Contested Femininities

<p> In this comprehensive long-view study on the concept of the <em>Neue </em>or <em>Moderne Frau</em> (New or Modern Woman) that spans the Weimar Republic Third Reich post-war period and a divided Germany <em>Contested Femininities</em> explores how different political and social groups constructed images of women to present competing visions of the future. It takes the highly contested representations of women presented in the illustrated press and examines how they emerged as crucial markers of modernity. In doing so it reveals the surprising continuity of these images across political periods and reflects on how debates over paid work the gender division of labor in the household the politics of the body and consumption played a central role in how different German regimes defined the Modern Woman.</p>