Glew, Helen 2020. ‘Maiden, whom we never see’ : cultural representations of the ‘lady telephonist’ in Britain, c.1880-1930, and institutional responses. Information & Culture: A Journal of History. 55 (1), pp. 30-50. https://doi.org/10.7560/IC55103
| Title | ‘Maiden, whom we never see’ : cultural representations of the ‘lady telephonist’ in Britain, c.1880-1930, and institutional responses |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Glew, Helen |
| Abstract | This article examines attitudes to the female telephone operator in the British press and a range of literary and cultural sources. Perceptions of female telephonists were rooted in both reactions to the increasingly visible employment of women in white-collar work and uncertain responses to the telephone as a new communication medium. Such perceptions of the female telephonist became stereotyped and static, though there were later some challenges to, and attempts to nuance, these. The General Post Office took over the service and implemented a number of changes, but ultimately the organisation and telephonists themselves had to co-exist with these stereotypes. |
| Keywords | women workers |
| history of telephony | |
| Britain | |
| cultural representations | |
| gender | |
| telephone companies | |
| General Post Office | |
| Journal | Information & Culture: A Journal of History |
| Journal citation | 55 (1), pp. 30-50 |
| ISSN | 2164-8034 |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | University of Texas Press |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.7560/IC55103 |
| Web address (URL) | https://muse.jhu.edu/article/749004 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 20 Feb 2020 |