[2D] Bodies / Immigration Analysis
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The workers and victims of the Triangle Factory Fire, some of whom can be seen in this photo and this, were almost exclusively women. Note that the officials and spectators in these photos are exclusively men.
At the turn of the century, working women were still not entirely accepted as members of the public sphere. They had to struggle for acceptance not only from the male bureaucracy and state apparatus, but also working class men, who saw them as potential threats and as inferior unionists, and middle class women who were still convinced that the proper place for a woman was in the home.
One result of the Triangle Fire and horrific scenes such as these was the passing of protective labour laws that treated women as a special category of workers. Underlying these was an assumption that women as victims and objects, to be acted upon rather than acting themselves. The gender divisions apparent in these photos is incidental, not crucial, yet are reflective of the environment that working women had to contend with in their daily lives.