Representations of gender in the Irish nationalist daily newspapers, c.1912-1923

Abstract

Gendered discourse and Irish nationalism during the revolutionary period evolved as part of the same historical dynamic. Press polemic about gender norms in revolutionary Ireland influenced Irish nationalism, just as Irish nationalism affected the ideals of masculinity and femininity disseminated by the nationalist daily newspapers. This thesis considers in particular the nationalist dailies with the highest circulation in Ireland, the Freeman’s Journal and the Irish Independent. Gender ideals were central to debates in the nationalist dailies, from the militarism that engulfed Ireland between 1912 and 1923, to discussions about home life, families and welfare provision, but has not been sufficiently explored in previous scholarly work. Gendered press discussions are explored through four parts, ‘Morality and Modernity’, ‘Marriage’, ‘Singleness’ and ‘Gendering Defiance’.

Gender in the Irish revolutionary period existed as an imagined construct, yet it had a real effect on press debates, individual lives and government policy. As gender was constructed the gendered narrative about men and women, their roles, and appropriate behaviour for each sex was not always consistent. There was a discursive tension between portrayals of women as powerful moral agents and women as weak, fragile or needing to be policed. Equally, men were described as protective, strong and soldierly, but this did not fit with the reality of many men’s lives. Debates in the press drew attention to men who depended on state welfare or who lived outside the ‘ideal’ of marriage.

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