Why did women’s roles change so dramatically in the West in the period after 1945? These years saw major changes in those roles, and in dominant understandings of female selfhood, from a model based on self-abnegation to one based on self-fulfilment. The roots of this shift have often been located in the post-1968 feminist movement and in economic change. Examining this question through the lens of Great Britain, this article, however, centres working-class women as drivers of these changes, drawing on oral history interviews with over 100 women from coalfield communities. In the decades after 1950, these women constructed a new vernacular discourse of gender equality which had profound implications for the position of women in society. This vernacular discourse shared some similarities with post-1968 feminism, but rather than focusing on the division of domestic and paid labour, or sexual violence, it emphasized women’s autonomy, individuality and voice. In constructing it, working-class women drew on pervasive post-war ideas about equality and democracy, discourses of individualism and individual fulfilment, and discourses of ‘companionate’ marriage and ‘child-centred’ parenting in order to make claims for women’s rights. Through doing so, they constructed women not only as wives and mothers, but also as free and equal individuals.

中文翻译：

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战后英国工人阶级的性别平等白话话语

为什么在 1945 年之后的时期，西方女性的角色发生了如此巨大的变化？这些年来，这些角色以及对女性自我的主流理解发生了重大变化，从基于自我克制的模式转变为基于自我实现的模式。这种转变的根源往往在于 1968 年后的女权运动和经济变革。然而，本文从英国的角度审视这个问题，将工人阶级女性作为这些变化的驱动力，并借鉴了对来自煤田社区的 100 多名女性的口述历史采访。在 1950 年后的几十年里，这些女性构建了一种新的关于性别平等的白话话语，这对女性在社会中的地位产生了深远的影响。这种白话话语与 1968 年后的女权主义有一些相似之处，但它并没有关注家务劳动和有偿劳动的分工或性暴力，而是强调妇女的自主权、个性和发言权。在构建它的过程中，工人阶级妇女利用了战后普遍存在的关于平等和民主的思想、个人主义和个人成就的话语，以及“伴侣”婚姻和“以孩子为中心”的养育方式，以主张妇女的权利。通过这样做，他们不仅将女性塑造为妻子和母亲，而且将女性塑造为自由平等的个体。以及“伴侣式”婚姻和“以孩子为中心”的养育方式的论述，以主张妇女的权利。通过这样做，他们不仅将女性塑造为妻子和母亲，而且将女性塑造为自由平等的个体。以及“伴侣式”婚姻和“以孩子为中心”的养育方式的论述，以主张妇女的权利。通过这样做，他们不仅将女性塑造为妻子和母亲，而且将女性塑造为自由平等的个体。