Framing Miss-Conduct: The Rhetoric of Paradox in the Struggle of Cleveland Conductorets During World War I

Abstract

This essay explores a specific historical example—the experiences of the Cleveland Street Railway conductorets during World War I—in order to shed light on how women's roles in the workplace were framed during World War I. A rhetoric of paradox framed the arguments of street railway owners, government officials, Progressive Era reformers, and female street railway workers who variously argued for or against women's participation in jobs traditionally deemed “men's work.” The article explores how the paradox was managed through arguments of expediency and arguments of feasibility.