Marginal Creatures: Australian Women War Reporters During World War II

Abstract

Histories of war reporting have tended to overlook the role of Australian female journalists in covering World War II. During the war, 21 Australian women journalists worked as war reporters for the Australian press, including from overseas military areas. This article provides an overview of the historiography of Australian women war reporters of World War II within an international context. It discusses the benefits of examining the connection between gender and military policy on the accreditation of women war correspondents within a comparative framework. It argues that consideration of national differences in the ways that women journalists were officially perceived, defined and managed is particularly valuable for understanding the challenges faced by Australian women war reporters.