Year 8 English
Representation of Women
POST-WAR PERIOD – 1980s – 1990s
Brainstorm some possible keywords before you begin searching for information.
Some suggestions include:
women 20th century
1980’s
1990s
women social conditions
names of specific novels, plays, poems, characters and/ or famous art works of the time
We recommend you search using the “All Fields” option in the Library Catalogue as well as using the resources below.
PROSE (Novels)
The following texts are available in the Library.
P MUN
Munsch, R. N. (2006). The paper bag Princess. Scholastic Press.
Originally published in 1980
F CRE
Creech, S. (1998). Chasing redbird. Harpercollins.
F L
EV
Levine, G. C. (2003). Ella enchanted. Avon.
Originally published in 1997
F MAR
Marsden, J. (2011). Tomorrow, when the war began. Quercus.
Originally published in 1993.
F PUL
Pullman, P. (2004). The ruby in the smoke. Scholastic.
Originally published in 1985.
Online (via the Internet Archive)
You will need to sign up for a free account to access these books
Other suggestions:
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
by Louise Rennison
First published: 1996
Kristy’s great idea: The babysitters club
by Ann M. Martin
First published: 1986
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
by J.K. Rowling
First published: 1997
Matilda
by Roald Dahl
First published: 1988
Sweet Valley High series
First published: various years in the 1980s and 90s
Media
- Advertising – 1980’s
You will find more information on advertising in the resource lists on this page.
- Comic book characters
- Film – Female action hero
- Television shows
- Murder she wrote (debuted 1984)
- News & Politics
- Margaret Thatcher – Britain’s first female Prime Minister
Print Resources
This is a small selection of print resources recommended by your Teacher Librarians. They will help you to investigate the historical and social background of women from the second half of the 20th Century as well as representations of women from that time period.
You can locate these books using the shelf Call No indicated.
You will also find more resources by searching the Library Catalogue.
305.40904 MAC
Macdonald, F. (2001). Women in a changing world 1945-2000. Belitha Press.
Highly recommended. Includes commentary on women in advertising, magazines, fashion and modelling, music, television and films, women in the news and politics. Lots of examples. Note: It is American in focus.
“Popular culture is one window through which we can learn about society. The conflicting stereotypes of women – and the ways those images both influenced and mirrored the changes in women’s lives over the decades – form a fascinating social history of the twentieth century” (Blurb).
305.42 STE
Stearman, K. (1999). Women’s rights: Changing attitudes 1900-2000. Wayland.
973.927 COR
Corrigan, J. (2009). The 1980s decade in photos: triumph of democracy. Enslow Publishing.
Corrigan, J. (2009). The 1990s decade in photos: the rise of technology. Enslow Publishing.
994.05 BER
Bereson, I. (2000). Australia in the 1980s. Echidna Books.
Bereson, I. (2000). Australia in the 1990s. Echidna Books.
Search the Library Catalogue for more.
305.40904 TUR
Turner, M. (2003). The women’s century : a celebration of changing roles 1900-2000. National Archives of Australia
Provides comprehensive contextual coverage of the changing role of women for each decade.
Search the Library Catalogue for more.
eBooks
Coming soon.
eResources
Websites
Here are some websites that your Teacher Librarians have evaluated for your use. If you search the free internet yourself be sure to evaluate the website. Refer to Thinking Critically about Web Information.
Note: Be mindful that much of what is on the free internet for this topic is content created by students, including university level, and you don’t know what marks they received. Remember you want to find material that is suited to your age and comes from an authoritative source. We have check these ones for you.
AdAge. (2003, September 15). Women: Representations in advertising. http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/women-representations-advertising/98938/
AdAge. (2014, September 2). A look back at portrayals of women in advertising. http://adage.com/article/news/a-back-portrayals-women-advertising/294756/
Anderson, B. (2012). Timeline: the women’s movement. ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-08/timeline3a-the-women27s-movement/3873294
British Library. (n.d.). Timeline of women’s liberation. https://www.bl.uk/sisterhood/timeline
NatCen Social Research. (n.d.). Gender roles. British social attitudes. http://www.bsa.natcen.ac.uk/latest-report/british-social-attitudes-30/gender-roles/attitudes-to-gender-roles-change-over-time.aspx
Videos
Baricevic, T., Baden-Powell, E., Vaughan, M., Butler, N., & Williams, B. (2015). Australian pop culture 1980s – 1990s [Video]. ClickView database.