"Maiden, Whom We Never See": Cultural Representations of the "Lady Telephonist" in Britain ca. 1880–1930 and Institutional Responses

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article examines attitudes toward the female telephone operator in the British press and a range of literary and cultural sources. Perceptions of female telephonists were rooted in both reactions to the increasingly visible employment of women in white-collar work and uncertain responses to the telephone as a new communication medium. Such perceptions of the female telephonist became stereotyped and static, though there were some later challenges and attempts to nuance these perceptions as well. The General Post Office took over the service and implemented a number of changes, but ultimately the organization and telephonists themselves had to coexist with these stereotypes.