Gender Roles In The 1950's

In the 1950’s, gender roles, and the behavior of men and women were about as clearly defined as you can get. A new invention called the television popped up, and all the popular shows of the day mirrored real life to a tee. Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver were just two of the regular shows that the whole family would sit down and watch together. And why not? The shows of the day reflected the 1950’s family, and their values. Families would have breakfast together. The man of the house would leave for his 9-5 job. Mom would ready the kids for school, while they were away, she would clean the house and prepare for dinner. When everyone was back together again at the table. Dinner would be served promptly at 5:30. More often than not, this was the
Although at the time, there were no regulations regarding equal pay for equal performance or jobs, but that it something that will be further addressed in the decades to come. Throughout this tumultuous time, the family unit seemed to go by the wayside. There were many more programs and opportunities for woman as time passed, but little for the family as a unit. It seems as though we went from ‘Leave it to Beaver’, with the whole family around the kitchen table to Latchkey kids overnight. The term Latchkey kids was coined after kids that come home from school, and there is no parent, or adult home. They literally come home from school, and ‘turn the latch with their house key’ and let themselves inside. Looking forward, I will address the impact that Betty Friedan, a feminist and activist, and also the co-founder of NOW, and Gloria Steinem, also a feminist and activist, who was the creator of, and editor in chief of Ms. Magazine had on the modern woman, and how these changes affected the family dynamic. In addition, going forward I will look at how the change in gender roles has impacted the family in society today, and has it become a necessity for all families to be a two-income family in