Growing distinction between workplace and home led to distinction in societal roles of men and women. Women had long been denied legal and political rights, little access to business, less access to education at high…
After the Second World War in 1946 all three women’s services in the armed forces were disbanded and domestic service occupations for women rose up after the war. Secretary, bookkeeper and other domestic type occupations were the sort of jobs that had became available for women. Women also did not want to work the typical 9-5 workday and they did not want to separate their work life and home life from each other as each job wanted to strictly separate. Women wanted a better life than what they had known for themselves and for their family but that would mean that they would need more than just their husband’s salary to afford the luxuries they craved.…
As American women's roles evolved over time, women were confronted with contradictory messages about their place in society. Traditional ideals about women met new challenges with each generation, from outside forces like war and economic depression, and from the activity of women themselves. This caused many women to struggle with societal expectations that did not fit their reality, and with an identity that did not fit expectations. Colonial society delegated to women the job of protecting and sustaining the morality of the people, yet it refused them a public forum in which to do so; the nineteenth century ideology of domesticity presented a standard of maternal care that could not be universally achieved; the twentieth century offered women the opportunity for education, independence, and a place in the labor force, but expected her to return to her proper place in the home after marriage.…
The mid twentieth century proved to be a compelling, interesting time for the United States and an era that changed the World. The Civil Rights movement brought the end to de jure segregation and racism and this incredible grassroots movement served as a foundational model for other groups to mock and seek their own liberation. The 1960s spurned movements not only for African Americans, but also for the LGBT community and women. With the emergence of America as a media savvy economic powerhouse post the World Wars, a tide sort of changed within the community of women. According to Sara Evans in the selection “Cracks in the Mold,” women in the 1950s recognized they were somewhat limited to performing the dutiful tasks of motherhood, but many were outright no longer finding fulfillment in such rolls (176). Evans describes the complexities of sexism in the United States’ culture while also she explains that both a conservative female push and a more radical feminist movement helped shape the legislation and attitude changes permeating through twentieth century America.…
Women were expected to perform more domestic chores than their husbands who were spending more time at work due to the implementation of a more socialist society. This began a transition into similar expectations that American women had to uphold to as well, such as staying at home, cleaning, caring for the children more so than their husband counterparts. After several years of making up labor for the country, the FCW was established and this helped change society for women after the 60s (Nazzari). This liberated women from their “patriarchal norms.” At the same time, economic development was needed and so were women.…
“The way to a man’s heart, so we’ve always been told, is a good working knowledge of a pot, pan and mold.” –The Brides Cookbook, 1956. This quote is from a cookbook, which was made especially for newlywed women (Brides Cookbook, 1956). This is one example of the gender roles that was expected during this time era. Many women during that time period were expected to stay home, cook, clean and take care of the children, while the man of the house would work. The quote also continues “A juicy red steak, or a tender fish fillet, done to a turn, in a bright copper skillet, And leaves the man happy, content and drooling” (Brides Cookbook, 1956), It states that the meals the women makes will leave him happy, and during this time era, women did all the work in the house (Brides Cookbook, 1956). Even television shows during this time era make is acceptable to be a house wife, such as I love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver.…
The roles of women took a big turn and have developed into new roles for them today in modern society. According to Erika Cox in Life in the 1950’s, “Life in the early 1950’s was still very strict. Women were still obligated to the status of housewives and men were the main breadwinners in the family.” In the 1950’s and 60’s housekeeping and raising a family were considered ideal female roles. Women were expected to be perfect, in every way. Everyone wanted the perfect TV family and a wife who would gladly wash the dishes and do the housework. In 1950s Daily Life, Kayla Allen writes “Women were the ones who had to cook and clean. They had dinner on the table before their husbands came home from work. That lets them know that their wives are concerned for their needs.”For example, other than women having dinner ready, they also had to take care of the children, keep the house organized, and happily wait for their husband to come home from work. In our television programming of today, we see women taking the jobs of men. Women are now able to get an education and become police officers, join the military, and many other things. Females are now able to take the role of a female along with the role of a male. They have now become the housewife and the breadwinner in the family.…
Ever since the beginning, women have been downgraded. Many people ask the question why? Well, many people have thought that women cannot do the things that men can. Which later proves to not be true at all, as women believed they can do anything they put their minds to. With America's involvement in World War II, there was a change to women's roles. Women at the time may have not seen it but they were planting the seeds for the rebirth of feminism in the 1940s. (Writer, Leaf Group. “Feminism During the 1940s.” )…
During the 20’s, a majority of the workforce was mostly strictly males professionals, although some women in previous years worked it never measured to that of a male’s job. The social shifts in the social environments with gaining the right to vote confused many males whose mindsets remanded in the traditional past roles of women in the home. However one of…
The role of women was brought into the limelight by the growing consumerism and shift in our economy, especially since both of these eras come right after some of the largest-scale wars to date as well as the latter era coming right after one of our greatest economic collapses. The 1920s and the 1950s are two eras marked by incredible change and development for our nation, specifically with race relations, the role of women, and the ever growing presence of consumerism within American society. Race relations, as mentioned earlier, is still a very prevalent topic in today's media. It’s impossible to turn on any news station without hearing about different race related crimes, or hear talks of growing tensions between different ethnic groups. These sorts of discussions have been rooted in history with the slavery of the south.…
Then we enter the baby boom period and things change a bit. Post war was during 1945 through 1960 and the troops came home. Marriage rates increased and the birth rate was through the roof(Norton, 839). Since families were growing the women now needed to stay home. When we entered the 1950’s people were getting married younger and families became the main focus. During this period is when I see the biggest change in gender roles. Women before this were trying to do the same things as men, have rights and be independent. They basically take a few steps back. While a good portion of women did work during this time, they were still responsible for the household duties and the children. Women who did work work faced discrimination. There would help wanted signs asking specifically for a male or a female(Norton, 860).…
Women have fought throughout history in order to achieve different roles as well as to acquire recognition, independence, equality and respect. It has not been easy since they have had many barriers to overcome; their role in the family as wives, mothers and daughters; their role in society fighting for their rights, being heard and treated as men; their role as career women, not only receiving an education but also being able to work.…
We are persuaded through different types of media that the 1950s was a period of economic development, a period social change and awareness, and a period where women were fulfilled coming back to their pace in the home after the Second World War. Encompassing women with materialistic “necessities” to improve the home and the emphasis on family life and gender roles in the 1950s showed women their place in society. However, the expectation of society to fit in with gender roles has consequences. There was a desire to stay home and tend to the children and home and that a woman’s happiness depended on their children, home and spouse. Women in reality were unhappy and felt remorseful for encountering such emotions when they were told by society that their unhappiness depended on the happiness of their children and spouse. The lives of 1950’s middle-class, white, women in the U.S., considered another sort of comprehension of understanding of American women in the 1950s.…
It is no secret that for centuries, women have faced years and years of discrimination, inferiority to men, and being viewed as less than human by society. Women have had to fight for their right to vote amongst other legal rights, and for their independence from their husbands. “When American women began to enter the labor force in the nineteenth century, the relatively few jobs open to them were highly segregated by gender” (Spain 1992: 14). The first women’s labor union began to form by the end of the 1930’s. Women’s activism began to increase, leading to a new reform in paid work and the rise in feminism in the midst of a new labor movement (Gregory 2003: 25). By the 1940’s, the transition of the housewife to that of a working woman began to trend. Women began to venture out of the home in search of employment and educational opportunities to help provide for their families, since their…
The 1970s was a time when women realized that they had a second-class place in society. For instance although women made up about one-third of the American Workforce they were usually employed and low income, dead end jobs. Society was still teaching little girls that there was nothing, more than staying home and having children. And when those goals were just right for some others felt frustratingly limited. At the start of the seventies women's liberation groups grew in numbers and in strength as woman in all segments of the population discovered that they could have a voice. they also learn that they had common goals such as equality in jobs, education, child care, and abortion…