#history of workers

[resplendentoutfit]

The non-resplendid Outfit: What poor women wore in the mid to late 1800s, Victorian era

Housemaids, early 1860’s. They are dressed in their best for the photographer, but look at their hands. From Victorian Working Women. They could perhaps have scullury maids, who were a lower ranked of housemaid.

Fig. 1 - Washerwoman and young girl • Mid-1800's

Fig. 2 - From 'Street Life in London', 1877, by John Thomson and Adolphe Smith. "The accompanying photograph represents a second-hand clothes shop in a narrow thoroughfare of St. Giles."

Fig. 3 - These women were referred to as "tip girls". Their job was to unload mine refuse from train cars and on to the "tip" of the mountains of mine waste. Tredegar, Wales, 1865. Photo by W. Clayton from Victorian Working Women

fig. 4 - This dress features a loose fitting, unlined bodice gathered gently under the bust and at the center back. The sleeves are cut moderately to encourage movement and feature a short cuff with button closure. The semi full skirt is gathered into a waistband and attached to the bodice. The skirt is hemmed to the ankle with a single turn hem. The gown closes at the center front with buttons. Shown over over a quilted petticoat and extra full petticoats. Typically worn between 1840 and 1890. This dress is a replica based on research.

Working class women in the Victorian era couldn't afford the latest fashions. They wore simple, practical clothing in a style dependent on their ooccupation. In figure 1, The woman is wearing a simple dress and cape. Her clothing looks clean because she's a washerwoman; her clothing only exposed to water and soap. Her dress is very similar to the one in figure 4.

In figure 2, the women working in the second-hand clothes shop are also performing work that isn't likely to soil their clothing. It's interesting to discover there were such shops. I always assumed poor women of this era made their own clothing.

A job such as handling coal (figure 3) was such dirty work that the clothing worn for it had to be made from thick, rough fabrics and cut loose to facilitate movement. The dirtier and more physically demanding the work, the rougher the clothing.

[slithymomerath]

“I am typing these words as June 2003 surges with Pride. What year is it now, as you read them? What has been won; what has been lost? I can’t see from here; I can’t predict. But I know this: You are experiencing the impact of what we in the movement take a stand on and fight for today. The present and past are the trajectory of the future. But the arc of history does not bend towards justice automatically—as the great Abolitionist Frederick Douglass observed, without struggle there is no progress . . .”

- Leslie Feinberg

[leviathangourmet]

[marzipanandminutiae]

tumblr: your boss is not your friend! they shouldn't be making you do emotional labor! work-life balance! do only what they pay you for and then check out! [to be clear, I agree with this sentiment]

also tumblr: omg why is this literary protagonist saying she's LONELY when there are SERVANTS ALL AROUND HER?! what a SNOB she is to not BEFRIEND THEM AND TELL THEM ALL HER TROUBLES!!!

[nesyanast]

On November 23, 1909, more than twenty thousand Jewish Yiddish-speaking immigrants, mostly young women in their teens and early twenties, launched an eleven-week general strike in New York’s shirtwaist industry. Dubbed the Uprising of the 20,000, it was the largest strike by women to date in American history. The young strikers’ courage, tenacity, and solidarity forced the predominantly male leadership in the “needle trades” and the American Federation of Labor to revise their entrenched prejudices against organizing women. The strikers won only a portion of their demands, but the uprising sparked five years of revolt that transformed the garment industry into one of the best-organized trades in the United States.

[shu-of-the-wind]

okay because i am DEATHLY curious about this, please select from the options below. reblog with your country of origin as well please.

ETA BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GETTING SNARKY: i am asking it this specific way with these specific poll options (american vs non-american) because it's my understanding and experience that most US state public schools actively suppress any teaching of labor history in any concrete way to the point of editing textbooks. i'm not trying to be an american exclusionist here or say that there weren't non-american labor movements. i'm saying that as a historian with degrees i have noticed that there is a very different attitude towards teaching labor history in the united states than there is in other countries. for fuck's sake.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Earlier this year in Halifax, a former sex worker won a precedent-setting case. Brogan, the plaintiff, took a client to small claims court for not paying her and she won! It’s the first time a court has ruled on the enforceability of contracts between sex workers and their clients. It affirms what we’ve been saying all along: sex work is work!

In January of last year, Bradley Samuelson contacted Brogan on LeoList, an online advertising platform for sex workers. She told him her rate of $300 per hour plus transportation, he agreed and paid for her Uber to his apartment. She spent seven hours with her client, but after much wrangling, only got paid for an hour’s worth of work.

Unpacking the win

What’s really interesting about this decision is that the adjudicator gives not one, but two reasons why Brogan won her claim – the first being that a contract was established, the second being unjust enrichment. There is also a third reason that she deserved to win, but it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the ruling: the interconnectedness of payment and consent. I’ll be unpacking all three factors today. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[usnatarchives]

This #LaborDay, take a moment to explore our special topics page dedicated to the history of labor and labor rights in America. These records document and detail the struggle to define and assert workplace rights.

Learn more: https://archives.gov/news/topics/labor-day

[sailoreuterpe]

[yourdailyqueer]

Carol Leigh / The Scarlot Harlot (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 11 January 1951 

RIP: 16 November 2022

Ethnicity: White - American

Occupation: Artist, writer, activist, sex worker, playwright, director, producer

Note: Is credited with coining the term sex work and founded the Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival and was the co-founder of BAYSWAN, the Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network.

[resplendentoutfit]

The Maids of the Victorian Era

In the1800s and early 1900s the role of maid was relegated to women from families of modest means. It was a job that required a great deal of subjugation and a steady mood. It's presumed that some maids were subjected to the various moods of their employers, at the very least. At worse, servants were overworked and sometimes physically or sexually assaulted.

In terms of clothing, the role of maid required very little. The maid, while at work, either wore a uniform or a plain work dress. A white apron and cap were standard.

Wilhelm Amber • The Maid • 1862

The painting above shows a whimsical scene that if discovered by the employer may have resulted in a reprimand.

Except for the very rich, most households employed one servant – the "maid of all work". She was often a young girl who was taken in from the local workhouse. As the name implies, the role included all the chores of a household: cleaning, shopping, cooking, mending and washing. This grueling job paid very little due to the benefit of room and board. The maid often worked from early morning to late evening, with very little time off.

A simple black dress was often the uniform beneath the white apron. Notice in the photograph below that the two women are dressed identically.

George Lambert (Australian, 1873-1930) • The Maid • 1915 • National Gallery of Australia, Parkes

References:

Jane Austen's World: Regency Servants – Maid of All Work

My Learning: The Family at Shibden

Elizabeth Bailey's blog

[workersolidarity]

[chaellooo]

Just a lovely fun fact about Garmadon in spinjitsu brothers,,

GARMADON IS THE JEALOUS TYPE!! JEALOUS HUSBAND CONFIRMED!! If Garmadon acted like this to a girl he had a crush on before, then he definitely had a jealous moment like this with Misako,, possibly with her and Wu,,

Uhh uh.. jealous oni dragon hybrid monster husband...man misako is so y/n coded

[lucyvelvett001]

Do you want to date me??

[marzipanandminutiae]

brought to you by "The Myth of Lesbian Impunity: Capital Laws from 1270 to 1791" by Louis Crompton

when you first start studying queer history: sapphic acts have basically never been criminalized in any western society! so queer women have always had it easier than queer men!

when you delve even the slightest bit deeper: why do we still believe this

(OP cannot control who does and does not reblog this post, but she firmly believes that trans women are women)

[nemfrog]

Woman using Beckman/SDS Integrated Computer System. 1964.

Science History Institute