter to Yvette October 6, 1943."
(12) D’Ann Campbell, "Women in Combat: The World War II Experience in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union,"The Journal of Military History 57, no. 2 (April 1, 1993): 304.
(13) Permeswaran, "Women's army," 96.
(14) Ibid., 96.
(15) Ibid., 96.
(16) Howard L. Sarty, “Letter to Yvette from Howard, March 15, 1943,” Concordia Memory Project, accessed November, 25, 2015 http://concordiamemoryproject.concordiacollegearchives.org.
(17) Permeswaran, "Women's army," 97.
(18) Ibid., 97.
(19) Lesia Meyer, Creating GI Jane: Sexuality and Power in the Women’s Army Corps During World War II (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 20.
(20) Ibid., 20.
(21) Nona Baldwin, "BILL TO PUT WOMEN IN ARMY IS PASSED: Senate Votes 38 to 27 to Enroll Them in Service Auxiliary Corps AUSTIN FIGHTS CHANGES Urges Need for Speed -- Maloney Opposes It as Shadowing ‘the Sanctity of the Home,’" The New York Times, May 13, 1942.