1950s Gender Roles

Every once in awhile, shows such as Leave It to Beaver or Father Knows Best come up while surfing the tv guide. While these are two examples of remarkably popular television shows of the mid 1900’s, they also portray the gender normalities of the time period. Gender roles were simply and precisely defined. Men went to work and made the money, while the women stayed home to take care of the house and kids. However, as humanity enters the sixteenth year of the twenty first century, this precision begins to blur. Gender roles have come a long way in the past century. That being said, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, is almost like a time capsule, immersing the reader into the gender norms of the 1950s. Capote portrays these norms prominently throughout In Cold Blood, specifically in the second vignette.

The 1950’s introduced a new generation that had a significant impact on mainly the middle class. New jobs and an economic boost allowed for sixty percent of America to be middle class. The post-war dream created a new suburban life and the hope for a healthy family. The G.I. bill granted low-interest mortgages which made it easy for families to purchase new homes. New homes would be essential for the large increase in children born known as the “Baby Boom”. The gender roles and suburban house norms proceeded through the 1950’s. Domestic took place in Levittown where the use of mass production created affordable housing in weeks. In this new trend of living in the suburbs, there were many norms that came with it. This would be the setup

In her article "Motherhood/Paradise Lost (Domestic Division)", Terry Martin Hekker, a housewife who had been married to John Hekker, her husband, discusses the drawbacks of housewife as an occupation for women by sharing with the public her experience as a housewife in two different situations and centuries. The article aims to inform other women that depending on housewife as an occupation is really bad for their future. Hekker’s article is a good advice for today’s mothers as it is based on real experience.

Gender roles play an important role in A Raisin in the Sun. During the time A Raisin in the Sun was written the idea of set in stone positions in a household and society were common. Women were supposed to do house jobs, keep their mouths shut, and support their husbands’ decisions and men were seen as the headman or boss. A Raisin in the Sun shows readers a window into the world where those gender roles have a twist on them.

The 1920s were marked by an increase in consumerism due to a booming economy post-World War I (CrashCourse, 2013), the increasing popularity of consumer debt (CrashCourse, 2013) and an increase in the mass production of consumer goods (Osburn, n.d.). Coupled with technological advances, families now had access to mass media (in the form of the radio and television) and modern conveniences, such as household appliances and automobiles. Radio and television broadcasts helped to build a mass culture, where consumers were watching, listening, purchasing and emulating the same things across the nation (Osburn, n.d.). Women’s suffrage granted women the right to vote; some women took this new found voting freedom as license to break from traditional female roles in other areas and began dressing and

A family is the most precious identity a person can have. An individual whether from a noble, average or poor family can be distinguished by their discipline, character, behavior, customs and living conditions. In every generation parents and children illustrate different patterns and behaviors in family’s lifestyles prior to the previous ones. Family contributes to an individual’s growth, thinking and behavior. The standards for an ideal family back in the 1960s are extremely different than the standards held by an ideal family today. The principles of marriage, on what a family consisted of, father’s leadership skills, wife’s job, how they managed a family, families having meals together, families attending church and children respecting parents and abiding to their schedule.

The overall meaning of All Hallows Eve, by Dorothea Tanning, is that it was expected that women be taught housing skills to support their future families and the struggles countless women would go through to achieve the “perfect life”.

To begin, the idea of a “family” was present in early cultures in North America known as aboriginals. Aboriginals believed the concept of family was a sacred and significant function within their culture. However, the understanding of what constitutes a family differed from our understanding today. Unlike the nuclear family, aboriginals placed more emphasis on an extended family (Gendered society, 142). In other words, a family unit consisted of the entire community helpful and protecting one another. In addition, the division of labour in this particular family structure did not contain any superiority; male privilege primarily existed in the nuclear family. As years went on, society began to adopt the ways of Europeans. These ways led society to industrialization and urbanization. During this period the thought of the

One of the main examples of fading tradition is the Hutchinson family; Mrs. Hutchinson particularly. Mrs. Hutchinson is a clear representation of what was known to be the typical housewife. On perhaps the most significant day celebrate by all of the towns people, Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late. Joe Summers comments on her late arrival which she instantly responds back to by saying, “Wouldn’t have me leave all m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?” (Jackson 106). Her reason for being late presents such a literal visual of the role women were expected to play in a family. Women were expected to stay home and manage household chores along with the children, while men were raised to be strong hardworking providers. In the Hutchinson family, gender roles are well established; very similar to how families were structured in former generations.

When Hitler invaded Poland from the west, France and Britain declared war on Germany and began World War Two. America entered the war when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The United States instituted the Selective Training and Service act of 1940 which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This meant men had to go into service and leave their home life. This opened up many opportunities for women and sparked the change in women's roles. Women's roles have changed throughout the century including, work, society views, education opportunities, equality, and politics.

The values that TV changed was family life. TV impacted this by showing what a near-perfection family looks like. in the article The Impact of TV on the Economy in the 1950s by Michael Stratford it states “television created a view of what the perfect family life should look like, though few actual families could live up to that ideal.”and it said “ Through shows such as Leave It to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show and Father Knows Best, television created a view of what the perfect family life should look like, though few actual families could live up to that ideal”(source 2).This changed people’s lives because it made families to be closer together and be a better family and wanted people to be like the families on tv.TV changed Family life because it made families to be closer together and be a better family and wanted people to be like the families on tv.

America experienced a high time of economic growth and rapid social rights since 1945 and this had brought significant changes to U.S. society till the twentieth century.

“American women were about to experience an extraordinary period of change that would undo virtually every assumption about the natural limitations of their sex. It was going to be a journey of many parts—terrifying and exhilarating, silly and profound, a path to half-realized dreams, unexpected disappointments, and unimaginable opportunities,” (Collins 182). Chronicle In her book, When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1060 to the Present, Gail Collins chronicles this path to “half-realized dreams, unexpected disappointments and unimaginable opportunities.” Chronicling a time of many triumphs, but also many failures, Collins outlines the events precipitating the ultimate victory and ultimate failures of the revolution.

Betty Friedan was born in 1921. She graduated from Smith College in 1942. She wanted to study psychology graduate degree from UC Berkeley. Instead, she becomes a housewife and mother in New York, writing articles for women’s magazines. Friedan then stayed to care for her family. She was not satisfied as a housewife and wondered if other women felt the same. So, she surveyed her peers from Smith College What she concluded became the Feminine Mystique. Women’s personal identity as mothers and housewife was not fulfilling enough. Women suffered frustration because their only responsibility was the children and husband without exploring their intelligence and abilities. (History.org)

In “Housewife No Longer a Dirty Word”, Lucy Cavendish speaks up about how women are able to pursue anything they want in their life, whether it is to have a full-time job or to be a stay at home mom. Cavendish states that working hard, being successful and beating men at their own game has gotten boring and there is more to life than sitting behind a desk all day. Women now have the choice of being a housewife and are no longer frowned upon by the society: however; when Cavendish explained to her friends about drastically changing her life from London city to the country lifestyle they "cried" for her. Yet, as the years treaded on Cavendish found herself surrounded by housewives including her female friends.