The normative organization of the Central Commission of Salesian Women Cooperators: gender and sociability. Argentina, 1900-1926

Abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze the normative organization of the Central Commission of Salesian Women Cooperators between 1900 and 1926 from a gender viewpoint to observe the conflicts and consensus built by priests and cooperators around its definition and start up. Several normative documents related to the commission and located in the Central Salesian Archive in Buenos Aires and the Historic Patagonic Salesian Archive in Bahia Blanca are studied. Women cooperators worked in collaboration under the supervision of the priests that tried to channel the individual initiatives and avoid the transgressions ruling with documents their actions. However, the women cooperators were able to make their opinion known to the priests and to influence in the final design of the rules.