In a 1915 editorial of The Ladies Home Journal, social commentator Dorothy Mills pondered the issue of the "woman question," and in a few vivid sentences summed up much of the public's reaction to women's readjusted place in society during the Progressive era. What was one to make of the fact that women were declaring the right to vote, divorcing their husbands at a greater pace than ever and demanding fulfilling work outside of marriage? Said Mills: The "New Girl" that some of us proclaim, and many of us don't believe in at all and more of us dread, is not a fantastic creature, a third sex, a superwoman. She is the eternal woman, with her love for man and child her eternal necessity, plus perhaps only one thing: a certain awkward realization of herself as more of a personality, a unit. Do you see how that can be the starting point of an infinite variety of developments, of activities, of theories? (Mills 1915,3) Mills grasps for an image that illustrates how contemporary women were assuming new professional responsibilities and greater public roles, but she is clearly conflicted. Could women assert themselves publicly yet retain some vestige of their traditionally feminine roles? Were women metamorphosing beyond recognition? This clearly was an anxiety expressed in much of the popular journalism of the time. And the images, as well, reflected a profound ambiguity regarding women's status. Flipping through the pages of a contemporary women's magazine, just what might a woman reader of the 1910s and early 1920s have encountered? Might the images and iconography have conveyed anything about her desires and dreams? Might she have found an image that would accurately represent her, or at least offer her the possibility of a self she could conceivably inhabit? One striking motif, in particular, came to dominate the imagery of these popular magazines: images that were drawn rather freely from both Greek and Roman antiquity but were updated (and often misconstrued) for a contemporary audience. The way these mythological references were placed into service reflected competing cultural views of contemporary worn
nation. The initial images that rumba projects and the apparent values that are emphasized throughout the Rhumba event become symbols that inform, educate, and are capable of causing change. The use of rumba to gather and maintain commitment to values is simply part of the thorough thinking and dedication to a more egalitarian society that exists at the core of Cuban ideology (p. 115). Daniel also discusses the correlation between male machismo, the rumba, and the role of women in Cuban society. She notes that what may appear to be a passionate dance between a man and a woman is in reality, based on her analysis, an affirmation of the dominant role of men as protectors of and competitors for females. While she acknowledges that women have achieved some positive gains towards equality in the workplace, she recognizes that they continue to be confronted with pervasive perceptions of male superiority and domination in the private sphere. Daniel cautions the reader to look beyond the obvious, exterior movements and steps of the rumba and consider the dual set of values that is actually symbolized. The rumba not only reflects the nationalistic value of social equality, but it also embodies the continuing practice of male domination in the private lives of Cubans.
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