Between Books and Trousseaus: Female Sociability in the Child Protection Society (La Plata, Argentina, 1905-1920)

Abstract

In 1905, a group of educators founded the Society for the Protection of Children in La Plata, Argentina, with the purpose of providing food, clothing, and books to poor students. To achieve the latter, the association created a library which became one of the most frequented in the city

The fact that this association and its annexed library were run exclusively by a group of women educators is a distinctive aspect of its trajectory. In contrast, in the decades under consideration, popular libraries tended to be run by men.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of the association as a sphere of female sociability, examining the practices both traditional and innovative, carried out by its members. In decades characterized by the exclusion of women from civil and political rights, it will be concluded that the associative experience propelled innovative forms of female participation in the public sphere.