Women in German History: From Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexual Liberation

by Ute Frevert

This is the first comprehensive study of the experiences of women in modern German society. The author examines aspects of change and continuity in the lives of women over the past 200 years and analyses the social differences as well as the common ground shared between women of various classes.

Genres: Germany, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 1990

About the author

German historian. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary German history, as well as social and gender history. In January 2008, she was appointed managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and director of the Institute's Center for History of Emotions in Berlin.

Frevert worked at several research institutions. She held research fellowships at Berlin Institute for Advanced Study from 1989–1990 and 2004–2005 and at Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University from 2000–2001. She was professor for modern history at Free University of Berlin in 1991–1992 and at the University of Konstanz from 1992–1997. After being appointed professor for general history at the University of Bielefeld, she proceeded to hold a professorship for German history at Yale University. Since the winter semester 2008/2009 she is an honorary professor at the Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut at Free University of Berlin.

Frevert was a visiting professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1997, at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 2002 at the Institute for Human Sciences in 2003 as well as the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme.

Her research has focused on social and cultural history, evaluating gender relations, and the impact of policies, like military conscription and customs like dueling have impacted the human experience.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early (for German historiography) example of gender history from the 80s. Frevert criticizes heavily those who say that modernization leads to women's emancipation, noting that the last 200 years have instead been a zig-zag of experiences for women, during which: "The fundamental differences between male and female lives were left untouched -- and in this respect, much of the situation in the Federal Republic today is as it ever was." (327) She looks beyond the reforms of German democracy to argue that women in the 1980s still exist in a sphere separate from men, a trend existing since the 19th century.

One interesting aspect of gender history which she notes is the ability for women of the correct race and social status to gain significant advantages during the Nazi regime. "Where youth policy, divorce laws and social organizations were concerned, the Third Reich offered women novel opportunities for participation and recognition in public life, and, indeed, many women benefited in an unprecedented fashion from such socio-political innovation." (250) This point was to become central to many subsequent debates.

Unfortunately, as the work is old, there are many gaps which today seem jarring. The most notable absence is the experience of lesbians, but there are more- Jewish women, conservative women, rural women, transwomen. Nonetheless, the field was to fill in many of these gaps over the next 30 years.

[liv ʚɞ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally….after a long and terrible week of my life, I have finished this godsforsaken book. Like every man I’ve ever been with, this book only ever takes and never gives. How many years of my life have I lost to this book? Too many. However, now it is over. The pain, the suffering, the feeling of dread every time I had to glance upon it’s cold, dead pages, is over. I can move on with my life, read better books, see better things. The sun shines on me and I can finally begin to live again. Relieved, but forever changed✨✊🏼

(I had to read this for my German women a-level history coursework)

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history/sociological read. Helped me understand some of my female German ancestors and their lives and why they did some of the things they did. My mother's desperate "flight" from Germany in the 60's stating that as a poorer class woman she would never have anything. My grandmother happily remaining there despite being interred in a concentration camp during WWII by the NAZIs because she had had polio and was disabled. My Great Grandmother abandoning my grandmother to other relatives to raise because she could have a better life in the socialist uprising at the start of WWI as a single woman without the burden of a child. Its dated, written in 1990 but a very interesting study for someone who might have ties. Some of the chapters discussing how women in Germany were being repressed, quietly, little by little, losing their political, economic and social standings by a patriarchal government for their own good sounded a bit scary in light of the current situation in the US.