Worlds apart: The class consciousness of working class women

Abstract

Synopsis This paper is a tentative analysis of the relations between trade union ideology (as experienced by the husbands) and class imagery (especially that expressed by the wives) in a small sample of working class married couples. It is drawn from a wider study of class consciousness and the ways in which it is mediated and expressed in the different experiences of men and women which focuses especially on women at home and men at work. It begins with a brief review of the literature of class imagery and consciousness, and of ‘women's studies≐. It points out the lacuna of studies of working class women and their ideas on either class or sex. dispute in one factory on both the men and women connected with it in various ways. The discussion then broadens to a brief survey of specifically the women's responses to wider issues of industry and politics and how this is related to their experience as women. Finally I attempt to describe how these women see themselves and their position as women, and the way this relates to how they see themselves as working class. The main point is that true class consciousness cannot be developed either by men or women independently of one another.