FREE ESSAY ON CHEAP AMUSEMENTS

CHEAP AMUSEMENTS

Peiss, Kathy. Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of -the-Century
New York (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1986).
Kathy Peiss describes the leisure activities of young working women living in New York
during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in her book Cheap Amusements.
The book explores the emergence of a young female working class and the conflict the
women encountered with the Old World traditions. Peiss also explores the
commercialization of leisure and the socialization of female leisure. The results of
these changes brought about what Peiss calls: cheap amusements.
During the middle nineteenth century, women observed Old World traditions in respect to
leisure. Most leisure activities for women were labor oriented and close personal
relationships between women were frowned upon as deviant. Peiss explains this during the
first few chapters of Cheap Amusements. The emergence of a young female working class
caused a strain on the Old World traditions and leisure activities for women became
controversial. The traditional role of women was changing due to the economic pressures
from industrialization. As more young women began to work in the same conditions as young
men, women gained the right to engage in amusement as a man would. Peiss discovers the
commercialization of amusement to support the woman's' struggle for leisure freedom. The
businessmen in amusement saw the female working population as an untapped market for
exploiting. 
The amusement business was booming due to the industrialization of cities and the need
for leisure activities for the large population of workers. Amusement came in a variety
of forms such as: social clubs, dances, variety shows, amusement parks, cheap theatre,
nickel dumps, and even standing on the street corner. The businessman's goal was to make
a profit off of these activities. With the exception of standing on the street corner,
most leisure activities were commercialized and turned a profit. 
In opposition to the businessman were the mothers and fathers that still lived by Old
World traditions and did not want their daughters or sons engaging in some of the
activities. The exploitation of heterosexuality was extremely controversial and Peiss
sites this as a major hang-up in the changing of female leisure activities. The emergence
of the dance hall and the attending of these establishments by unattended females were a
primary concern for conservatives. The concept of picking up that is, two strangers
meeting for the first time and enjoying each other's company for the night, was the new
craze. (102). The mothers and fathers saw this as an act of disrespect for ones self and
an exploitation of sexuality. The struggle to maintain control over the leisure
activities of a young girl became even more difficult whenever she was working. Most
mothers had not made money as a bachelorette and balked at the wishes of their daughters
to spend their free time at these new activities that involved young men.
Kathy Peiss makes the world of a young working female in New York City, living around the
turn of the century, come to life in less than two hundred pages. The author's book is a
success because of the colorful way she describes the conflicts that occur throughout the
book. Any reader of history would find this book a good resource for research as well as
enjoyable reading. Moreover, a researcher of sociology would find the information in the
book to be of interest, especially if they are interested in the women's movement in
modern America. 
Bibliography
Peiss, Kathy. Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of -the-Century
New York (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1986).