Aaron Garrett

Gender Discrimination in World War II: A WAVES and WASPS Perspective

History 264-02

July 17, 2015

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During World War II, women broke new ground in challenging stereotypes. However,

the status quo sought to maintain traditional gender roles. Two organizations of women in

particular during World War II took the brunt of this sexist onslaught, the WAVES (Women

Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service), and WASPS (Women Air Force Service Pilots).

However, many women in these two organizations witnessed no gender prejudice. This paper

examines how women in the WAVES and WASPS experienced gender discrimination from

within and without the military establishment. It provides a brief history of women in World War

II, discusses the organizations themselves, and hones in on the words of the women serving at

that time. The women who served in World War II experienced gender inequality, even if

ignorance or lack of a term obscured their perception of it.

Women during World War II experienced unprecedented opportunities, allowing them to

enter sectors of the United States job market usually reserved for men.1 They entered many areas

such as industrial and military sectors to support the war effort. But while access to industrial

work gave women a new way to dash stereotypes, military service proved unique. The choice of

women to become soldiers “was the most dramatic break with traditional sex roles that occurred

in the twentieth century.”2 However, from the beginning women encountered a backlash to their

military service. They discovered enormous hurdles in trying to overcome the rigid views of that

time period.3 Despite the opposition they encountered, women still entered in droves into the

military, for many reasons, patriotism among the most prominent.

Patriotism became a common thread that united the women who joined the workforce,

especially the military. Surveys confirm this motivation as the first reason the majority of women

1 Susan Godson, Serving Proudly: A History of Women in the U.S. Navy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2001), 106.2 D’Ann Campbell, Women at War: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), 19.3 Emily Yellin, Our Mother’s War: American Women at Home and at the Front during World War II (New York, NY: Free Press, 2004), 142.

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entered the war.4 This patriotic resolve eventually led some 2.3 million women to enter the

workforce by 1944.5 In particular, military women who served came to recognize the

significance of their service, and “identify themselves with the same principles of military order

and discipline as men.”6 However, men proved one of the greatest forms of opposition.

Many men believed that the traditionally male-only U.S military came under attack

during World War II. Enlisted men became hostile towards the idea of women serving, even

suggesting that such service diminished a man’s masculinity.7 Leila Rupp, in her examination of

propaganda and women in World War II, remarked that if a woman performed a masculine

occupation, society regarded that service as less important and acceptable.8 Women joining the

military often entered and performed service despised by many. By the end of World War II

some men even thought that women’s service caused a woman to lose a portion of her feminine

character.9 Other forces also played a significant role to challenge women.

Pressures from traditionalists also fought against women’s service during World War II.

In the year 1943, a slander campaign against women originated from enlisted men. These men

“started and perpetuated the slander” that “women’s intrusion into the male military world”

threatened their position.10 This campaign never penetrated the military brass. In fact during this

time the government of the United States seriously considered a way of alleviating the problem

4 D’Ann Campbell, Women at War, 36.5 Brenda Ralph Lewis, Women at War: The Women of World War II – At Home, at Work, on the Front Line (Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest, 2002), 15.6 Kathleen M. Ryan, “Uniform Matters: Fashion Design in World War II Women’s Recruitment,” Journal of American Culture, no. 4 (December 2014): 427, accessed May 30, 2015, http://web.b.ebscohost.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f8c53b8d-0ddd472-a4f3-c70239b257ee%40sessionmgr115&vid=3&hid=110.7 D’Ann Campbell, “Women in Uniform: The World War II Experiment,” Military Affairs 51, no. 3 (1987): 137, accessed June 13, 2015, http://search.proquest.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/1296714468/fulltextPDF/1ECF5B31204744CCPQ/1?accountid=9817.8 Leila J. Rupp, Mobilizing Women for War: German and American Propaganda, 1939-1945 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978), 5. 9 Ibid., 163. 10 Susan H. Godson, Serving Proudly, 115.

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of a lack of men in combat.11 This time period from 1942 to 1943 became the moment when the

WAVES and WASPS began.

The WAVES started in 1942 as a branch of the Navy for women, and by the end of the

war some 100,000 women joined and served.12 The acronym itself implied a prejudicial and

apprehensive attitude towards women. Elizabeth Reynard, a Lieutenant in World War II, created

the acronym. By adding the word emergency she appeased superiors by giving the impression

that a woman’s service equated to only a temporary service.13 Momentary or not, women quickly

enrolled in the WAVES. While unlawful to draft women at that time, the Navy relied primarily

on volunteers, hence the volunteer part of the acronym.14 Once women joined, they often found

their roles riddled with ambiguity and gender discrimination.

The role of a WAVE lacked a clear sense of direction. Often women discovered that their

jobs overlapped each other.15 Popular magazines spun the attitude that women’s service

functioned as a means to an end. In a March 1945 article in Time magazine, it declared that the

“WAVES had released more than 70,000 men for combat, which was the same as adding 70,000

men to the Navy’s muster.”16 Characterizing the service provided by WAVES as a replacement

exercise really demeaned women. D’Ann Campbell, one of the most prominent modern voices

on women in World War II agrees. She argued that American society allowed women to enter

World War II not for the purpose of breaking some barrier in society, but to “free men for more

‘masculine’ duties like combat.”17 While the modern term sexism seldom entered the vernacular

11 D’Ann Campbell, Women at War, 37.12 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too: World War II letters from American Women in Uniform (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1994), 29. 13 Emily Yellin, Our Mother’s War, 137.14 Kathleen M. Ryan, “Uniform Matters,” 419.15 D’Ann Campbell, Women at War, 49.16 Emily Yellin, Our Mother’s War, 138.17 D’Ann Campbell, “Women in Uniform,” 137.

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of the 1940s, clearly such gender prejudice happened in the WAVES. The records of women

themselves provide us the greatest first-hand accounts of what really happened.18

Often the women in the WAVES mentioned the pledge or song that united them around a

common goal. This WAVE song provides insight into attitudes at that time. It reads,

“WAVES of the NavyThere’s a ship sailing down the bay;And it won’t slip into port againUntil our Victory DayCARRY ON! For that gallant shipAnd for every hero braveWho will find ashoreHis man-sized choreWas done by a NAVY WAVE”19

The phrase man-sized chore implied that a WAVES’s service boiled down to taking the place of

men. Demeaning these women to a filler role for men showed the extent of gender prejudice

attitudes at that time. Once on the job, some women clearly observed this in action.

From letters by WAVES, it becomes clear that gender inequality played an active role in

their working conditions. Helen Gunter remarked that early on in her service she ended up

having many jobs, mostly busy work because “officers aren’t supposed to be typists.”20 Typists

remained the work of women, placing women below the capability of men. Gunter, who

specialized in filming, actually helped the Navy direct some informational movies. While a step

in the right direction, she still encountered many days of not filming. She often performed

routine tasks assigned to men, while sadly acknowledging that she preferred “working on the

creative side of writing and directing.”21 Through performing busy work or the tasks of men,

women in the WAVES experienced constant hurdles in trying to achieve small gains.

18 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 7.19 Helen Clifford Gunter, Navy Wave: Memories of World War II (Fort Bragg, CA: Cypress House Press, 1992), 135.20 Ibid., 52.21 Ibid., 57.

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Once they left this organization many knew that whatever ground they made amounted to

nothing afterwards. Betty Farris remarked that if discharged from the WAVES she dreaded the

idea of going back to a desk job because of her experiences.22 With no benefits from their

service, and certainly little formal recognition from society at large, the WAVES returned to the

same types of jobs as before the war. This anxiety Farris experienced stemmed from the lack of

confidence her military superiors placed in the WAVES organization.

Many military leaders viewed the service provided by WAVES with a skeptical lens.

Gunter pointed out that many officers lacked confidence in the WAVES.23 This lack of

confidence originated with discriminatory cultural tendencies. Another WAVE during World

War II, Winifred Collins, wrote about this attitude. She mentioned that women constantly

became forced into proving themselves to the men around them.24 Writing in retrospect, she

remarked that this attitude stemmed from sexist ideas about women’s role in society.25 The

WAVES encountered gender discrimination, but while some directly called it out, many ignored

or belittled it.

The reasons behind this attitude vary for each woman. Margaret Anderson said she felt

“that the WAVES were the elite branch of the service.”26 Clearly the status of WAVE brought

her joy and satisfaction. Others felt like the distinctly women’s branch set itself apart. Winifred

Collins believed that during her service the distinctly feminine look of the WAVES, most clearly

exhibited in the uniform, distinguished themselves. Wearing a man’s uniform appeared

22 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, 53.23 Helen Clifford Gunter, Navy Wave, 56.24 Winifred Quick Collins and Herbert M. Levine, A Navy Woman in a Navy Man’s World (Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1997), 91. 2425 Ibid., 90.26 Kathleen M. Ryan, “Uniform Matters,” 420.25

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inappropriate and unbecoming of women.27 The ever-present theme of releasing a man for

combat also allowed some WAVES to ignore the underlying problems of gender inequality.

Most WAVES joined to contribute their part to the war effort. Eunice McConnell

remarked that she felt joy in performing whatever the Navy wanted, justifying her position by

stating that she provided “[her] share to help” the Allies win the war.28 McConnell recognized no

discrimination against her. In reality such ideas of gender discrimination never entered their

culture. When it came down to it, most of the women in the WAVES signed up to win the war

quickly by releasing men to fight the Axis powers.29 While some recognized gender prejudice,

many ignored it out of duty to country or feeling part of something greater than themselves.

Others truly demonstrated obliviousness to the plight of women in America. While inequality of

gender in the WAVES organization becomes clear upon reading between the lines, the WASPS

encountered a more explicit form of gender discrimination.

Before the WASP organization formed the government already created a top secret

project aimed at determining the need for women pilots.30 In 1942, two organizations, the WAFS

(Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron) and WFTD (Women’s Flying Training Detachment)

formed.31 By the end of 1943 the two organizations merged into the WASPS.32 The early

WASPS trained in Houston, Texas, and later ones trained at a more permanent base in

2727 Winifred Quick Collins and Herbert M. Levine, A Navy Woman in a Navy Man’s World, 33.28 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 96.2829 Joan Angel, Angel of the Navy: The Story of a WAVE (New York, NY: Hasting’s House, 1943), 3-4.2930 Molly Merryman, Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II (New York, NY: New York University Press, 1998), 6.

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31 Ibid., 7. 32 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 30.

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Sweetwater, Texas.33 From its inception in 1943 it became clear that this organization, even more

so than the WAVES, broke new ground for women in World War II.

While the WASPS broke new ground, the organization required strict qualifications to

enter. The women who joined needed a pilot’s license and a high level of maturity and

education.34 Molly Merryman’s overview of the WASP organization pointed out that these

qualifications ended up not imposed on men.35 For the same job requiring the same work, women

and men needed different criteria. Clearly this stems from gender discrimination and a lack of

providing equal employment opportunities to both men and women. Once a woman began her

service in the WASPS, the role she took on exposed more tensions.

The task of a woman in the WASPS clearly held on to tradition and confirmed the

narrative prevalent at that time. General Henry Arnold, the Army Air Forces Commander over

the WASPS, laid out three main objectives for the organization at its inception. These became,

“1. To see if women could serve as military pilots, and, if so, to form the nucleus of an organization which could be rapidly expanded.2. To release male pilots for combat.3. To decrease the Air Forces’ total demands for the cream of the manpower pool”36

The first objective suggested that women required testing to see if they even qualified for this job

usually done by men. The second objective towed the line used similarly in the WAVES

organization that a woman’s service merely amounted to a means to an end. The third objective

expands on the second, suggesting implicitly the inferiority of women to men. Day to day, the

work of a WASP showed this. The main task of a WASP became ferrying airplanes, and by the

time of the last graduating class in December 1944, some half of all WASPS spent their entire

time doing this.37 Providing ferry transport, while a dangerous task throughout the war, indicated 33 Molly Merryman, Clipped Wings, 7. 34 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 7. 35 Molly Merryman, Clipped Wings, 28-29.36 Ibid., 7. 37 Ibid., 23.

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that the realm of combat remained completely closed to women. Some other tasks included test

piloting aircraft, training crews, and even top secret missions.38 While often viewed as breaking

new ground, for the most part it still fit the gender stereotypes of women teaching, leaving the

more dangerous jobs to men. Ultimately the WASPS crumbled as an organization, a downfall

which started with a failure to militarize.

As with the WAVES, the WASPS offered women only a temporary organization during

the war. Unlike the WAVES however, the WASPS took steps to ensure their organization

continued beyond the conflict. In September of 1943, shortly after its outset, “Representative

John Costello of California introduced the WASP Militarization bill, House Resolution 3358” for

consideration.39 This landmark bill said, in part that, “during the present war and six months

thereafter there shall be included in the Air Forces of the Army such licensed female pilots as the

Secretary of War may consider necessary.”40 If the bill passed it provided a great leap forward

towards women’s equality in the military, even if only for a short period. To even conceive of

such a thing seemed impossible when the United States entered the war less than two years

before. However the debate over this proposed bill became marred with intense gender

discrimination. The media through radio and newspaper provided some of the more vocal

opposition.

In 1943, much of the media called for a quick and decisive end to the war, and with that,

“a return of women from factories and the military to their homes.”41 The media convinced the

American public to return to the traditional way of life. The thought of a military organization

38 Ibid., 24.39 Ibid., 75.40 Ibid.41 Ibid., 82.

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like the WASPS cut against the grain of traditional gender roles. Eventually this pressure,

combined with other factors caused the militarization bill to fail in the House of Representatives.

After the disappointment in the House, the WASPS faced three choices. First, support the

Senate version of the bill still circulating through Congress. Second, halt WASP training while

keeping the WASP members on active duty. Third, end the WASP program altogether.42 The

third choice ended up, sadly enough, becoming the only course of action. About a year after the

House bill came up for consideration, General Arnold informed the head of the WASP

organization, Jacqueline Cochran, that her women “successfully completed their mission and…

would ‘soon become pilot material in excess of needs.’ ”43 This statement not only meant the

termination of the WASPS, but also grounded it on discriminatory reasoning. To even equate

women with material clearly exposed the belief of female inferiority.

During the tenure of the WASP organization, many women knew of something wrong

going on. Thelma Miller remarked that her and other fellow WASPS performed their tasks as

required, with the objective of freeing up men, adding that the Air Force “[was] very short on

combat pilots.”44 This clearly demonstrates sexism, and again shows that combat remained a

man’s job. Another WASP named Marion Stegeman remarked that, “If [she went] into the

Army, they could chain [her] to a typewriter for the duration plus six months.”45 While

referencing the militarization bill in her statement, she actually expected her situation to worsen

upon its passing. The women who joined the WASPS frequently interacted with men, and these

men often reacted in a chauvinistic manner towards them.

42 Ibid., 102. 43 Ibid., 115.44 Ibid., 6. 45 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 120.

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The WASPS encountered men in their line of work who opposed them. Marie Clark

taught men and women while a WASP. One time she “instructed [her] first student in instrument

flying” but the man already knew the material, but remarked that Clark “knows more about

instruments than I do!”46 The utter surprise of this student demonstrated gender prejudice. In his

mind, a woman knowing more than a man seemed highly unlikely. This attitude also played out

in other areas of training. When the flight times of men exceeded that of women, Madge

Rutherford remarked that the men “hated to see a woman beat their time.”47 Such discrimination

paled in comparison to some of the blatant cases seen. A WASP remarked that one time a man

who believed in a male only Air Force put sugar into the gas tank of a WASPS’s plane, and the

woman subsequently crashed.48 The WASPS endured gender inequality at all levels, yet some

failed to recognize it.

Failure to notice gender discrimination became common in the WASPS. Katherine Steele

speaking later of World War II mentioned that the experience united everyone together,

regardless of gender.49 This idealistic way of conceptualizing the war certainly glossed over the

clear gender discrimination the WASPS endured. Another WASP remarked at a later date that,

“Today it is inconceivable that women would be treated this way” but also noted that she

remained unwilling to “dwell on [that] aspect of the WASP experience.”50 Again this

demonstrates the tendency on the part of both WASPS and WAVES to discredit, even decades

later, the real problem of gender inequality present during their military service. Later on she

mentioned she “misjudged the feelings of the male pilots regarding any resentment they may

46 Marie Mountain Clark, Dear Mother and Daddy: World War II Letters Home from a WASP, An Autobiography (Livonia, MI: First Page Publications, 2005), 117.47 Judy Barrett Litoff and David C. Smith, We’re in This War, too, 57.48 Molly Merryman, Clipped Wings, 26-27.49 Ibid., 14.50 Marie Mountain Clark, Dear Mother and Daddy, 187-188.

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have felt about our flying.”51 Not all men showed blatant chauvinism towards women, but

instances of implied gender discrimination still filled their service. Finally, this same WASP

pointed out that any “bullying [they] got from [their] junior officers was…not typical of the

treatment WASPs generally received” and that “excessive use of force…was infrequent.”52 The

military requires discipline, but women in the WASPS clearly received different treatment.

World War II provided women with an experience to break apart barriers. The WAVES

and WASPS represented only a fraction of the women who served in World War II. Their

experiences, however, clearly demonstrated sexist attitudes engrained in American society.

Whether overt or subtle, this contributed to a degradation and discredit of women’s service.

Since 1945 these women received their due justice for faithful service to the United States of

America, the only solace for years of gender prejudice during World War II.

Bibliography

Angel, Joan. Angel of the Navy: The Story of a WAVE. New York, NY: Hastings House, 1943.

51 Ibid., 132.52 Ibid., 124.

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Campbell, D’Ann. Women at War: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984.

———. “Women in Uniform: The World War II Experiment.” Military Affairs 51, no. 3 (1987): 137-139. Accessed June 13, 2015. http://search.proquest.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/1296714468/fulltextPDF/1ECF5B31204744CCPQ/1?accountid=9817.

Clark, Marie Mountain. Dear Mother and Daddy: World War II Letters Home from a WASP, An Autobiography. Livonia, MI: First Page Publications, 2005.

Collins, Winifred Quick, and Herbert M. Levine. More than a Uniform: A Navy Woman in a Navy Man’s World. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1997.

Godson, Susan H. Serving Proudly: A History of Women in the U.S. Navy. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2001.

Gunter, Helen Clifford. Navy Wave: Memories of World War II. Fort Bragg, CA: Cypress House Press, 1992.

Lewis, Brenda Ralph. Women at War: The Women of World War II – At Home, at Work, on the Front Line. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest, 2002.

Litoff, Judy Barrett, and David C. Smith. We’re in this war, too: World War II letters from American women in uniform. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Merryman, Molly. Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II. New York: NY: New York University Press, 1998.

Rupp, Leila J. Mobilizing Women for War: German and American Propaganda, 1939-1945. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1978.

Ryan, Kathleen M. “Uniform Matters: Fashion Design in World War II Women’s Recruitment.” Journal of American Culture 37, no. 4 (December 2014): 419-429. Accessed May 30, 2015. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f8c53b8d-0ddd472-a4f3-c70239b257ee%40sessionmgr115&vid=3&hid=110.

Yellin, Emily. Our Mother’s War: American Women at Home and at the Front during World War II. New York, NY: Free Press, 2004.

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