Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Fall/Section017/Bonnie Baste

Overview

Bonnie Baste was a beautician and beauty shop owner in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was married multiple times and was a single mother to a boy. Baste was alive during World War 1 and The Great Depression so her business greatly suffered as a result of economic hardship. Baste was interviewed for the Federal Writers' Project by Harry Fain in January of 1939.

Biography

Early Life

Baste was born in Louisburg, North Carolina on November 25th, 1898. She was raised in a relatively wealthy family with her father as a carpenter, her mother, and two sisters. Even as a young child, Baste had a deep fascination with hairdressing and cosmetics. However, education was not of importance to her so she stopped attending school in seventh grade and did not go to beauty school either. As a child, she often cut the neighbors' hair and learned the techniques from experience and practice alone. Despite the negative stigma in the cosmetics industry, her fascination in this field continued as she grew older.

Career and Later Life

At the age of 19, Bonnie married a soldier during WW1 who she divorced soon after because of his infidelity. A few years later, she married a wealthy Spaniard, Pedro Basté, and had her son Pedro Jr. at the age of 25. She was very fond of Pedro Sr. but became very homesick while living in Spain. However, Pedro Sr. sent Bonnie and his son back to America alone, while he stayed in Spain. Upon arriving back, she started her beauty shop on Fayetteville Street which was very successful and lucrative at the time. Just a few years later, she married a man named Charlie, sold her shop, and put Pedro Jr. in a boy's school. However, this marriage was unsuccessful so she took Pedro Jr. out of school and reopened her business which was not as profitable as her first shop. She struggled to pay for the beauty equipment but bought a small apartment to ensure that her son lives comfortably. She put him back in school and his education became very important to her. She wanted him to be educated enough not to work as a barber. Although business was not thriving, she continued to work in her beauty shop for the remainder of her life. Her son, Pedro Jr., died in 1948, and Bonnie died in 1979.

Social Issues

Women in the Workforce and Female Entrepreneurship

Prior to the 20th century, women in the workforce, especially female entrepreneurs, were extraordinarily unconventional. However, at the onset of WW1, it became more common for women to enter the workforce in order to take the place of the men fighting in the war and make money for their family. Not only that, but the woman’s suffrage movement and increase in political involvement led to the boom of women in the working force. Following WW1, the perception of women’s abilities grew and companies opened doors to women. "The women's movement, with its emphasis on advocacy of equal rights, transformed the traditional patriarchal social structure across the globe." Women were exposed to previously male-dominated professions leading to a revolutionary change in the roles of women. Women began to launch their own businesses as WW1 created a wealth of business opportunities. However, once the Great Depression hit the United States, there was a major decline in female run corporations. Women in professional careers lost grounds in the traditional male sphere. Despite this, the Great Depression did not hinder women's ability to work in other fields and they often became the major breadwinners in the family.

Negative Stigma in the Cosmetics Industry

In the 1800s, makeup was thought to be sinful because women were not meant to change their looks. In fact, Queen Victoria declared makeup as impolite and inappropriate. Because makeup was known to be fraudulent, wearing it would ruin one's reputation. However as the feminist movement gained traction, the attitude towards cosmetics began to change. “Cosmetics signaled women's emancipation, individuality, and social participation, symbols that men often defied.” The growth in mass consumerism led to the widespread acceptance of makeup. As makeup began to normalize, small female entrepreneurs in the cosmetics business became extremely successful. Beauty salons grew rapidly all throughout the United States in the 20th century.

Bibliography

“A History of Cosmetics from Ancient Times.” Cosmetics Info. Cosmeticsinfo.org, 2018. https://cosmeticsinfo.org/Ancient-history-cosmetics#nineteenth_and_early_twentieth_ce ntury_global_cosmetics_development.

Cravens, Hamilton, and Jennifer Barker-Devine. “Make Do or Do Without: Women During the Great Depression.” In Great Depression: People and Perspectives, 45–59. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Mellini, Michael. “‘Women's Work’: Female Entrepreneurship in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries.” ONSTAGE+. Goodman Theatre, June 15, 2016. http://www.onstage.goodmantheatre.org/2016/06/15/womens-work-female-entrepreneur ship-in-the-late-19th-and-early-20th-centuries/.

Soderberg, Johan. “Cosmetics Matters.” Journal of Women's History 11, no. 3 (1999): 223–25. https://doi.org/10.1353/jowh.2003.0127.

“Women In The Early To Mid-20th Century (1900-1960): Introduction.” Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com, September 22, 2021. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-andmaps/women-early-mid-20th-century-1900-1960-introduction.