At the turn of the century women's social roles greatly expanded. Before then, most women's lives centered on their labor in the houehold--caretaking, cooking, sewing, cleaning, gardening. By 1900, industrial society was drawing more and more women out of the home and off of the farm and into the worlds of work and public life. Archival photographs and documents from the time reveal women in many of their new roles.
Advertising was quick to announce the arrival of a 'new woman'. Early advertisements for everything from cars to face cream were aimed at women, and showed women prominently.

This exercise asks you to summarize and compare two versions of the 'new woman' -- one that emerges from historical records of women's experiences (photographs, newspaper articles, etc.); and one that emerges from advertisements of the day.

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