9
Marchand references, the woman at the gears is tall and thin and has pencil-point toes.
However, she holds the throttle with her left hand while she is turned, awkwardly, away
from the gears. In her right hand she holds a small object close to her face, which might
be a powder puff. The drawing may be an attempt to show that a woman can be
employed and be beautiful, too--one of Fleischman’s arguments in the article that had run
two months before. However, the drawing is contradictory. Though nominally “in
charge” of the gears, she cannot possibly work in this position, turned away from the
machine and distracted by the demands of traditionally constructed femininity. Despite
Fleischman’s admonition in her January article, cited at the beginning of this chapter, that
women can be feminine and professionally successful, this illustrations shows us is that
work and femininity are mutually exclusive.
The photo illustration for the third of Fleischman’s articles (April 1930) is much more
consistent with her message, for it seems intended to normalize women’s power.
24
Here a
young woman in modern business clothes of the day stands firmly, hands at hips,
surveying a city. According to Marchand, men were often portrayed looking out over
cities, as if taking control of the modern business world. This drawing, then, subverts a
stereotype, implying that the modern young businesswoman can be “master of all she
surveys.” Insets in front of the urban scene depict “finance,” “distribution,” “raw
material,” “transportation,” and “industry.” The woman, whose image is far larger and
more dominant on the page than these drawings, surveys them all.
Modernity and role reversal continue in the article itself, which begins with a scene:
“Mr. Jones, will you please take a letter to K. L. Abercrombie, chairman of
the board of directors of the International Rail and Marine Corporation,
24
Fleischman. “Jobs for Women.” Ladies’ Home Journal. April 1930: 26-27, 230, 232-233.
Convention