2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

Most post-Famine Irish migrants emanated from rural areas, so further to opportunities, the city posed many spatial, socio-economic and cultural challenges. We draw together seven historians who are all actively engaged in cutting-edge research on the experiences of Irish women in a variety of cityscapes – from London, to Liverpool, New York, Boston, Toronto, New Orleans and Dublin. Each will outline and provide examples of the ways in which urban spaces affected identity, behaviour and cultural values. Laura Kelley, Sarah-Anne Buckley, Leanne McCormick, Elaine Farrell and Ciara Breathnach all speak to case studies of Irish immigrant survival or failure in the urban environment through an exploration of household survival strategies, deviancy, medical engagement and institutional reliance. The final two papers problematize how the city became emblematic of sexual liberation. Laura Kelly discusses of how external influences and migration affected attitudes towards reproductive knowledge in Dublin in the 1970s; while Jennifer Redmond examines the dynamics of migration through the lens of crisis pregnancy.

Through these case studies, this session questions a number of existing perceptions about Irish women from their sexuality to their experience as emigrants. Both religion and ‘respectability’, or assumed respectability, form crucial elements of how Irish women are historicised and the binary stereotypes of ‘Bad Bridget’ versus virtuous ‘Irish Colleen’ are challenged by all of our speakers. By placing studies of Irish women in wider ethnic and transnational contexts we collectively aim to advance scholarship.  We use the prism of the city to achieve that aim.