Controlling Representations: Depictions of Women in a Mainstream Newspaper, 1900-1950

Scholars have recently been examining public representations of women and minorities and considering the impact of these representations. What is missing is a thorough study of the first half of the 20th century, in period in which the current codes for women’s behavior developed. What is also missing is attention to the role of the daily newspaper in establishing those codes. Studying this medium can show how the daily representation of appropriate and inappropriate cultural roles occurred - thus, what women in each decade were expected to be. This is the first study that specifically considers how this ongoing discourse affected women and their families.