1950s Women

At the end of World War I and World War II, after women had taken over male jobs while fighting, men returned but women wanted to keep the jobs they had obtained when the war had ended (Stoneham). Women of the wars had gained lots of independence, but when the 1950s came around women lost it and became more domestic. The women of the 1950s returned back to the idea of being required to work at home and that they had no place in society. But 1950s women were more than just a passive link between working women of the war and political activists in the 1960s, the 1950s gave women the drive and motivation to be as strong in society that they are today. (Holt).

After World War II families moved to suburbs, fostered the baby boom, and forged a happy

Advertising through magazines and television defined and transmitted the role of women and motherhood (Stoneham, Holt). During this time the ‘Seven Sisters’, a group of magazines traditionally aimed at homemaker women some including: Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, and Woman’s Day, reached over thirty four million consumers, which is a great deal of women to convince what lifestyle they should live. In addition, propaganda was used to put women “back in their place”, after mem came home from war (Holt). Many television shows presented a set example of a normal american life, the most memorable one being, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” (Stoneham). June Cleaver, Donna Reed, and Harriet Nelson were all television show mothers who acted the part of the idealistic housewife of this time period. The media popularized the “ideal women”, thus restricting women’s ability to oppose the domestic, caregiving model. The “ideal women” gave a clear picture as to how women should emulate their proposed role in society, which still lingers with us today. (Holt). The media would not passively but actively release pictures of smiling woman with arms full of cooked food, or women cleaning looking happy and content doing just that. These pictures and others showed dedicated housewives whose

In the 1950s, a large percentage of girls entering college dropped or left college early. Women who left college early did so in order to get married, and women who stayed did not plan on working towards a job. College girls dreamed of a quiet life after college with their husbands and tending for the house. Lynn White, the president of Mills College said these words about female college students during the 1950s, “the curriculum for female students should prepare women to foster the intellectual and emotional life of her family and community!” Female students were encouraged to take special courses to prepare themselves for home life, some of these classes included: interior decoration and family finance. (Stoneham). These statements alone proves that people didn’t want women to follow their dreams or pursue anything out of what society had expected for them, women had to follow the path set in front of them and everything around them continued to push them the “right”