THE GRASINSKI GIRLS

"The Grasinski Girls were working-class Americans of Polish descent, born in the 1920s and 1930s. They went to high school, married, and had children. For the most part, they stayed home and rear their children. And they were happy doing that. They took care of their appearance and their husbands, who took care of them. Like most women of their generation, they did not join the women's movement and today they either reject or shy away from feminism. Using oral histories of her mother and aunts, Mary Erdmans examines the subtle complexities of the seemingly ordinary lives of white, Christian, working-class women in the post - World War II generation. Comparing the Grasinski sisters, at times, to women of her own postfeminist generation and situating them within the world of home and church, Professor Erdmans explores how gender, class, ethnicity, and religion shaped the choices that these women were given as well as the choices that they made. These women are both acted upon and actors; they are priviliged and disadventaged; they resist and surrender; they petition the Lord and accept His will. In their own words, the 'Grasinski Girls' reveal to readers the nuances of privilege and oppression often overlooked."