The Representation of Women in the Countryside,a magazine's portrayal of 'The Countrywoman'.

Keele University.School of Social Relations.Final Year Dissertation.

The Representation of Women in the Countryside,a magazine's portrayal of 'The Countrywoman'.
Jonathan Tarplee.

CONTENTS

Abstract 1
Introduction 1 - 2
Literature 3 - 10
Methods 11 - 18
The Sample 11 - 14
Sample Analysis 14 - 18
Notation 14 - 16
Categorisation 16 - 17
Quantitative and Qualitative Data 17 - 18
Findings 18 - 23
Rurality and Class (The Context) 18 - 20
Representations of Women (in Context) 21 - 23
Women as Property 21 - 23
Representations of Countrywomen 24 - 35
Women's Activities - 'Recreation ' 24 - 26
Women, Community and Charity 26 - 31
A Closer Look at Charity Events 31 - 35
Summary and Conclusions 35 - 40
Considerations for Further Research 38 - 40
Bibliography 41 - 43

Appendices (including illustrations) 44 - 49
Appendix A
Table 1. Representations of Women in the Sample 44

Explanation of Categories in Table 1. 44 - 46

Fig 1. Passive Women Represented 46

Fig 2. Active Women Represented 47


Appendix B
Fig 3. Women's 'Recreation' Represented 48 - 49


Acknowledgements
I would especially like to thank Gordon Fyfe for his inspiring lectures and helpful manner, and Sharon for her patience and spelling ability.


Abstract Studies relating to women and rurality have tended to concentrate on the influence of 'the rural idyll' on expectations of women's roles in the 'domestic ' sphere. This study explores wider images surrounding rurality which impact upon the conception of 'The Countrywoman ' as an identity and investigates how this is played out in the public, as well as private spheres. Drawing on evidence from a documentary analysis covering five decades of a county-themed magazine, this enquiry illustrates a remarkably stable portrayal of countrywomen as exceptionally community-orientated organisers who promote the well-being of the local, and wider communities. When not involved in charity-based work, 'the countrywoman 'is typically depicted in activities which uphold romantic notions of rural life and allude to memories of an 'older' social order. The magazine asserts a particularly class-based bias in its presentation of rural living dominated by the activities of affluent women, in which other kinds of women are invisiblelised. Within the sample, an underlying dichotomy was found in the tendency towards, on one hand, a desire for traditional definitions of rurality, and on the other, a sensitivity towards crude stereotyping of rural people by non-rurals.
Introduction
Images of rurality may be seen to contain innumerable facets, dimensions and human characters. In seeking to examine a specific character or set of characters (in this case women) set within the wider scene or context of the countryside, it is hoped that further light may be shed on a specific detail of the social construction of 'the rural life'.
The representation of women in society has been a source of much interest for some years, particularly in the context of their subjugation within patriarchal understandings of women's place. This study is not primarily concerned with women's subjugation, but rather with more particular portrayals of women within the context of a specific time and place, in this case; the post-war English countryside as portrayed in the pages of a county magazine. Sociological work on women and rurality has tended to focus on women's domestic arrangements and activities. This study aims to broaden the focus to include wider issues of rural women's activities, as portrayed through the pages of a magazine. Such portrayals are important because of their bearing on rural women's (perceived) role(s) and overall identity. The representation of women's identity as a specific sub-section within the construction of the rural life may cast further light on the relationship between images of rurality and representations of 'the countrywoman '. Furthermore, by tracking these portrayals over a period of several decades, it may be possible to discern a notion of the degree of change or stability pertaining to such an identity or identities.
Also (and importantly), the notion that the rural-life is 'under threat' from a variety of sources (sources which are not, in themselves, a subject of interest here) demands a clarification of the nature of rural social relations in order to discern what, more precisely, is 'under threat' in terms of the 'the rural' as a community in general, and specifically in this case, 'the countrywoman', as an identity, in particular.Literature
One of the first hurdles to be encountered when researching aspects connected with socially constructed representations in the countryside, is the problem of defining that which is deemed to be rural, and that which is not. Jones (1973) began her study of rural life by emphasising the difficulty in actually defining 'Rural' and 'Rurality' in England, a nation which while idealising country living remains largely 'urban' in many respects (ibid: 3). The Countryside Agency, in its 'State of the Countryside 2000' report also admits that though 'most people have an image of what is meant by "rural" ', the task of defining it consistently is 'challenging' (2000: 4).
Mingay (1989), Williams (1973) and others have long recognised the idealisation of certain aspects of the English countryside that helps to construct a social account rurality and its 'Rural Idyll':
'The term has been used to describe the positive images surrounding many aspects of the rural lifestyle, community and landscape, reinforcing, at its simplest, healthy, peaceful secure and prosperous representations of rurality'. (Emphasis added, Little and Austin, 1996: 101).
Little and Austin (1996) claim that many sociologists, while widely acknowledging the existence of an idealised Rural Idyll (Mingay, 1989, Williams, 1973 and others), have tended to neglect its impacts on different groups amongst the rural population, specifically in this case; the role of the rural idyll in maintaining (traditional) gender relations.
The authors argue that these positive images surrounding 'rurality', including those of community, solidarity (Gemeinshaft- see Tonnies (1957) ), health and simplicity in which rural culture is perceived as being 'caring and paternalistic' (Little & Austin, 1996 : 102) are related to both nostalgia for the past and a romantic escape from modernity, helping create a perceived harmony of rural social relations '...where relationships are unfailingly "tight knit" '(ibid).
Little and Austin assert that the rural idyll, ultimately, operates through a system of power relations which it both reflects and reproduces (Little & Austin, Op Cit: 103). This idyll was found to contain many traditional images and expectations of women's place in society. In their research on village women, the authors' found that 'the family' was often cited as a main reason for having moved to, or remaining in, the village through positive associations between rural living and 'the countryside' being seen as a good place in which to bring up children (see also Valentine, 1997). Much of the work surrounding children; ferrying them to school, clubs and so on is done by women:'There can be no doubt that the woman of the rural idyll is the wife and mother, not the high-flying professional, the single childless business entrepreneur.' (Austin & Little, Op Cit: 106).
The research suggested that rural life was constructed as being community-orientated (and thus the women's expectations of their life in the countryside as revolving around 'community-life') resulting in greater pressure being exerted on women in carrying out what are traditionally perceived as their motherhood and indeed womanhood-related duties ; 'One mother described being "sucked in" to a life that was dominated by organising and facilitating her children's involvement in local activities ' (ibid).
The wide involvement of women in local society was found to underpin many village social events and organisations and this impacted upon women's employment opportunities; 'one woman replied that she was "too busy to have a job" ' (ibid: 108). The authors found a relationship between the rural idyll and the women's deep involvement in these kind of community activities 'through the belief that not only was it expected of them as members of the community, but it was also part and parcel of what "rural life" was all about' (ibid). Crichton (1964) and Frankenburg (1990) both found women to be more integrated into village 'community' than men, re-enforcing the idea that women's role may be constructed as being oriented towards 'the locale'. This suggests, perhaps, that the construction of the public roles of rural women, in their community, is a subject worthy of further study.
It would seem that any relationship or interplay between positive/romantic rural images and negative stereotypes of rural identity would also be worthy of note, because some authors account for the existence of a countering rural anti-idyll which plays on negative images and fears connected with rural isolation, depictions of in-bred 'village-idiots' and a close proximity to unrestrained 'nature'' (as constructed in a fearful context). Such images provide constructions of negative rural stereotypes which are reproduced in various places, including the horror industry (David Bell 'Anti-Idyll,Rural Horror' in Cloke and Little, 1997: 94-108).
One community institution with a particularly rural association is the Women's Institute (hearafter W.I.), which is still the largest women's organisation in the U.K. (The Guardian, 08/06/2000), nearly 60% of rural parishes still having a local group today (Countryside Agency, 2000: 27). Bracey (1959) claims that the W.I., though essentially a village organisation, it is more than merely a federation of village clubs ;
'...for it possesses a mystique which creates in its members a sense of belonging, and a sense of responsibility for the village, as does no other secular organisation.' (Emphasis added, Ibid: 144).
This sense of being rooted into local rural life is fostered by the organisation, the Institute's primary overt aim being the promotion of the well-being, and the improvement of conditions under which countrywomen work and live (culminating in an Annual General Meeting known as 'The Countrywomen's Parliament' (ibid: 145) ). The Women's Institute has claimed that in spite of its conservative, respectable image, 'radicalism....has always nestled beneath its middle Britain respectability ' (The Guardian, 08/06/2000). This came to the fore recently when they heckled, slow handclapped and staged a walk-out of a talk by the Prime Minister prompting The Guardian to surmise;
'...perhaps this episode...will rid the WI forever of its jam-and-Jerusalem image.' (The Guardian, 08/06/2000).
Davidoff, L'Esperance and Newby (1976) have identified the twin ideals of Home and Village Community which are themselves related to the overarching rural and domestic idylls in their construction as a haven, sheltered from the public life of power (the authors called the combination of the two ideals as the 'Beau Ideal'). The authors argue that this dual ideology has increased the traditional (male) authority of the household head and thus maintained female subjugation. Both home and village in their idealisation as 'organic' communities (see also Durkheim's (1964) distinction between 'organic' and 'mechanical' solidarity) require the full set of stereotyped characters who are both romanticised and subjugated (see Newby's 'Green and Pleasant Land' (1979) for patronising attitudes toward rural locals by incommers).
The twin ideals are also self-promoting in the sense that the 'traditional' rural environment is seen as the 'natural' setting for the ideal domestic life in which women are still expected to create and protect a 'miniature version of the domestic idyll' (ibid: 175). The modern housewife's role in 'creative homemaking'(ibid: 173) is thus idealised, as seen in the fetishisation of traditional farmhouse-cooking, home-baking and so on. This idealisation seems enhanced as globalisation makes society seem more centralised and corporate (Ibid: 172-173).
The relationship between countryside and class has often been highlighted as a highly significant one. John Urry (1995) however, reminds us that the middle classes are a group of many divisions which therefore cannot be assumed to have a particular, unitary relationship with the countryside. He further stresses the importance of changing leisure practices which have consequential effects on rural social relations.
Urry points to some particular groups (cross-cut by gender, educational experience, age and region) identified as having their own specific relationship with the rural through these new practices. Urry implies that the 'ascetics' may be a particularly important group in relation to recent constructions of the countryside because of their maintenance of holistic notions of physical well-being that connect 'the body' to 'nature' in activities such as 'climbing, camping, rambling and simply being in the countryside.' (Urry, 1995: 213).
The author points to a particularly striking contrast between the 'ascetics' and the 'indistincts' (or managers) (ibid) whose activities involve 'interventions' in nature (such activities might include shooting and golf for example) and a desire for heritage preservation (ibid).
The countryside is also affected by what Urry calls 'new sociations' acting as sites for identity-formation, emotional satisfaction and reciprocracy (ibid: 215). Examples might include countryside 'hobbyists' such as bird-spotters, off-road cyclists and war-gamers as well as organisations with some kind of political agenda (to a greater or lesser extent) like road protesters, civic amenities groups, railway preservation societies and environmental communes (ibid). Urry suggests that the proliferation of new ways of interacting with, and consuming the countryside is changing the way it is perceived:
'...the historic compromise between landed interests and the professional service class, which had been organised around the concept of "quiet recreation", is dissolving' (ibid: 219).
Finally, before we turn to female representations in the countryside, the nature of representation must itself be considered. Catherine King (1992) points out that 'representation' can have many connertations including 'the creation of a convincing illusion of reality' (King, 1992: 131). The term can also imply the possibility of showing a genuine slice of life or be overtly highly reductionist and symbolic (King gives the example here of the symbols for women and men on public toilet doors (ibid) ). But, all images are constructions which King reminds us can never be totally value-free, but are constructed by both creator and apprehendor.
The construction of images (and other kinds of representations such as depictions within a text) is, of course especially pertinent to this study, as this requires careful consideration during the processing of information by documentary analysts.




Methods
The Sample
Cheshire Life is a magazine in which, as well as having a particularly localised (that is; county) interest, seems also to form a predominantly rural view or construction of the county, many of its front-covers depicting rural hunting scenes and 'pretty' villages. But such a rural construction of Cheshire, though seemingly obvious on encountering copies of the magazine, would have to be substantiated (or refuted) during the course of its analysis (especially in terms of its qualitative analysis -see below). The issues of Cheshire Life magazine available for this research stretched from January 1950 to the present. The magazine is issued monthly, thus being represented by twelve copies each year (normally - see below).
The technique used for (an otherwise unrelated) magazine-based study by Sandford, Dornbusch and Hickman (1959) was employed as an approximate template in drawing a sample from the total number of available copies. This was done so that a reasonable spread of issues could be selected for comparison of data over time. The said process for sample-selection is set out precisely below.
Each decade of issues was assigned a number '1' to '120', every individual number representing one issue of the magazine; as an example, for the decade 'The 1960s ', number '99' would correspond with the ninety-ninth issue that decade, which would be the third issue of its eighth year, or March 1968. Then, an internet-based random-number generator (www.randomizer.org) was used to select five numbers (thus five issues) from each decade. The issues chosen, were also examined in the order randomly produced, which was as follows :
1980s; November 1983, November 1986, July 1983, March 1985, and March 1987.
1950s; May 1952, June 1952, September 1956, March 1950 and November 1954.
1960s; July 1967, June 1961, December 1966, November 1967 and March 1964.
1990s; March 1993, June 1996, March 1995, March 1999 and February 1994.
1970s; June 1976, March 1973, August 1976, July 1978 and February 1978.
As can be seen above, the order of reading each decade and the order of individual issues read within each decade was randomly selected, but the magazines had to be analysed one decade at a time. This was due to constraints set by the comparative difficulty of retrieval of the magazines for library staff (due to the place of storage and need for strict chronological ordering). In the Sandford, Dornbusch and Hickman study (ibid), the order of magazine analysis was entirely random (at individual journal level) so as to prevent 'changes in the perspective of the content analysists from producing shifts' in apparent results (emphasis added, ibid: 164).
The significance of this potential problem was not, however, considered to be particularly important in this case, A) because any trends between individual issues within a decade sample would be far less significant (if not entirely insignificant) when compared with trends between whole decades, a far more substantial unit of time, and B) because of the fact that detailed analysis of material was to take place before categorisation (discussed below) so that any trends would be less likely to be apparent at the initial analysis stage (the 'notation' stage).
The sample was to be drawn only from complete decades in order that it would be theoretically possible to tabulate, into clear time-categories, any trends over time that might be observable in the results. It is for this reason then, that no issues could be sampled after the 1990s, the last complete decade.
As the total population of magazines available for sampling was taken to number 600, this sample represents a little over 4% of the total population. However, it was to transpire during the course of the research that for at least two of the years within the sample period; a thirteenth, extra issue was published (as end-of-year 'reviews '). The existence of these additional issues was discovered through their reference in issues analysed, and it could not be assumed that other years within the sample period would not also contain additional issues. The presence of these extra issues, occurring outside what was perceived to be the total population meant that the sample might represent a slightly lower percentage of the total population than initially anticipated.
This was not, however, considered significant enough to re-select the sample and start again because a review issue is considered unlikely to be particularly representative, (set apart as it is, as a 'special', extra issue, outside of the usual, monthly character of the magazine). Any such re-sampling (followed by re-analysis) could also prove highly disruptive to the overall research process, given the constraints of available time.
Sample Analysis
Notation Stage
The first stage of the content analysis of the sample would be a protracted one. The entire texts (and visual depictions) of each issue were to be read and examined excluding advertisements. It was decided that adverts would not be included in the content analysis so that the focus of the research would be centred on the representation(s) of country-women as constructed by the magazine. It was thought likely that although advertising may well play a major role in social constructions and reproductions, the relationship that a magazine pursues and fosters with its readership seems likely to occur in its most overt form in the main texts of that journal's articles and their associated visual representations (mainly photographs but also including drawings and other visual information). Thus the articles of the magazine rather than advertisments, may be more likely to be the prime locus of symbolic constructs, where representations are made in a way that is deemed appropriate to the ethos of the magazine in the targeting of, and fostering relationships with, its readership. It was therefore decided that advertising was not likely to the best focus for the research given the inevitably limited resources for study.
Notes would be taken on every representation of a woman (or women, womanhood in general or femininity and so on) in the articles. This is a more problematic process than it at first seems, for a single photograph or sentence (as just two examples) can display or create a myriad of different (and possibly differing) themes and symbols, so it is important that it is explained here what is meant by 'a representation' for the purposes of this stage of the research:
A representation noted would certainly include any (and indeed every) adjective or other kind of description pertaining to a woman or women. It would also include any activity that a woman or women is/are described or pictured as doing. This is also a potentially problematic area because, again, a host of things could be regarded as 'activities' and represented in just one incidence (such as eating, looking, talking, thinking and so on). For the purposes of this research (and to make categorical distinctions possible), activities would be taken to be any overt or obviously displayed (though problems of interpretation are still at the fore), activities such as riding a horse for example, plus any roles, hobbies and jobs described as being associated with a woman (or women in general).

Categorisation
Once the collection of data in the manner described above had been completed, it was to be organised into categories. These would depend upon the content of the material studied but would certainly include categories connected with various types of descriptions of women, and various activities and roles that women are depicted as doing. As discussed earlier, categorical distinction is, in itself a potentially highly problematic area, where the perceptions of the person organising categorisations (in this case the content-analyst) can affect the outcome (of both categories chosen, and the content of the categories). This was to be something to be considered throughout this stage of the research.In practise, decisions had to be made about the representations noted and the category into which they would be included (another form of representation or re-representation). For example, it was decided that the activity of dried flower-arranging was to be categorised under 'Arts and Crafts' rather than, say, 'Gardening'. Similarly, decisions were made to separate the representations of women in 'Competitive Sport' (such as women described as a competitor in a 'Ladies' steeplechase) and women shown taking part in an 'Outdoor Leisure' activity (simply riding a horse, for instance). The grey areas that can problematise categorical distinctions were perhaps most clearly expressed in the course of this research in the difficulty in deciding to file the activity of (fox) hunting under 'Outdoor Leisure' rather than 'Competitive Sport'.

Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Finally, although this study may appear on the face of it to be a primarily quantitative one (in terms of its concern with counting-up the numbers of representations in each category), the importance of the qualitative aspects of the data analysis should not be underestimated. It is often the qualitative material that sets the tone, style and context in which, and through which, representations can be portrayed to, or interpreted by the reader (or the content analyst). The qualitative context(s) which the magazine produces, provides a symbolic backdrop or landscape onto which the portraits and characterisations (representations) are painted and through which roles and values can be interpreted. It is imperative that the character of the magazine (and any changes to it over time) is considered in the its' overall analysis.

Findings
Representations of Rurality and Class (The Context)
Throughout the sample, a decidedly rural account of the county of Cheshire was presented by Cheshire Life Magazine (hereafter 'C.L.'). In one instance a (then) new magazine 'Farm and Country' was described as its contemporary (C.L., June 1961), and Cheshire is frequently and consistently described as 'Farming country '. This rural account of the county often blends romantic countryside imagery (in-line with romantic notions of the rural idyll) with that of hunting and the hunter. In this extract for instance, the relationship of country-people (in this case 'the countryman' ) with the country landscape is represented as one of unity:
'Nature, like the countryman, grows old gracefully. Venerable trees, an imperial stag; the forest patched brown with long straths of larch, sheltered oaks wrapped in rustling dead leaves; sycamores cloaked in yellow. These are the glory of Cheshire.' (Emphasis added, C.L., November 1986).
The centrality of hunting (specifically fox-hunting) to the magazines' representation of rurality is clear throughout the sample; with frequent coverage of hunts through photographic centre-features with full reports, on front-covers and through regular coverage of related events like hunt-balls. The magazine claims (at various points through the sample) that Cheshire indeed is home to the oldest hunt of all, that of the Tarporley Hunt which had its first 'meet' in 1762 (C.L., August 1976).
The depiction of the county as fundamentally rural, or of having the country at its heart is a consistent theme, in spite of perceived threats to its rural identity from development and change. The perceived threat to rurality from modern development may work to actually strengthen the rural identity of the county portrayed in the magazine, in terms of the rural idyll as constructed through nostalgia for the past, and a reaction against modernity (Davidoff et al, 1979). The county's rural nature is portrayed as something that is deeply-rooted and as (so-far) defying all attempts to change it through encrouching developmental modernisation. Mobberley village cricket is, for example, described as 'something the Arabs can't buy ' (C.L., August 1976). Similarly, the following description of Lymm is typical in its insistence of the maintenance of a rural identity in spite of physical change:
'...it has become residential and urbanised. But it has never ceased to be a "country" place, with an abundance of natural qualities which countrymen and women regard as their birthright.' (C.L., August 1976).
This localised rural identity promoted by the magazine occurs within particular class-contexts. The landed classes and (probably upper) middle classes are cited by the journal as bastions of stability, as in this description of a Cheshire village;
'... the most Conservative spot on earth - God's little acre for the Tory party.....one of the last remaining citadels of the middle classes, a place where the champions of the status quo finally turn at bay and defend themselves against the encroachments of what is some-times known elsewhere as "progress" (C.L., June 1961).
The magazine has an implicit leaning towards the promotion of the idea and values of old and rural Cheshire; a timeless representation of the county as being fundamentally and at heart, unchanged in its basic character in spite of the development, for example, of successful car, chemical and aerospace industries.Representations of Women (Countrywomen in Context)
The notes made about all the representations of women in the sample were collated and organised into categories (as described in 'methods' -see Table 1 and the accompanying explanation of categories in Appendix A).

Women as Property.
Changes in the position of women in society are suggested by some of the findings displayed in Table 1 (Appendix A). Early in the issues of the magazine through the 1950s, 1960s and the early 1970s, pages of individual photographs of women who had been announced as recently engaged to be married are displayed. These photographs were then often the only place where women are depicted on their own, rather than as an appendage to a man, though clearly their status is one as someone soon to gain status through their attachment to a man, the details of whom were listed below the photograph. The percentage of women shown as newly engaged drops from some 20% in the 1950s to less than 3% in the 1970s before this section of the journal disappears altogether. Similarly, the percentage of women who are portrayed in terms of their connection with an important, 'high status' man (often important people in a local hunt, high-ranking military and business men) is initially high and drops gently overall, though this aspect never entirely disappears.
Overall, women in the sample are portrayed in (generally) increasingly 'active ' roles, and decreasingly 'passive ' (see fig 1 and fig 2 in Appendix A), reflecting wider changes to expectations of women's place in society. One of the most dramatically rising categories through the sample is that of concern with attractiveness and/or fashionability. This rise is probably mainly due to the far greater amount of magazine space and interest given over to fashion articles. The tone of these articles, however, changes greatly over the years.
Early issues often imply women's possession of a yearning for fashionable and appropriate clothes. The rewarding of oneself with 'quality' clothes often being portrayed as not only normal and natural for women, but as being good for the soul. For example in the wearing of new fashions being described as 'a booster of morale' (C.L., November 1967) or the account of 'the tonic properties of a new hat....no woman is unaware of them' (C.L., March 1950).
Though the overall incidences of concern with fashionability and looks increases, the extent to which this is seen as a deeply-felt and natural urge seems to subside. Throughout the sample women are portrayed as being increasingly independent, both socially and financially; business-women emerging as a notable force in the 1980s and reaching some 13% in the 1990s. The number of women shown as being successful educationally rises after the 1950s, though never reaches particularly notable levels.
The incidences of overtly expressed needs for female emancipation are perhaps surprisingly at their highest through the 1950s, mostly in reports on meetings of the Women's Institute. Some early features on the W.I. include those that focus on talks in which both the past and continuing emancipation of women is clearly portrayed as desirable. One such feature, for example, reported on a talk which '...put the emancipation of women as perhaps the most important thing that has ever happened ' (C.L., May 1952).
The magazines representation of the W.I. shall be examined in more detail below, due to the significant role played here in representations and constructions of countrywomen.







Representations of Countrywomen.
Women's Activities - 'Recreation '
Table 1 (Appendix A) shows the significance played by some of the creative and sporting activities portrayed in the sample. Reference however, to fig 3 (in Appendix B) illustrates more clearly the relative importance of differing activities as a fraction of all 'recreational' activities (though 'recreational' is not a perfect definition as some of these activities may involve 'earnings' such as prize-winnings and the word may tend to under-play their cultural significance).
We can see in Fig 3 (Appendix B) that 'artistic' activities play a highly significant role in the lives of Cheshire women as portrayed in the magazine. The high incidences of 'arts and crafts' may, to some extent, point to the need to protect a domestic idyll as a miniature, recreated equivalence to the rural idyll as expounded by Davidoff, L'Esperance & Newby (1976). There is relatively little sign however, of farmhouse cooking, gardening or other especially domestic forms of creativity. Nevertheless, 'the arts' in general, and craftwork in particular (including basket-weaving, flower arranging, textile work and so on) feature very strongly and can surely be seen as upholding some traditional aspects of a rural idyll.
Theatre, and especially musical theatre, along with choirs and other musical events, often organised in aid of charity, also feature very strongly. Such events can perhaps be seen as both consolidating community-spirit while fostering a sense of worthiness, directed to a good cause (see a detailed account of the significance of charity later).
The (high) incidences of women's competitive sports were dominated again by traditional country events like show-jumping, (horse) racing, hunting, shooting and to a lesser extent other sports associated with the comfortably affluent classes like 'Ladies' golf and tennis. Overall, sport and other outdoor activities can be said to be dominated by those involving what Urry (1995) calls 'interventions in nature', namely more traditional and old-fashioned, often middle-management based 'organization-persons' or 'indistincts'.
Casual (uncompetitive) horse-riding completely dominates the category labelled 'outdoor leisure '. Activities involving a 'holistic' approach of bodily-wellbeing to nature that seem commonplace elsewhere; climbing, cycling, canoeing and rambling, Urry's (1995) 'ascetics' hardly feature at all, even in the most recent issues, and neither do his 'new-sociations', suggesting that interactions with the countryside by the women portrayed in Cheshire Life alludes to a more traditional, high-culture form of involvement of the old-fashioned, moneyed-classes rather than a (post-modernist) mix of high-brow 'culture' with 'recreational' fun.

Women, the (Rural) Community and Charity
The W.I. is afforded significant prominence by the magazine firstly by the positioning of the 'W.I. Notes of the Month ' articles near the beginning of each journal, and secondly (and probably more importantly) through the appearance of these articles every month on a long-term basis (that is, at least for every issue in this sample). So for long-term readers, those who are most likely to identify themselves what we might call the 'character' of the magazine (or to put it another way; those who are most likely to internalise the constructions and representations portrayed by the journal); the Women's Institute may appear of significant importance.
The magazine's portrayal of the W.I. is one that seems to emphasise its role as a focal point for country-matters, that is; country-matters expressed in terms of the concerns of county-women (or 'countrywomen' as one word, differentiated as a distinct specie from other kinds of women or people), made explicit, for instance, in a reported W.I. meeting, the subject of which was said to be 'What is of most concern to countrywomen?' (C.L., March 1964).
It seems that women are prescribed a particular kind of role in expressing and acting upon the perceived concerns of the countryside, a role that is particularly oriented towards the 'values' of community (epitomised by the W.I.). Organised groups of countrywomen are seen as being politically active in an especially social, communitarian and neighbourly way, supporting Little and Austin's (1996) account of high levels of social-orientation amongst rural women. This particular brand of small 'p' politics often expresses itself in local charity events, in which home-made food products and art-and-craft items are sold to raise funds. Such events form the mainstay of reported W.I. activities throughout the sample.
There appears, in places, a degree of sensitivity towards 'outsider' perceptions of countrywomen's groups (extendable to rurality generally?) as being rather too cosy or lacking in gravity. An article entitled 'The Same Difference' (C.L. , July 1983) compared two locally based women's groups, one held to be widely perceived as a 'radical' organisation, the other - a local W.I. group. The groups are compared and initially contrasted. Interestingly the magazine claimed that a third, 'feminist' group had declined involvement with the article; 'they said they didn't wish to be editorially linked with jam makers.' (Ibid).
The peace group was portrayed as an organisation notable firstly by its radical stance in opposition to military bases. They were compared with the suffragettes (through facing potential imprisonment) and the group's own sense of connection with the past struggles of the Women's movement itself was evoked in the choice of interview quotes. A second distinctive feature of this group noted in the article was the informality of its organisation, indicated by its lack of a committee structure and the presence of a 'facilitator' encouraging everyone to speak, rather than a formal chair at meetings (in contrast to the formality of W.I. meetings). The peace group was thus afforded a form of credibility in its appeal to more modern, egalitarian and radical (or at least unconventional) methods of political participation.
The same article then went on to debunk the idea that the W.I. is a 'fuddy-duddy' organisation, portraying it as essentially and in its own way radical , as is demonstrated by the use of quotes from Cheshire W.I.'s press officer:
"Look at the subjects we're debating and voting on at conference hardly scones and sewing is it? ....We were discussing breast cancer screening long before it hit the headlines. In 1922 we voted on VD health education, and in 1943 equal pay for equal work....people think we all wear wooly stockings and make corn dollies. But it's not all jam and jerusalem you know." (Emphasis added, C.L., March 1964).
However, while at pains to emphasise the radical stance and achievements of the group, the article seemed simultaneously keen to promote some of the more traditional aspects and images of the organisation, especially the construction of its character as being essentially British, locally orientated (rural) and conscious of middle-class values and identity :

'Doreen lives luxuriously in rural Cheshire in a large house with a Union Jack flapping jauntily from a tall pole in the garden. She rarely, if ever, wears wooly stockings, and is more interested in Aztec art than corn dollies. "Because we are quiet and unassuming, there is no reason to think we are fuddy-duddies....W.I. officers tend to be better off because they often need transport to get to county meetings" (Ibid).
The article again emphasises the sense of neighbourliness instilled in, or by the groups members, through the evocation of a sense of belonging (Bracey, 1959):
'When a friend of Doreen's broke her wrist, a fellow W.I.-er baked enough food to fill a freezer for weeks. When Doreen came out of hospital last year, a neighbour from the local W.I. came round with a huge casserole. "You won't feel like cooking a meal tonight" she said." '(C.L., March 1964).
The more traditional characterisation of countrywomen is evoked again in an article about a rural nanny living with, and working for a family in a large country house. The portrayal of this nanny is also extended to include 'the British Nanny' in general. The article, like portrayals of the W.I. in the sample, conveys the sense in which the work and principles of this nanny and others like her extend to benefit the health and well-being of the community, or rather the wider communities of family, rural community and indeed nation :
'The British nanny built the British Empire. Her crisp uniform, her starched principles and rigid discipline moulded generations of stiff upper lips. Her regime of brisk walks and wholesome food turned her charges - and the globe they would eventually govern - a gratifying well-scrubbed shade of pink.' (C.L., November 1983).
There is evidence here of Davidoff et al's (1979) notion of a 'Beau ideal ', combining the rural and domestic idylls. The specific nanny featured is described as possessing;
'...homely features and a sturdy figure ..the nanny of them all - "I'm a disciplinarian. There's so little discipline in schools." ' (Emphasis added,C.L., November 1983).
What the depiction of the rural nanny and those of the W.I. share is that sense in which the values and attitudes (portrayed more perhaps as deeply-rooted, naturally occurring instincts) of both kinds of countrywomen aid the welfare of their own community and those of the wider community, extending ultimately to the entire nation. Countrywomen portrayed here are locally-orientated pillars of the (both local and national) community. They are represented as nurturers (of community rather than motherhood specifically in this case), who cultivate an environment favourable to the well-being of society at large.

A Closer Look at Charity Events
'Doing-good ' for both local and wider community is then a major pre-occupation of countrywomen portrayed in 'Cheshire Life'. A major site for such activity is the charity function or Society ball. Coverage of such occasions dominate the magazine, every issue in the sample featured several such events, often devoting full or double-page spreads (sometimes more) to each one. Women often dominate the coverage of such events.
These kind of occasions were so widespread and featured so prominently as to render their inclusion in table 1 (Appendix A) virtually meaningless, as many of the other activities noted and counted-up for inclusion in the table came from coverage of such functions (in other words, many of the 'Representations ' featured in Table 1 are a sub-group to charity events). However, one extra 'Representation' category is that of 'Important Public works' (in Table 1) which relates to portrayals of people specifically described in terms of their 'good works ' for charity or 'the public good ' in general. This is a category that generally seems to rise from the 1970s onwards to hover vaguely around 10% of all representations. However, it is important to re-emphasise the extent to which the context of charity functions dominate the magazine compared with these more specific examples of those who 'do good '.
The charity aspect of the functions and balls so frequently featured in 'Cheshire Life' is but one facet of the representation of such occasions. These functions are portrayed as a glittering showpiece where the most important, wealthy and glamourous people of the county meet and socialise. Though a large proportion of women portrayed here have what might easily be deemed authentic rural connections; with farming, hunting, the homely village-orientated aspects of the W.I. or as wealthy owners of large county manors, often it is the sheer glamour of such occasions that is stressed. However, the authenticity of the local roots of the participants of these events, is consistently implied:
'The Cheshire Set...They are as elusive to define as mist over Rostherne Mere. They are as sleek and jaunty as the grin on the face of a Cheshire cat. They have class, flair, style, poise and panache - and like stars over Jodrell Bank they came out mainly at night, when they can glitter more brilliantly...Shimmering they might be, superficial they are not.' (C.L., March 1995)
The same article gives a tongue-in-cheek account of how someone might become a member of this county set, one which emphasises both their (class) status and exclusivity:
'Give generously to charity, join your Best Kept Village team, develop an accent as sharp and brilliant as a Boodle's diamond and most of all deny the very existence of the Cheshire Set to anyone who lives south of the Dee or North of the Mersey.' (Ibid).
Some years later, an article appeared in reaction to what was described as a 'pertinent, patronising and pretentious portrait of the Cheshire Set' (C.L., March 1999) by a BBC television documentary:
'...It had more to do with Hollywood Wives than anyone we at Cheshire Life would recognise from the hard working, quick thinking, real women who are reflected in the pages of this magazine.....If they were looking for a tall blond to typify Cheshire perhaps they could have turned to the formidable Ann Winterton MP. The reality behind the polo set at Henbury Hall might have been balanced by the hard work Naomi de Ferranti has put into the drugs charity turning point.' (C.L., March 1999).
The portrayal of the Cheshire Set as 'hard-working, quick thinking' and 'real' extends to cheshire countrywomen generally, for example in a feature called 'Lymm, home for fighters and doers':
'They (Lymm women) are tireless do-it-yourselfers, and whether their "thing" is painting, flower arranging, archaeology, singing...or raising money for charity they do it with a wholehearted zest that is both heart-warming and admirable.' (C.L., August 1976).
The continual representation of countywomen as feisty 'doers', who get things done, whether for themselves or more probably for a wider good, permeates the sample.
Summary and Conclusions
The sample represented just over 4% of Cheshire Life magazines published over a fifty year period. While this is not a large figure, the format and style of the magazine changed comparatively little over the years and a larger sample may not have changed the results significantly.
However, this small study represents a portrayals of countrywomen from just one source. Many other such potential representations may be portrayed elsewhere, with their own construct(s) of 'the countrywoman'. Furthermore, the choice of categories, dictated as far as possible through a qualitative assessment of the content (see 'methods'), is related to the perspective taken by the researcher and therefore bound to affect outcomes. Thus research taking another perspective of the same content but using different categories may find differing interpretations and outcomes to some degree.
It would be most surprising if no significant changes in the representation of women could be detected in the sample, covering, as it does, some fifty years. A considerable growth was found in expressed concerns about looking fashionably attractive , something that may be of more concern to studies in the relationship of women (and men) to consumer culture than here. Overall however, contextual change discerned included the significant increase in occurrences of women presented in 'active' roles and the corresponding decrease in 'passive' ones. The presentation of women as property has dropped very markedly along with a rise of socially and financially independent women successful in education and business.
However, what is perhaps most marked about the findings, is the extent to which a very clear and stable portrayal of countrywomen is made throughout the sample. The stability of the portrayed identity of rural women may be related to the desire to maintain a continuous and continuing sense of rural identity, a theme which is applied to the whole county (as well as individual places) by the magazine. The rural women in the sample tend to be prescribed particular kinds of roles; they are overwhelmingly presented as being community-orientated, a factor that is extendable from concern for neighbours, to that for the local community (often village-orientated), to finally that of the whole country. The role of 'motherhood ' hardly features in the sample, the countrywomen represented though are nurturers in another sense; as people who foster a sense of well-being, through a sense of belonging (Bracey 1959) and as pillars of the local community and promoters for good in society as a whole.
Many women's 'recreational' activities portrayed involve what Urry calls 'interventions in nature' (Urry, 1995: 213) that may seem equivalent to his managerial-class category of 'organisation persons' but seem more likely, in this case, to be the wives of bureaucrats or at least as representing a similar level in the class hierarchy, but alluding to a more 'authentic' perception of rurality and community-based rural values, seen in opposition to their perceived threats (from Urry's (1995) 'new sociations' amongst others).
Thus when women in the sample are not overtly 'doing good', they are frequently portrayed in activities associated with horses, hunting and especially in the arts and crafts , activities which may support a traditional view of the countryside -The Rural Idyll- through their participation in 'traditional' rural crafts and activities in a way which promotes an harmonious sense of rural living (Little and Austin, 1996). Thus in spite of an overall increase, for instance, in the number of business-women represented, the position of many of the women portrayed is not 'lived-out' so much through jobs (as in paid employment), as though unpaid roles, which help to bind the social fabric of community. This supports Little and Austin's (ibid) assertion that such a rural construct may inhibit women's employment chances.
In reflecting upon the relevance of the findings, it is important to consider that the magazine asserts a particularly class-based portrayal or construction of rurality and countrywomen. Titled women, (wives of) large land-owners and others high in the class hierarchy form a significant part of the content, otherwise, many of the women portrayed are the monied middle-classes, the zestful 'doers'of the community. The dominance of the affluent classes in the sample may also help to explain the defence of a traditional view of rurality in which country-people are seen as bastions of stability, stood in defence against threats (including Urry's (1995) 'new sociations') to idealised and romantic conceptions of the countryside (the rural idyll ) which happen also to threaten memories of an older order of landed gentry.

Considerations for Further Research
The dominance of affluent classes may be largely missing out entire sections of the rural life. Indeed, it may be as appropriate to reflect upon those women who rarely, if ever, feature in the content, women invisibleized in such constructions of the rural life. There is little place here, for example, of the rural poor, or for women who feel trapped by preconceived notions of their engendered role(s) through a patriarchal system of rural social relations, as suggested elsewhere (see Little and Austin, 1996). Many of the women portrayed had access to resources (of time as well as money) enabling the active pursuance of charitable and other community-based deeds. The absence of such resources, combined with a construction of countrywomen that emphasises community work, may accentuate feelings of disenfranchisement amongst less-resourced rural women.
Another potential area in which women may be invisibleized is in the wider, ongoing debate on the countryside and (perceptions of) threats to it. Any differential in conception of threats to rurality by women and men is surely a worthy avenue of research, as would any differences in the political representation of and by women, in such debates.
Furthermore, given the notion that the countryside is 'under threat', the findings reveal a more clearly discernible view, reproduction or portrayal of what precisely it may be that is perceived as being under threat when we hear of 'the rural life'. Rural living is clearly revealed in the sample as being portrayed as its own, distinctive culture possessing strikingly community- oriented values. 'The Countrywoman' is portrayed as a distinctive specie, differentiated from other kinds of women or people.
Finally, the somewhat radical stance held by the W.I. in certain areas, combined with their simultaneous sensitivity to their portrayal as a conservative organisation, while maintaining many conservative traits, is illustrative of something of a dichotomy that can be found within this construction of rurality and rural women. The tendency towards sharp definitions of rural characters (that may closely relate to stereotyping) may provide both a source of patronising subjugation by non-rurals (Newby 1979) while simultaneously promoting the romanticised idealisation of a differentiated rural life (Davidoff et al, 1976) from which it may gain much of its identity and sway.
This dichotomy may be found at the center of the portrayals and perceptions of 'the rural life ', as a site of struggle for its very definition and meaning. Thus further investigation is warranted in order to explore how this dichotomy is apprehended and played out in performances of rural identity among the real people of 'rural' worlds.




Bibliography

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Cloke, P. and Little, J. (eds.), (1997). Contested Countryside Cultures, Otherness, Marginalisation and Rurality, London: Routledge.

Countryside Agency (2000). The State of the Countryside 2000, Cheltenham: Countryside Agency Publications.

Crichton, R. (1964). Commuters' Village, A Study of Community and Commuters in the Berkshire Village of Statfield Mortimer, London: Macdonald.

Durkheim, E. (1964). The Division of Labour in Society, New York: New York Free Press.

Davidoff, L., L'Esperance, J. & Newby, H. 'Landscape with figures: Home and community in English Society 'in Mitchel, J & Oakley, A (eds.) (1976). The Rights and Wrongs of Women, Hammondsworth: Penguin.

Frankenburg, R. (1990). Village On The Border, a social study of religion, politics and football in a North Wales community, Illinois: Waveland Press.

Jones, G. (1973). Rural Life, Patterns and Processes, London: Longman.



King, C. (1992). 'The Politics of Representation ' in Bonner, F., Goodman, L., Allen, R., Janes, L. and King, C. (eds.) Imagining Women, Cultural Representations And Gender, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Little, J. and Austin, P. (1996). Women and the Rural Idyll in Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 101-111.

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Valentine, G. (1997). "A Safe Place to Grow Up? Parenting, Perceptions of Children's Safety and the Rural Idyll" in Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 137 - 148.





Newspaper Sources:
Vikram Dodd, "Fearless WI Reveals its Radical Side", The Guardian, 08/06/2000.

Author not cited, "Mr Blair Gets The Bird, The magic has gone. Now he has to fight.", The Guardian, 08/06/2000.


Internet Sources:
The Countryside Agency, 'The State of The Countryside 2000', http://www.countrydide.org, 19/06/ 2000.
Research Randomizer, http://www.randomizer.org, 12/11/2000.
Appendix B.
Fig 3 . *Fig 3 is a pie-chart to illustrate various categories of women's recreation portrayed in the total sample of 'Cheshire Life ' magazines.
Song & Dance - Women represented as taking part in musical, theatrical and/or dance events.
Art & Crafts - Women represented as taking part in the visual arts and/or doing craft-work.
Writing - Women represented as authors.
Competitive Sport - Women represented as competitors in a sporting event.
Outdoor Leisure - Women represented as taking part in 'non-competitive' outdoor pursuits such as horse-riding, cycling, wildlife spotting.48Cookery - Women shown or described as cooking.
Gardening - Women shown or described as gardening or garden-designing.
[Categories are defined as for Table 1 (in Appendix A)]