Saturday, March 30, 2019

Role Of A 1950s American Housewife History Essay

voice Of A mid-fifties Ameri backside House wife History Essaythroughout the fifties categorykeeping duties and taking c ar of the family was considered a berth of the wo custody. levelheaded age of the girls got hook up with at dressu eithery(prenominal) tender ages and some even finish their opportunities to study in localise to get married. They quickly became wives and they established their families by giving birth to many children and bonnie young m opposite(a)s. However, during the Second public War, thither was a work force shortage and therefore women were puddle to take up factory jobs. Immediately after the Second reality War the come of women who were functional drastically dropped. All the single women who were working were craved to quit their jobs in order to get married. The television offered polar shows that re baffleed the appropriate gender roles. Being a lady of the house was the latest thing to do and those who followed their courses we re considered unwise. This trend did not last for a very long time as there raised a host of womens liberationist travails. These movements influenced how women viewed the existing gender roles.1In the mid-fifties women real very little say and adore inwardly the family. The women had specific roles that were centered within the dwelling. Women were pass judgment to perform house chores such(prenominal) as keeping the house clean and tidy and taking care of their children. They cooked food and baked prick while in any case sewing their own clothes. The women ensured that they prepare a quick and delicious meal for their saves to eat after a long and dumb day at work. This was seen as a sign that they cared and often conception of their maintains. The women also make sure that they cleaned and refreshed themselves just before their husbands arrive. They use makeup and dressed up in pretty dresses with ribbons in order to look appeal to their husbands. They also ensure d that they clear the house of any pattern of clutter so that their husbands would return to a clean and comfortable environment. The housewives were also required to make sure that they washed up and dressed all their children and ensure that they had neatly combed hair just before their fathers arrival. On the husbands arrival, the housewives made sure that the al-Qaida did not earn unnecessary noise. It was substantial that they warmly welcome their husbands with a kind embrace. The housewives were expected to maintain the childrens theatre of op successiontions while enjoying a meal. The women avoided arguments with their husbands and they barely complained even when displeased. Their indebtedness was to ensure that they offered their husbands a quiet time to unwind. They gave their husbands a listening ear and gave them soothing refreshments.2The women in the fifties were so inclined to their house chores, their children, and husbands that they hardly thought just about their own careers. During this period, any woman who did not conform to the housewife role was faced with immense criticism. The women in this era were not provided with equal opportunities as the men. Women were expected to be fully dependent on the men for the purvey of all their needs and requirements. The women were required to stay at dwelling house in order to take care of their homes, children, and even husbands. No woman received any recognition or credit for being learned or for holding a good job put down. It was just important for them to be available in the home for their children and husband. It was very important for them to be present in all the development stages of their children. They also got the opportunity to monitor their childrens discipline process and their health conditions. This role was considered an curiously trying task for the women who opted to go to work. This is because of the express time available to cater for their homes and children and many husbands did not esteem such wives. Women were required to be well talkn to their children, husbands and the public. Especially in public, the housewives were expected to introduce themselves properly and not to engage in searching conversation. They were not expected to actively talk in the presence of men. In case they disagreed with a certain topic, they were not allowed to voice their opinions. They were expected to be careful about their language content while ensuring that they avoid profanity. Women were in many cases judged according to their homes. The society measured how clean their houses were, their childrens behavior, how happy their husbands were, how they spoke and carried themselves in public.3During this period, women were required to remain in their trade union setup in spite of the challenges. Housewives never considered divorce as it attracted a lot of stigma from the society. Women who opted for a divorce were unwelcome within the society and they we re faced with huge difficulties. This was especially because they had limited education levels and they unavailability of decent jobs for women. This essentially made it difficult for women to get a home to live in and food for them and their children to eat. man and wife was actually considered a huge incentive for all women and their children. Women sacrificed their happiness and kinda worked very hard to ensure that their husbands were happy. They did this in order to maintain a happy home and marriage and to avoid chances of a divorce. Housewives at times had to deal with physical abuse from their husbands and even cater for alcoholic husbands. contempt all this, the women had to persevere in their sad marriages ascribable to stigmatization. Women were also responsible for(p) for childbearing despite how they felt. Once a woman got pregnant, she was obligated to fuddle birth. The women gave birth irrespective of whether they were mentally, physically, or psychologically u nprepared. The option or act of abortion attracted immense stigmatization even though they had a practiced to do as they pleased. The stigma ca utilise many women to carry pregnancies that they were not interest in carrying to maturity.4Women were comfortable with being housewives and barely pursed any form of high(prenominal) education. aft(prenominal) completing their high school education, many women were married and stayed at home. The military issue of men who att finish school for their higher education was off the beaten track(predicate) greater than that of women. The education policy that was available in the 1950s was foul since the education of women was not equally promoted and encouraged. Women were not offered equal opportunities as compared to the men. The womens roles and purposes in the affable and economic environment were very limited. The few women who opted to work in the any available position were not considered good wives. This is because there was an premiss that they could not take care of their families properly and work at the uniform time. This assumption is due to the huge amount of work both(prenominal) at home and at work. Women who chose to work would be inclined to concentrate on one side and neglect the other. In most(prenominal) cases, a family would require a home assistant to take care of the children. The children would miss a mothers love, care, and attention. Therefore, women who pursed a career path in the 1950s usually ended up single since men were more than interested in women who could take care of them bear children and personally take care of them children.5In the 1950s toys such as the Barbie were used to depict the specific gender roles. closely of the toys that were made for little girls were used to mould them into desirable women. The toys allowed the young girls to have a good imagination of how their lives were required to turn out. The toys offered imitations of items and equipments that adu lt women used within the home. This was in order for the girls to have a feel of what precisely it meant to be a housewife and the chores involved. The boys on the other hand had toys that characterized men as strong and courageous. The color television also strongly change the roles of women with the shows and advertisements that aerate. The color television had impact due to the availability of color that made advertisements more appealing. The television aired advertisements that promoted conjure upism in the direction of women. The advertisements assumed that women were expected to take up certain roles such as cleaning, childbearing and, cooking. Sexism towards women is forthwith considered discriminatory but in the 1950s it was considered a very dominion thing. Women were in those days trained to accept the stereotype that assumed women were meant to be housewives. Other adverts portrayed women as dependants on men who fully controlled them and influenced their behaviors . The advertisements restrain the women within the home environment and to their household chores. They also offered women with the ideal figure of a beautiful housewife and the desired beauty products. Books and magazines written by influential writers also offered a reference point for all housewives in the 1950s.6Iconic figures seen in televisions, magazines and written in books also influenced the role of women. Individuals such as Marylin Monroe, Lucille Ball and Grace Kelly were amongst the most influencial women in the 50s. Merylin Monroe was a sex symbol and women all over the United States worked very hard to result her behaviors to get attention from their husbands. It was important in the 1950s to look appealing and desirable to ones husband and sexual demeanor played an essential role. Its superlative role was to ensure that each husband was comfortable and fully satisfactory within the marriage. It also assisted to enhance closeness, faithfulness, minimize argumen ts, and ensure that no divorces occur. Grace Kelly was a mode icon and women were inclined to follow her fashion trends. It was important for the 1950s woman to dress up and look pretty. After a long day from work or while attend hearty functions it was important for men to find and show up with sprucely dressed women. The women would always want to look fashionable at every time and season. It was therefore the responsibility of every housewife to be on the high alert for any changes and ripeistic trends. Lucille Ball on the other hand acted in a famous television show called I love Lucy. The show p portrayed Lucy as the gradationic 1950s housewife. She acted as the major character that was very loving and caring for her husband Ricardo. However, Lucy defended herself and did not allow anyone to direct her actions. She worked hard to portray an independent housewife who did not accept to be shoved around. Her acting opened up and influenced other housewives behaviors while e nsuring that they remained to be loving and caring to their husbands.7The 1950s Housewife turn on FeminismThe 1950s have been referred as the bleak era of feminism. After the end of the Second World War, there was a new emphasis on the nuclear family as the basis of the well-being distinguish in Britain. During the War, women were allowed to work outside their homes and took part in the War efforts however, after the war elapsed, they were encouraged to take the roles of mothers and wives. The government aimed to reestablish the two as the primary occupation for women.8By 1985, 75 percent of the adult women were married more specifically, 84.8 percent of women between 45 and 49 years were married.9At the time, married had become even more popular than before the prewar period.Furthermore, in the post war era, childcare facilities were closed, and there was a limited aid being advanced to working women. However, the state implemented social reforms, which were aimed at providing f amily allowances that were meant for subsidizing families. More specifically, the subsidies were aimed at supporting women in their roles as wives and mothers.10 contempt the numerous efforts targeted at helping women, they were not satisfied by the position they were accorded. Sue Bruely observes and laments that the progressive vision follow in the New Britain after the war was fundamentally flawed in its conservative view on women.11The media films, radio, and womens magazines had a significant role in shaping the society, these include the attitudes of women towards ballock employment. The media had a regressive attitude and positively desire to discourage women from combining employment and marriage. The media embarked on discouraging women from engage careers and laid emphasis on the womans domesticity and dependence, and encouraged women to return to their noble duties in the kitchen and nursery. Furthermore, television and radio aired womens programs that were dogmatic , and aimed at reinforcing the woman as a successful housewife.Despite the amazing efforts being laid to return women at their noble duty of being a housewife, the 1950s witnessed a monumental stride towards attaining parity for women. This include parity on such issues as equal pay for teachers in 1952, and in male and female positions in the civil service in 1954. The achievement can be traced to the various efforts of feminist movements. For instance, Edith Summerskill fought for the rights of women both in parliament and through the conventional non-party pressure groups throughout the 1950s. furthermore, the feminist writers at the time, such as Viola Klein and Alva Myrdal argued that women could juggle both employment and household jobs well. The era of 1950s has come to be referred to as welfare feminism. The legal age of the feminists leaders argued that they adopted a position, which could be termed as reasonable modern feminism the position advocated for sexual diversit y and sought to establish the social contribution by women rather than call for impartiality or equality of gender. During the 1950s, feminism was mainly concerned with social responsibility, and aimed to promote the general welfare of the society.The 1960s fall in the second wave of the feminist movement, and it aimed at putting an end to the social and cultural inequalities between sexes. The achievements made by feminists in the second wave can be traced to the efforts made in the 1950s. The 1950s have seemed like a tranquil moment regarding the traditionalisticistic notions of the family however, various trends and events that took place in this period had significant contributions to the liberation of women that gained caprice in the 1960s. In the years following the Second World War, the tot up of college students grew significantly. However, a significant number of women who had attained college education were married currently after or were married before completing co llege. In their adopted new roles as housewives, they were soon to be bored and frustrated by the repetitive household jobs and became unsatisfied with their responsibilities as mothers. These women contributed greatly to the feminist movement that took route in the 1960s. Additionally, though traditional wisdom dictated that the responsibility of women was restricted at home, a significant number of women made a precious contribution in supplementing their husbands incomes. The Life magazine reported that women held a third of all the jobs available in the United States in 1956. A significant number of these women enjoyed their professions, sought promotion, and equal pay however, the few rewards and legal resources that were available for women disappointed them12These discriminatory practices increase the number of women who opted to join the feminist movement. Furthermore, the successes in the civil right movement cases such as the sentiment of Brown v. Board of Education of T opeka in 1954, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools, persuaded women to believe that reforms were indeed possible.The Lessons the Modern muliebrity Can Learn From the 1950s HousewifeFor many years, women suffered a hotshot of dissatisfaction however, each woman struggled with the problem alone.13The materials that were published on women exclamatory on enlightening women to seek their fulfillment as wives and mothers. Repeatedly, women were subjected to conventional voices and Freudian sophistications, that they should not desire a greater destiny than their own femininity. The published articles emphasized on educating women on catching and keeping a man, breastfeeding, handling passel training, coping with sibling rivalry, and breastfeeding how to purchase a dish washer, bake, and to cook bon vivant snails. Furthermore, women were taught on looking, dressing, and making their marriage successful by acting in a feminine manner and on how to keep their husbands y outhful and their sons from becoming delinquents. The lessons also emphasized that women should pity rather than envy the irrational, unfeminine, and unhappy women who sought to be poets, psychiatrists, and presidents. Women learnt that a true feminine did not pursue professions, higher education, political rights, and the opportunities sought by the old-fashioned feminists.14Therefore, a significant number of the 1950s women devoted their lives from an early age to seeking to find a husband and bearing children.The end of the 1950s was marked with a drawive decline in the number of women attending college while the average marriage age dropped to 20 years. Additionally, by the age of 17 years, a significant number of women were engaged. Many women were unhappy with what was commonly referred to as the problem with no name, or the housewifes syndrome as referred by some doctors however, women continued to have more babies. More so, college students were engaged in having more babi es, as opposed to pursuing careers. The women had no career goals, and their aspirations were limited to being married and raising a family however, they were overly dissatisfied, desperate, and lacked a personality. Women were mere food servers, putter-on of pants, and bed makers. The housewife was unappreciated. The 1950s woman was a stereotypical woman-in-distress, who is always dependent on her husband for survival. She is also perceived as an inept woman the woman-driver, the extravagant wife who cannot budget and is the primary cause of the mans downfall. Women were not expected to attend college and most women were married straight after high school and assumed the traditional roles. Women who showed braveness and continued to college were not taught science and mathematics rather, they were allowed to pursue home political economy and cooking. More so, women were not allowed to join in conversations, and men feared learned women due to their tendency to think of their intere sts and to disagree with the men. Despite the hard and unhappy liveness of the 1950s women, they have worth(predicate) lessons for the present-day(a) woman.Citing the problems faced by the housewives, the home economist suggested a lack of proper preparation for the housewife thus, he suggested a more realistic preparation for the housewives, such as high-school classes in home appliances. The home economics class was designed for the female students, and the limit of the course reflected the larger social cultural context in which the home economics was situated in the 1950s. Furthermore, college educators came up with suggestions on increasing the number of discussion groups on home organization and family issues, and on the preparations of women on their adjustment to fit domestic lives and its subsequent roles. These were valuable suggestion for the benefit of both the 1950s woman and the modern woman.The role of women in the 1950s was a retrospective role in various ways. The society had quidive expectations on womens behavior both at home and in public. Women had certain roles and the society expected them to fulfill the roles without failure. A woman was expected to be an brisk homemaker, and an obedient and caring wife to her husband and family. Home The ideal wife was expected to be restricted at home, and to nurture her family to gain respect from the society. A hard-working wife had the dinner ready by the time her career husband returned home from work, and a wife was only a valuable and respectable if she obeyed her husband, carried out his orders, and agreed with the husband without question. Even in instances where a woman wanted to voice her opinion, her lack of education would restrict her. The contemporaneous society is significantly different from that of the 1950s however, the roles and responsibilities of the 1950s woman, though burdensome, are valuable to some extent.The home economics lesson offered to the 1950s women is valuable to the modern-day housewives. The course taught the preparation of meals however, it taught more than just the fundamentals of food preparation. The class contained other valuable lessons, which included the principles of food buying and food handling. Furthermore, there are valuable lessons in choosing the most cost-effective and wakeless incase meals from the supermarket, this is perceived as a symbol of success in Americas capitalism.15Furthermore, housewives of the 1950s were taught on buying such household appliances like the refrigerator and microwaves, these were valuable appliances in food handling and preservation. The lessons are structured to change and compliance the minds of young American women. They blended the gender roles and technical issues involved in food preparation, and the marketers interests in asserting a society, which was increasingly influenced by mass consumption agents.The modern American society possesses similarities with the 1950s society. The s ociety is marked with numerous agents of mass consumption and promotional events that are aimed at promoting mass consumption. Furthermore, the increased cost of living and advances in technology have necessitated budgeting and an increased need for budgeting. Therefore, the 1950s housewife offers numerous lessons for the modern-day housewife. The modern-day housewives can learn the principles of food buying and food handling, choosing the most cost-effective and healthy boxed meals from the supermarket, and buying such household appliances like the refrigerator and microwaves. These were fine lessons learned by the 1950s housewives and are of significance to the modern-day housewife.

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