Ashim Nabith

Professor Ditch
English 113B
21 March 2015
Nonconformity in World War 2

The book, The Guernsey and Potato Peel Pie Society was written after the Second World
War. The book is composed of letter written to the author Juliet about their experience during
German Occupation. World War 2 made many women more independent. During the occupation
of Guernsey Juliet and Elizabeth became non-conformist, going against the present gender role
in society. The war gave women the chance to get out of the house and work in factories, fields
and any other jobs areas that were important to the war effort. During the German Occupation
many islanders like Elizabeth and Juliet didnt follow traditional gender roles and stereotypes
that are normal to society. The women like Juliet and Elizabeth became more independent and
hardworking outside of the house. During World War 2 many women followed the traditional
gender norms of staying home and be a housewife and mom. Going against these gender norms
is now considered revolutionary because they are one of the first women to go against traditional
gender norms. Even after the war many women defied traditional gender roles and norms.
People who follow gender role are conformist; those who go against the roles for a
particular reason are non-conformists. In the book Juliet showed her independence from Mark.
When she decides to go to Guernsey Sidney asked her if Mark would allow it? On page 136
Juliet responds by saying, MARK REYNOLDS IS NOT IN A POSITION TO FORBID OR
ALLOW. This remark she made could be evidence of how Juliet is a non-conformist. She

shows her independence when she stated Mark Reynolds does have any say in her personal life
decision. This is an example of how Juliet became a nonconformist and went against gender
norms to be independent. During this time men had a huge say in what and where a women goes
and does. When she stated Mark Reynolds doesnt have a position to say what she can do she
stated her own independence over him and proved that his opinion doesnt matter in her life. In
the short story My Hips and My Caderas , the author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez she quotes, When
I want to be loved for my mind, I flock to liberal intellectuals, usually whites. Valdes-Rodriguez
explains that in her original gender norms she is seen as an object because of her broad hips
when she went outside her gender role and became more intellectual she started looking beyond
her ethnic region. Even though she goes against her original gender norms she doesnt go back
and that make her a nonconformist, she like Juliet states their independence. This can be seen
revolutionary or radical because it wasnt generally normal for women to go against their
respective native gender norms.
In the book on page 138 Amelia wrote Elizabeth kept Kits paternity a secret from her.
During the war Elizabeth falls in love with a German officer and they had a child out of wedlock.
During the war having relations with soldiers occupying your land wasnt accepted. Many
women who had relationships with German soldiers werent really accepted in society. They
were shunned and prosecuted for having relations with a German soldier. Having a child out of
wedlock during World War 2 wasnt accepted socially. Even today the majority of the world
dont socially accept having a child out of wedlock, especially in the western countries such as
America. It goes against the traditional womens gender performance. Women are expected to
meet a nice man, get married and have a child while being a stay in home mom. Elizabeth having

a baby out of wedlock proves that she is a nonconformist. She goes against social norms of what
a women is suppose to do and has a child out of wedlock.
On page 272 Juliet goes against gender roles when she proposes to Dawsey. It has been a
worldwide gender norm for men to propose to the women. When Juliet proposed to Dawsey it
became a huge deal. She proved that she isnt a conformist to the idea that only a man can
propose to a woman. By proposing to Dawsey she showed that she isnt conforming gender roles
and is going against it. Going against this particular gender norm doesnt have any social back
lash however it isnt normal for a women to propose to a man, especially during the time when
its a gender role for the man to propose. In the article Empowerment or Endurance? War Wives
Experiences of Independence During and After the Second World War in Germany, 1939-1948,
the author Hester Vaizey writes, The war, by contrast, gave married women greater opportunity
to be involved outside the private sphere. Many women who had to support their family worked
in factories to help the war effort. This is revolutionary because the many women before the war
worked in offices as a secretary or as a nurse. Moving from a stay in home mom to a tankbuilding factory is revolutionary in the short amount of time when the war started. While women
were working in factories multiple propaganda were created to recruit women. In the article,
Who Said this is a Mans War? propaganda, advertising discourse and the representation of
war worker women during the Second World War the author, Bilge Yesil quotes, Wartime
propaganda idealized the image of war worker woman and portrayed her as the strong,
competent, courageous unsung heroine of the home front. Yesil shows during the war women
were against the gender norm by working in factories to help the war effort. They werent really
depicted as strong and courageous. When the war started everything changed. Women started to
not conform to traditional gender roles and became nonconformist. Slowly they started to accept

their new gender roles as the ones who can provide for the family and became the idealistic
model for feminism.
While many people can agree with the idea that World War 2 made women non conform
to original gender roles and as a result became nonconformist, many can say that they arent
really nonconformists because they were forced into accepting gender roles change and
propaganda helped push women to work in factories for the war effort. During the war men were
taken from homes and no one could provide for the family except mostly for women. They were
forced into working in factories and other areas that helped the war effort. If they didnt work
then no one will provide for the family and they will slowly perish. The German Occupation of
Guernsey helped push women into working in factories because they had no choice for their
families. Like in the short story How to Tame a Wild Tongue, the author Gloria Anzaldua writes,
Chicanos, after 250 years of Spanish/Anglo colonization, have developed significant differences
in Spanish we speak. Anzaldua writes how during European colonization they changed the way
they spoke. This is just like the women during the war. Whether a woman was in occupied
territory or not she was pushed into being part of the war, whether its working in the factories or
removing rubble in the streets they were forced to do it. During the war propaganda was all over
the place. Countries used propaganda to rally up masses for a common cause. One type of
propaganda the United States of America used was the We Can Do it poster, produced by J.
Howard Miller it was meant to show that while men were fighting in battlefields for the war
women can also help them by working in factories that helped the war effort. It inspired many
women to join the war effort. This didnt influence them to go against gender norms and become
nonconformist. Only in the future years will it become a symbol for feminist all around the
world.

The book gives evidence to how women went against traditional gender roles and
stereotypes to live through World War 2, especially the occupation of Guernsey. Juliet and
Elizabeth are the two women, who really defied traditional gender roles. Juliet proposed to
Dawsey, which is huge because its a worldwide gender role for the man to propose. Once Juliet
proposed to Dawsey she defied her own gender role to be the one who is being proposed to. For
Elizabeth she had a child out of wedlock with a German soldier. She fell in love and had a child;
this is still socially unaccepted today. Its generally a womens gender role to have children after
they got married. In the end of World War 2 gender roles for women and men changed over
time, as did the world. Women got more rights all over the world, especially in areas that were
touched by the war such as Europe, Japan and America. Even after the war many women were
still independent, especially those who lost their husbands during the war. Others who had
husbands and fathers returned most likely returned to the traditional gender roles. Those who
were still independent were part of a movement that would lead to more equality rights for
women in Europe and America. During the German occupation Juliet and Elizabeth had more
independence and were more independent to do what was considered manly. This is true for
many women during and after the war. The war gave women an opportunity to work outside of
the house, which gave them independence. This independence women started having during and
after World War 2 becomes a radical change in the future. This change will push forward for
future feminist to fight for gender equality. The kind of independence Juliet, Elizabeth and other
women who went against traditional gender roles during and after the war were a new kind of
nonconformist. A kind of nonconformist that will make most of them modern feminist. Juliet and
Elizabeth can be considered modern day feminist because they go against traditional gender
norms and are more independent.

Work Cited Page

1. Yesil, Bilge. "'Who Said This Is A Man's War?': Propaganda, Advertising Discourse And
The Representation Of War Worker Women During The Second World War." Media
History 10.2 (2004): 103-117. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
2. Shaffer, Mary Ann.Barrows, Annie.The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society.
New York, N.Y. : Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
3. Vaizey, Hester. "Empowerment Or Endurance? War Wives Experiences Of Independence
During And After The Second World War In Germany, 19391948." German History
29.1 (2011): 57-78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
4. Valdes, Alisa. "My Hips, My Caderas." The Contemporary Reader 9 (2008): 69-71. Print.
5. Anzaldua, Gloria. "How To Tame a Wild Tongue." Situating Inquiry. 6th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. 252-60. Print.