Blurring the Lines of Gender Roles in the Early 20th Century Featured Through Photographs

Throughout her diary entries, Olive Allen Biller uses a variety of artistic measures in her diary to help her document moments and current events in her life. Aside from using various journal entries and poems, she also shares her life experiences through the medium of photography. I will analyze the two photos and their captions above, and investigate how these photos alone can be seen as a subtle form of patriarchal resistance and the diminishment of apparent gender roles in the early twentieth century.

Many of the photos she chooses to feature throughout her diaries include family photos. In two particular photos shown above, Biller features what seems to be of her family members and potentially some friends as well. In the first picture above, you can see what is the male members of Biller’s family; a photo of them is captured as they are seated at a dining table while chatting away and knitting. In the second picture, you can see a group of ladies; a photo taken while they speak amongst each other relaxing with their feet kicked up by the fireplace. Some questions you may be asking so far are “why are the men knitting?” and “why are the women ‘relaxing’?” Especially since these were taken early in the twentieth century, something seems to be odd; as gender roles were very distinct back in that time. Typically, women were the people who were possessing the role as a homemaker: one who raises the children, cleans the house, and cooking dinner; all while the husband is working a job to provide income for his family. While women were very restricted to act like “ladies,” and to fulfill to their best ability the role of a homemaker, the ladies featured in the picture seems to be going against that existing social norm. As we analyze these photos further, we will also look at the bigger picture: rebelling patriarchy and blurring the lines of gender roles.

Now shifting our focus, we can take a look into the brief captions titled below each picture. Attached to the photo of the seemingly content knitting men, the caption reads as “The Ladies.” Along with the photo of the women candidly chatting and relaxing, the caption reads “The Gentlemen.” As these photos clearly show that the captions mean differently (in fact, the opposite) from those featured in the pictures, a sense of irony can be apparent in these photos along with their captions. The first basic identification of irony is that the women are titled as men, and the men are titled as women. Why would Biller do this? Was it an inside joke between her and her family? Or could it be seen as a part of something bigger? Although it is uncertain, through analyzing these two photos, it can be assumed that these two pictures with their associated captions can be seen as an attempted mockery of gender roles and a rebel of patriarchy in that time. Through the use of humour in these featured photos, it is very evident that men knitting was equally as uncommon as women ‘kicking back’ and relaxing with friends. By Biller having her and her family mock the roles of man and woman, she is essentially blurring the lines of gender roles that continue to exist today. This act of resistance would have been seen as a very bold move in her time, since gender roles were strictly enforced in the early twentieth century. But, since she documented this in her personal diary and assumed it never would have been seen, she attempted (as also seen in her journal entries and poems) to resist patriarchy by placing women in alternative positions that are opposite of what is expected of women in society. In this case, it is clear that Biller attempted to resist patriarchy and the stereotypical roles of a women in her time through documenting different stories and experiences in her diaries.

Compared to back in the twentieth century, women’s rights movements and norms are much more apparent. Gender roles are continually challenged in the media, every day life and conversation, music, social media, and more. In one particular advertisement produced by The Body Shop (a cosmetic skincare brand), they recently featured a picture of two siblings, a boy and girl. Closely listed beside the picture, it reads “Meet Alex: future sportstar, Prime Minister, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist (shown here with her brother, Chris).” Many could have assumed that these career goals belonged to Chris, but rather they belonged to Alex: a young girl with big dreams. This advertisement can be seen as a challenge to society that people should open their eyes to the fact that girls can be whichever they choose to be, too. This advertisement can be compared to Biller’s photo entry in her diary as it challenges readers to reject the notion that women should fulfill the female gender role of a homemaker.

In conclusion, through artistic mediums, Biller seems to summon the notion that women should sit nicely and only exist to provide for her family, and to rebel against the silence that faced many women during the early twentieth century instead. Although only two photos were featured in this post, the analyzation of these photos were critical to realizing that Biller effectively used the method of photography in a relatively personal means for her diary to reject patriarchal norms that existed in her society.

Works Cited

Biller, Olive Allen. Journal Volume 4. Journals. 1901-1904. Box 1. Olive Allen Biller fonds. University of British Columbia Rare Books and Special Collections, Vancouver, Canada.