Gender identity, specifically when looking at women in this musical, is quite interesting because of the setting and time period of the show. At the turn of the 20th century, progressive movements (and later what history would call the suffragette movement) were changing from the original idea of women looking externally and reforming society to more of an internal view which focused on representing the actual rights of women. The sections below outline some key features of the suffragette movement and focus on the similarities and differences between the two generations of females (ie. mother's ideas vs daughter's ideas.)
Gender Roles & Sexuality in turn of the century America
This video shows the differences between the waves of women's rights in the 19th century. Ranging from topics of prison reform to asylum for the mentally impaired, these progressive women cared about the rights of others long before their own. With that idea, these women also formed ideals about "what is a women and what she should do." The idea of the "domesticated woman" came about in this time period in America and it supported women's quest in keeping the house clean and men and children fed all while keeping herself respectful and virtuous. Theses characteristics can be seen all throughout Oklahoma! when looking at the marriage at the end and the box social (ie. women offering themselves along with a meal made by them through an auction that the men can then buy at their leisure.)
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Women's Right to Vote
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Hey, Go Oklahoma! The state was one of the early states to give women the right to vote. Like Oklahoma, Indiana also gave women the right to vote in the same year (1917.) This video talks about the main figures in the women's suffragette movement in the 20th century and how it differs from the 19th century. Like the differences between the 19th and 20th century suffragette movements, the musical Oklahoma! shows how Aunt Eller and some of the older women in the town and the younger generation (ie. Laurie and Ado Annie) differ in views of women. When Ado Annie, for example, explains to the people of the musical that she "can't say no" when it comes to attention from men and uses that disposition to her benefit, character do not chastise her or yell at her. She feels confident to speak her mind about her relationship with men because of the work of the suffragette movement. Without the suffragettes, Ado Annie would either not say that she "can't say no" or would be immediately perceived as a "little hussy" for saying it.
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Women's fashion and how it changed in the early 20th century
The Duality of the Suffragette Movement
The turn of the 20th century brought many changes, including the way society perceived women, or at least middle and upper class women. Many pushes for women's rights gain momentum in the 19th century and continued into the 20th century, including a woman's ability to divorce her husband, legal actions against men who beat his wife, men who ignored his family due to drinking habits and the list continues. While the main focus of the suffragette movement was to gain rights for women (including voting), another movement that many women supported was the prohibition movement. Prohibition, or the push to making alcohol illegal in that states, resonated well with many women because they were tired of having their husbands, brothers, and other male figures disappear to the saloon or bar for hours at a time, become highly inebriated, and then come home only to beat or neglect the family. While there was also huge component of Christianity (specifically protestantism) in the push towards revoking the right consume alcohol, women were the major drive towards the 18th amendment. Since the suffragettes represented both movements, it is ironic that one movement (the right to vote) was as successful as it was, while prohibition was as much of a failure as it was. It is also interesting that the federal government passed the law to prohibit alcohol in the states before granting voting privileges to women. The failure of prohibition occurred because the common man was simply spiteful of the law and the amount of power the government assumed it possessed. This caused a huge increase in crime and lack of value towards the family. Eventually, the 18th amendment was over turned and alcohol returned to the people in 1933. The push of prohibition activitsts can be seen in Oklahoma through the women, especially in the marriage scene where there is no alcohol. Also, Jud is depicted as a person who drinks and also as the "other" signifying that the consumption of alcohol could be attributed as a "out group" characteristic rather than an "in group."