ABSTRACT
As a cultural construct, Pamela Butler operates to argue for an equality of suffering. The war is as bad for women as it is for men. This chapter explores this and similar such constructs. Through examination of a variety of literary texts, memoirs and private diaries, it seeks to explore the way in which women workers chose to represent themselves and the way in which they were represented by others. What is the lasting impression of the woman munitions worker? And does it correspond with the military experience of the First World War? During the war these contrary cultural constructions of women working in munitions competed, arguably putting pressure on the workers themselves. The social and cultural constructions are many and diverse, testimony perhaps to the individuality of the thousands who signed up 'for the duration'.
