Kayla Poland 

Pressman 

ECS 305

1 March 2025

Bridging the Gap Between Land and Sea 

While engaging in discussion that focuses on the environment and its plentiful relationships with history, humans, nonhumans, and beyond I have recognized my interest in the ocean and maritime history. To further this study I stumbled upon a Wooden Boat magazine from 1990 and flipped through the dated pages. I landed on this image titled “Railboat” which includes a railroad track with a train in motion, following behind a sailboat with four men onboard, and on the starboard side the vessel reads “Molly B”. A seemingly comical image that at first glance that visibly represents a time of technological advancements. In reality this demonstrates the gender roles that come forth in the workforce.

Initially, it seems this comic was intended to represent historic events in industrialization, but looking beyond demonstrates the male vs female representation in work environments. The only characters on board who work on the vessel are men. The boat is named Molly B, because it is referred to as a woman who is to be worked on and fixed by men. It is evident that it was intentional to refer to boats as female, and this remains true today. The woman is objectified, yet represented as the one that requires constant upkeep by another being, a man. This extends further than just this one depiction, but a multitude of jobs are not to be done by women because of fear of inability or lack of strength. 

As time moves forward opportunities are slowly opening up for women to have equal rights in the workforce, but it is still clear that this image demonstrates the gender roles that have been present amongst various aspects of society. The way the train is drawn in the background of the photo, with smoke, shows the advancements in industrialization that grew transportation and in result, opportunities. Similarly, boating has always been a way of exploration and transportation. It is encouraged now to not only use boats for these reasons, but to have more recreational opportunities. This is where sailing comes into play, but again has roles that are controlled by gender. Whether this boat is under sail for recreation or as a passage, there is lack of female representation. 

When it comes to the connection between literature and the environment, this image illustrates the relationship between industrialization and the environment by connecting land to sea. It also shares with us how the ongoing phase of rapid industrialization affects our environment negatively. These are key factors that are demonstrated through our studies and are found in various works of literature. This all comes together and contributes to the understanding of environmental history while simultaneously sharing the roles of gender in culture over time. 

There are many connections between this work and what we have studied in class. There is great representation of gender roles in mermaid texts. We can compare how in Hans Christians “The Little Mermaid”, there were only men onboard as well. There is clearly a trend amongst these pieces of literature that lack feminism. There are examples again in The Little Mermaid that normalize pain as part of a woman’s part in transaction.

We see many patterns through history that demonstrate polarity in gender, and especially in older works of literature. It is evident that this image has a vast number of messages, but it is key that gender has an effect on opportunity in work, and that women are predisposed to unfair treatment.