I learned in a history class that coal mine workers, in I believe Wales, in the mid to late 1800s would work naked in the mines because clothing could easily get caught and sometimes required them to make larger tunnels for them crawl thru---oh dear!! Men, women, and children all worked in them. When societies were formed to 'help' the poor they were aghast women were working naked with men and got them out of the mines, but didn't get them other jobs. Because what did really wealthy do-gooders know about the hand to mouth existence of the very poor? The majority knew nor understood nothing.
That is ghastly that propriety deprived the women of jobs, horrible filthy jobs, but jobs. The wealthy would be acquainted with maids and their hierarchies, such scullery maid being low on the totem pole and so forth, but the factory/mine/farm milieu sure would be out of their sight. :(
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Date: 2017-01-24 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-24 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-01-24 09:34 pm (UTC)