Women Workers in Seven Professions: A Survey of Their Economic Conditions and Prospects
General
Women Workers in Seven Professions: A Survey of Their Economic Conditions and Prospects
Vocational guidance; Women -- Employment -- Great Britain
In almost all the theatres, even where the conditions are considered
above criticism, the lavatories reserved for the ladies are, by a
curious arrangement, generally on the floor where most of the actors
dress. They are almost invariably difficult to use, for as the
dressing-rooms are usually allotted by men, there is little
consideration of women's comfort in this matter. It is a curious
side-light on the intelligence of men that they almost universally
seem to think that women, by a special Providence, are exempt from
these natural laws; and almost all women are still too Early Victorian
to insist upon some change. Many of the old theatres in London and the
provinces suffer from want of proper ventilation; and many of them
are appallingly, incredibly dirty. In the provinces dressing-rooms are
sometimes dripping with damp; and it is not an uncommon experience to
share the room with mice and other vermin.
It is only possible for me to touch very lightly on employment by the
cinematograph firms; but from the enquiries I have made, the usual
payment seems to be roughly from 5s. to 7s. 6d. a day, the workers
finding their own clothes: 10s. 6d. if the workers can ride and swim:
3s. a day for walking on, when light meals are provided. There is
a form of application to be filled in, which demands the following
particulars:--
Height.
Bust measurement.
Waist measurement.
Skirt length.
Age.
Line of work.
Remarks.
Ride horseback. Cycle. Swim.
The pictures take about ten days to prepare, and as a supplementary
trade, undoubtedly this work is of value to the actress.
An evil which attacks the theatre of the present day is the horrible
mantle of respectability which has settled on the profession.
Respectability in Art is a blight which undermines, and the moment
any worker or profession of workers is accepted on equal terms by
the non-workers of the community, misery invariably ensues. It is
impossible for a non-worker to comprehend the life of a worker, or
to make any margin for the work, which, if we judge by the example of
their own lives, they evidently despise. The restrictions which all
honest work brings, along with its compensations, are annoying to
ornamental parasites; and the contempt for restrictions is apt subtly
to undermine the mind of the worker.
There is no doubt that for the average actress, when such an enormous
number of people are rushing into the theatrical profession, there is
little security. The life of a successful actress is undoubtedly one
of the very best, so far, open to women. It is not a fact that the
best and greatest actresses are always the successful ones: but it is
a truth that all the successful ones have some natural qualifications
which have enabled them to gain that position.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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