How the Other Half Lives

 
How the Other Half Lives
Sabrina Gubbels-Wingo
IHSS Blog


I was very interested in the section about the book and photo series How the Other Half Lives. I found an e-book version of the book and read the chapter called "The Working Girls of New York". In this chapter, Riis covers the double standard that is applied to working women's wages and job opportunities. He makes a compelling argument with facts about wages, stating that whilst men's wages have an unspoken minimum requirement, the desperation of working mothers was being taken advantage of. For this reason, there was a massive wage gap between working women and men of the same class. Men were being paid over double the women resulting in even more unlivable wages. Riis states that many women turned to the streets, selling their bodies to make ends meet for their families. From here he tells an emotional story about the women that take their own lives rather than resort to walking the streets. This combination of hard-hitting facts and emotional stories makes a compelling argument that can scarcely be ignored.  In class we have talked about his photography quite a bit, however, I think that there is some benefit that could be found from reading his text. Riis provides the hard-hitting truth in a jarring and dramatic way that was intended to cause a stir in higher society during his time. It certainly did that as Riis was a well-known figure in his time. So much so, that his legacy has lasted through to this time. I enjoyed reading this section of his book because we haven't really learned much about men who were involved in women's rights that early in history. I think this chapter would have been a great one for the primary sources section we had this year!



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