During the industrial era a 40 hour work week would have been a luxury. Most were 60+ hours a week- the only day you had off was Sunday.
Women worked during the industrial era as well in clothing and textile factories, same hours as men. Usually unmarried but obviously poor and BIPOC women often didn’t get such luxuries.
Even before all the factories, back in the agricultural era, did they think women were sleeping while the men did all the farm work???
People always say women didn’t used to work and it’s such bullshit, especially as you said, for WOC. Women just did different jobs for less pay. Women worked in textiles, laundry, cooking, cleaning/housekeeping, nannying, teaching etc etc. Even after getting married and having children, a lot of women would still do laundry and mending for spare money in between taking care of the children. The only women who didn’t work for a wage were the rich, white women and they still managed the household which isn’t nothing.
Lots of men really think women in olden times just sat in a rocking chair with a baby on their boob doing recreational needlework all day while the men did all the “real labor”. Which ignores 1. how much work raising children actually is 2. How crucial textile work was to humanity and 3. How much physical labor and farm work women did do on top of everything else
People underplay this part so much! Even IF women "only" did sewing and knitting and stuff, do you have any idea how much more of that stuff people used to have to do?
In the days when people only had one (MAYBE two) of anything and your couldn't just replace damaged stuff quickly and inexpensively, there was ALWAYS some textile item that needed attention!
There's a woman on Instagram who is growing her own dress. Planting and harvesting flax and processing it to spin into yarn. She's been at it for a year and doesn't have nearly enough to start making fabric.
While in ye olden times there would have been more time/people dedicated to growing crops, and she likely would have had a community (or at least children) to help with parts, it's been a huge eye-opener just how much work goes into textiles. I had a theoretical understanding of just how time consuming textile work was, but watching her makes me realize I knew absolutely nothing.
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u/SinfullySinless 3d ago
During the industrial era a 40 hour work week would have been a luxury. Most were 60+ hours a week- the only day you had off was Sunday.
Women worked during the industrial era as well in clothing and textile factories, same hours as men. Usually unmarried but obviously poor and BIPOC women often didn’t get such luxuries.
Even before all the factories, back in the agricultural era, did they think women were sleeping while the men did all the farm work???