Harbingers of feminism?: Gender, cultural capital and education in mid-20th century rural Wales
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0954-0253
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Peer reviewed
Abstract
This paper reports the results of a small scale narrative study of men and women who grew up in mid-20th rural Wales and their reminiscences regarding women and education. Although the dominant image of Wales during that era is of a male dominated society, all of our participants remembered influential independent women and educational aspiration for both girls and boys. We use Bourdieusian notions of types of cultural capital and the role of women in transmitting this to illuminate our participants' narratives. Accounts of family life disclosed themes of sacrifice concerning education, poverty during childhood and the role of school teaching as a career for women. Yet at the some time, there were forms of exclusion in operation. In conclusion, we suggest that in many ways, the women remembered by our participants could be seen as forerunners of the second wave of feminism.