In the 19th and early 20th century, Jewish women and Christian women both existed in a man's world. When Jewish families migrated to the South, they normally rose to the middle and upper class and gender norms quickly followed. In middle-class circles earning a living was was the responsibility of the male head of the family, while women were in charge of taking care of the children and maintaining the household. Jewish women were expected to be powerless, sensitive, benevolent, and good helpers, while expectations for men included leadership, ambition, "business acumen", and so on. Working class roles for women involved paid work, and in the earlier part of the century that wasn't in store for them. This inequality forced women to mold the South in unique ways that catered to their strengths at the time. One of the main ways women influenced their culture was by creating societies and organizations where they could act as a "a true daughter of Israel" (Bauman, 35) and promote benevolence and unity in the community.
As Jewish families moved to the South, women had to adjust to a very different lifestyle. Many times women were forced to move South due to their husband's professional goals and they would adjust and change their ways for them and for their families. A lot of times their strength and resilience was a defining factor. One women I spoke to told me that she lived in New York and met a man at a Jewish event that was from North Carolina. She ended up falling in love with him and moving to Charlotte with him in the early 1900s. When she was in Charlotte, she said she was lonely and had to change how she approached her neighbors, since they were the only Jewish couple for miles. She was removed from her comfort level and had to change her ways. As the mid 20th century approached, the husband and wife relationship became more of a partnership. In Virginia, a woman called Yetty Dorfman worked alongside her husband in the family candy store while in a town over, another woman named Sarah Isenberg was a clerk in her husband’s tailor shop. Lastly, in Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1931, Fannie Gold actually controlled the clothing store while her husband worked as a salesman. Although most women still supported the family through home life and through societies, these southern women were changing social norms and taking a bigger economic role for their families. It's also important to note that this was most evident for Jewish families and does not hold true for other immigrant groups around the country. Bauman argues in his article, "Southern Jewish Women and Their Social Service Organizations", that other non-Jewish immigrant groups, did not allow women as much power or control over these businesses.
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