The Grasinski Girls

The Choices They Had and the Choices They Made


Cover of the book The Grasinski Girls by Mary Patrice Erdmans, Ohio University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary Patrice Erdmans ISBN: 9780821441619
Publisher: Ohio University Press Publication: August 4, 2004
Imprint: Ohio University Press Language: English
Author: Mary Patrice Erdmans
ISBN: 9780821441619
Publisher: Ohio University Press
Publication: August 4, 2004
Imprint: Ohio University Press
Language: English

The Grasinski Girls were working-class Americans of Polish descent, born in the 1920s and 1930s, who created lives typical of women in their day. They went to high school, married, and had children. For the most part, they stayed home to raise their children. And they were happy doing that. They took care of their appearance and their husbands, who took care of them. Like most women of their generation, they did not join the women's movement, and today they either reject or shy away from feminism.

Basing her account on interviews with her mother and aunts, Mary Erdmans explores the private lives of these white, Christian women in the post-World War II generation. She compares them, at times, to her own postfeminist generation. Situating these women within the religious routines that shaped their lives, Professor Erdmans explores how gender, class, ethnicity, and religion shaped the choices the Grasinski sisters were given as well as the choices they made. These women are both acted upon and actors; they are privileged and disadvantaged; they resist and surrender; they petition the Lord and accept His will.

The Grasinski Girls examines the complexity of ordinary lives, exposing privileges taken for granted as well as nuances of oppression often overlooked. Erdmans brings rigorous scholarship and familial insight to bear on the realities of twentieth-century working-class white women in America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Grasinski Girls were working-class Americans of Polish descent, born in the 1920s and 1930s, who created lives typical of women in their day. They went to high school, married, and had children. For the most part, they stayed home to raise their children. And they were happy doing that. They took care of their appearance and their husbands, who took care of them. Like most women of their generation, they did not join the women's movement, and today they either reject or shy away from feminism.

Basing her account on interviews with her mother and aunts, Mary Erdmans explores the private lives of these white, Christian women in the post-World War II generation. She compares them, at times, to her own postfeminist generation. Situating these women within the religious routines that shaped their lives, Professor Erdmans explores how gender, class, ethnicity, and religion shaped the choices the Grasinski sisters were given as well as the choices they made. These women are both acted upon and actors; they are privileged and disadvantaged; they resist and surrender; they petition the Lord and accept His will.

The Grasinski Girls examines the complexity of ordinary lives, exposing privileges taken for granted as well as nuances of oppression often overlooked. Erdmans brings rigorous scholarship and familial insight to bear on the realities of twentieth-century working-class white women in America.

More books from Ohio University Press

Cover of the book Hanging by a Thread by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book The History of Islam in Africa by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Fire Is Your Water by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Melodramatic Imperial Writing by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Slavery, Agriculture, and Malaria in the Arabian Peninsula by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Gendered Lives in the Western Indian Ocean by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Do They Miss Me at Home? by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Crazy Quilts by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Hollywood’s Africa after 1994 by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Nation of Outlaws, State of Violence by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Sponsored Migration by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book Political Appetites by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book It's in There!® by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book The Cultural Production of Matthew Arnold by Mary Patrice Erdmans
Cover of the book The Public and Its Problems by Mary Patrice Erdmans
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy