.jpg)
9to5 to "9 to 5"
Then, Now, and Next.
From podcast interviews to research newsletters, check back in week after week for new explorations into our topics. From the 9to5 movement, the classic movie and musical, to the issues faced by women in offices today, here you'll find it all. Got an idea, or know someone who might want to share their 9to5 story? Click the contact tab.
Casebook Bibliography
Dramaturg Dyllon Glaze
Newsletters
Areas of Research
On Campus Expert:
Dr. Elise Robinson
"Elise Robinson recently completed her PhD in Performance Studies and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Georgia. A committed scholar of feminist activist performance, Dr. Robinson’s research on the British Women’s Suffrage movement demonstrates that the militant suffrage movement was fundamentally a performance movement and must be analyzed as such. Dr. Robinson is currently the PR and Program Coordinator for the Institute for Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Georgia, where she also teaches both introductory and upper-level courses. Prior to her arrival at UGA, Dr. Robinson taught Theatre and Performance at the college level for over twenty years, at institutions across the United States. In addition to her scholarly work in theatre and gender studies, Dr. Robinson has also directed over 30 productions and regularly speaks at regional and national conferences on feminist activist performance, neurodiversity, and queering the curriculum. Outside academia, Dr. Robinson is an avid novel reader, gardener, and amateur potter. She lives in Athens with her partner, two daughters, three cats and one overly large dog," (Franklin College, UGA).
On Campus Expert:
Dr. Kelly Happe
"Dr. Happe, Professor of Communication Studies and Women's and Gender Studies, is a rhetorical theorist and critic working at the intersection of Marxism, feminism, science studies, and biopolitics. Her scholarship has appeared in Theory and Event, The Quarterly Journal of Speech, New Genetics and Society, Philosophy and Rhetoric, and other venues. Her book, The Material Gene: Gender, Race, and Heredity After the Human Genome Project was published by NYU Press and is winner of the 2014 Diamond Anniversary Book Award from the National Communication Association. Dr. Happe is also the recipient of the 2014 Golden Anniversary Monograph Award for her essay "The Body of Race: Toward a Rhetorical Theory of Racial Ideology,” also from the National Communication Association. She is co-editor of the 2018 book Biocitizenship: On Bodies, Belonging, and the Politics of Life.
Most recently, she was awarded the 2019 Creative Research Medal for the Humanities and Arts by the University of Georgia. In 2017-2018, she completed a Study in a Second Discipline Fellowship in the Department of Genetics with one of the nation's leading epigenetics researchers. The fellowship is part of her ongoing work on the social history and philosophy of biological concepts. She continues work on a series of essays on rhetoric, utopia, and radical economic thought, and is in the early stages of co-editing a book on the rhetorics of care. Her next book, titled The Body Plastic: Rhetorics of Race and Value in Science is under contract with NYU Press. The book theorizes and describes the role of scientific theories in capacitating the debilitated and racialized body for value-making in late capitalism and so provides a much-needed Marxist understanding of rhetoric, new materialism, and biopolitics.
In addition to her scholarship, Prof. Happe teaches courses in rhetorical theory, feminist theory, social movements, queer theory, Marxism, and science studies. In 2019 she was selected to teach in UGA’s Study Abroad program in Oxford, UK. She serves on the editorial boards of Quarterly Journal of Speech and Rhetoric and Public Affairs as well as the advisory board for Review of Communication. She has served as Book Review Editor for Philosophy and Rhetoric since 2017.
Professor Happe received her PhD in rhetoric, with a secondary emphasis in media studies and cultural studies, at the University of Pittsburgh under the direction of Carol Stabile. While there, she also studied extensively with faculty in the Cultural Studies program and the History and Philosophy of Science department and her work was supported by the Cultural Studies Fellowship and the Mellon Pre-doctoral Fellowship. She has been active in local community organizing, serving as a board member for the organization Athens for Everyone (including serving as its President for two years) and leading its coalitional efforts to institute criminal justice reform in Athens, GA. She is a proud member of Local 3265 of the United Campus Workers of Georgia," (Franklin College, UGA).
Workplace Feminism: How Far Do We Still Have to Go?
In the 1970s, women made approximately 60% of their male coworkers’ salary. They faced daily harassment and lofty expectations, often asked to step outside of their job descriptions to run personal errands, help with the boss’ family, or complete menial or degrading tasks that could have easily been done by the man. They received no benefits, respect, or fair treatment, and from these disparities, the 9to5 movement arose. Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy, both Boston clerical workers, started a movement that would sweep the nation, resulting in the District 925 Union. Many laws, regulations, and office expectations today are in place because of these women and their work. They massively improved workplaces across the country, holding bosses and companies accountable for their actions, and providing resources for women to know how to navigate injustice. Unfortunately, today, there is still farther to go. In 2024, the pay gap for women has not been closed. Women, currently, earn 84 cents for every man's dollar, a 16% discrepancy. Women of color are disproportionately affected, statistically making even less, especially in rural areas. Despite more college students being women, the pay gap only increases with higher education. Sexual harassment, a new term in the 1970s, is now all too well known, and a persistent problem in workplace environments. In 2017, the #MeToo movement was sparked for this very reason, a flood of women speaking out against men, often in positions of power, that had harassed or assaulted them. In this movement, we were reminded of the power in numbers, the ability to spark change with a louder voice, but it resulted in little legal change. Women daily face jobs lacking basic benefits, are passed over for promotions, expected to do more for the same recognition, and face harassment. There is plenty more to be done, but as we have seen, change requires commitment, and numbers. Sexism affects women in every position, at every level, and the groups who face it the most are low-income workers and women in positions of power. There is no position or place as a woman to be exempt from patriarchy or sexism, and thus, movements today require all to come together. The 9to5 movement is still active in Atlanta and other cities, and the Women’s March organization is active throughout the nation. There are other organizations growing to start the next movement of change, like the everyday sexism project, calling attention to the varied instances of sexism real women worldwide face daily. Action and attention brought on by organizations like the project are necessary to close the present gaps. It is currently predicted to take over 100 years for the pay gap to close, but with active organization and change, this process can be accelerated.
Marxist, Feminist Theatre: Using Humor to Wake Up the World
Marxist theatre is a form of political theatre that focuses on calling the audience to action by displaying their life onstage. In marxist theatre, the characters must be grounded in reality, by their class and identity, and the audience must see the divide between classes, and the disparities between characters that are so often accepted in daily life. Marxism theatre departs from other kinds of political theatre as it shows the audience as they are, not through a separate serious exploration into an emotional issue, but by forcing the audience to notice themselves in the production. Then, the issues and disparities in one’s real life become clear, as they are played onstage through any story, but rooted in the class divides and problems of reality. This is meant to bring the people together against those above them, driving them to action through the character’s motivations and the antagonist’s misdeeds. 9 to 5 is a wonderful example of marxist art, as the movie was successful with the same people it was about. Women clerical workers were honestly represented on screen for the first time, and they were unable to ignore how ridiculous their realities were. Thus, the story propelled the existing 9to5 movement forward, as women nationwide felt represented and motivated by the three secretaries of the film, and outraged by the onscreen antagonist, Mr. Hart, reflected in all of their bosses. We’ve seen marxist theory work in further feminist movements like #MeToo, women across the world encouraged to speak out as every story they heard from another woman was all too real. The message of 9 to 5 was aided by the farcical concept for the story, as nothing aids the ridiculous like humor. In fact, a research study found that feminist humor is more successful at delivering a social message than a serious delivery. Farcical humor continues to work well with marxist theatre, as a farce uses extreme caricatures and impossible situations to entertain, furthering the hilarity of the onscreen action, and leaving audiences in more disbelief at their own situations. Marxist theatre is a powerful delivery of a message, and a resounding call to action, seen very clearly in 9 to 5: The Musical. While the specific issues of the three clerical workers might have been mostly resolved or do not relate as much to today, the deeper themes of sexism, patriarchy, connection, judgement, and perseverance can easily reflect onto the audience, causing this show to be more than a ‘simple musical’.
Critical Articles
Digital Feminism: In the aftermath of #MeToo, what's next for workplace equity for women?
An annotated article
In the research article, “Exposure to Feminist Humor and the Proclivity to Collective Action for Gender Equality: The Role of Message Format and Feminist Identification”, the authors explore if a humorous delivery of a feminist message is more or less effective than a more traditional, serious delivery. They performed two studies, one providing the humorous delivery of feminist messages through carefully planned cartoons and memes, the other delivering the same messages seriously. They found that for individuals who did not fully identify as feminist, this humorous format was far more effective and explored what this means for engaging a community in social change, encouraging the use of feminist humor as a means to deliver messages. This article is perfect for this show, a farcical feminist comedy that delivers almost all of its serious messages through humor. This research defends the effectiveness of this show, while providing information on why it works. It was an incredibly enlightening read, and helpful in strengthening the feminist humor within the show to be as impactful as possible.
The article “A Spontaneous Loss of Enthusiasm: Workplace Feminism and the Transformation of Women’s Service Jobs in the 1970s” by Dorothy Sue Cobble explores the wave of change in the 1970s present among women in different job categories, including flight attendants, clerical workers, and household workers. She explores each group one by one, explaining the discrimination and disparities they faced, how they retaliated, and what change came from their organizing. She then explores the differences between the groups, and from there, what challenges each group of women faced, some more so than others. She finishes the article reflecting on the new kinds of movements emerging from the decade, unique to the passions of those fighting for change, and explains the difference of tearing down gender constructs for men and women. While men do not fight for this, as gender constructs largely serve them, they must be brought down in the modern era to achieve an ideal working environment for all, in any job. Not only did this article provide further analysis of the 9to5 movement, it also provided contextual information on other feminist movements happening at this time. This was valuable for my research and understanding of the social environment at the time, as well as my explorations into feminist organization from the 70s onward. This also strengthened the arguments of clerical workers, as they were not the only ones fighting against the patriarchal system.