Escaping assimilation's grasp : Aboriginal women in the Australian women's military services

Journal article

Riseman, Noah. (2015). Escaping assimilation's grasp : Aboriginal women in the Australian women's military services. Women's History Review. 24(5), pp. 757 - 775. https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2014.975499
AuthorsRiseman, Noah
Abstract

During the assimilation era of the 1930s–60s, most Australian Indigenous women living in proximity to white Australia were forced to work as domestic servants with few other education or employment prospects. One significant yet under-studied exception was employment in the armed services' women's auxiliaries. As a consequence of such employment, Aboriginal ex-servicewomen learned new skills and new opportunities to improve their social statuses. Through analysis of oral histories from four Aboriginal ex-servicewomen who served in the 1940s–60s, this article examines how work in the women's forces empowered Aboriginal women and represented an escape from assimilation policies.

Year2015
JournalWomen's History Review
Journal citation24 (5), pp. 757 - 775
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN0961-2025
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2014.975499
Web address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09612025.2014.975499
Open accessPublished as green open access
Research or scholarlyScholarly
Page range757 - 775
Research GroupSchool of Arts
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Open
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
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Print2015
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Accepted2015
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© 2014 Taylor & Francis.

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