The Magdalene Sisters

So I just finished watching The Magdalene Sisters. This movie is about the Catholic church in Ireland in the 1940s-1960s and their institutions for fallen girls/women called The Magdalene Laundries. Young ladies who had relations with men out of wedlock and consequently became pregnant would be sent to these laundries to work as penance for their "sins". At least, this was the original purpose of the laundries. Later even the suspicion that a young lady had been unchaste was enough to get her sent to this place, regardless of whether she had been intimate with a man. In these laundries, the girls were forbidden to talk or develop friendships. There was emotional, sexual and physical abuse, even from the nuns. At one point there was a scene where the nuns forced the girls to strip naked in the laundries while they made fun of the girls' bodies. Once admitted to the institution, you could never leave and they were never paid for their hard labor despite working from dawn until well past dusk. Surrounding the laundries were high stone walls topped with barbed wire and studded with iron spikes, a very formiddable obstacle when planning an escape.

I was absolutely horrified by what I saw. While I'm glad I had an opportunity to watch it since it's not something that is commonly available for viewing, I'm also very grateful that present day society is much more forgiving of unwedded mothers. Sheesh!

Following the movie itself I watched the documentary that it has been based upon, Sex in a Cold Climate. There were three women in the documentary telling of their experiences in the laundries as well as one woman who grew up in an orphanage that was attached to a laundry. Despite the proximity of young mothers to their children, the occupants of the laundries, referred to as "penitents", were carefully kept isolated from the children in order to prevent then from seeing their babies. Equally horrifying was the statement that even the children suffered abuse at the hands of the church, including sexual assault by priests.

It is estimated that 30,000 or more women spent time in the laundries. All of the women who were interviewed admitted to having relationship difficulties and most ended up divorced. Many found it impossible to have a sexual relationship with their spouse. Many others said that they were determined never to marry and thus not be at the mercy of someone who could have power over them. These women also commonly cut off all ties with the catholic church. From an anthropology perspective it's interesting. From a personal perspective, I have to thank my parents for not being the religious type. ;)