In this chapter, Freeman shifts the focus from the physiology of sex education and instead highlights how sex education curricula of the 1940s/1950s began to include the mental and psychological aspects of sexual development. Because of this, sex education introduced courses designed to discuss boy-girl relationships and the, often contradictory, messages perpetuated to young girls. During the mid-twentieth century, both feminists and sex educators agreed that girls are not inherently feminine, but rather it is a gender performance, which is earned. Because of this, sex education often depicted culturally specific and acceptable forms of femininity. This is a key concept that is applied to The Story of Menstruation and the fairytale-esque
The culture in Northern America during the 1960’s and 1970’s was very controversial. There were several that were happy with it but several that were extremely unhappy with it. There were several causes for the protests that took place in the United States during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Allen Ginsberg was a prominent figure during the time of counterculture. Ginsberg lived from 1926-1997 and he was a very key individual in all these protests.
The patriarchy also proves damaging and oppressive for individuals such as Roy. While Roy is far from a sympathetic character as he is abusive and controlling of Jack, it should be acknowledged that war veterans, especially in the 1950’s, were not given the social or medical support needed. Jack perceives Roy as “what a man should be” and sees him as stoic and strong, “He’d been to war and kept a kind of silence about it that was full of heroic implication.” The ideal that a man should be detached, unemotional, and violent lest he be seen as effeminate or weak comes from the idea that men need to be the providers and the powerful, something which is incredibly damaging to men, especially those who have been affected by the trauma of war. It
The 1950s in the US saw significant changes politically, socially, culturally, and economically due to the "economic boom". Politically, the 1950s were marked by the beginning of the Cold War, which led to increased government spending on military and defense. The era was also characterized by a wave of conservative sentiment, reflected in the election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the rise of suburbanization. Socially, the 1950s saw a rise in consumerism and a growing middle class, leading to a proliferation of new consumer goods and the development of a more materialistic culture.
Since the beginning of time, women have been represented as a sexualised identity. All women were expected to cook, clean and care for their husbands while still having to look pretty. The article written by Vanessa Martins Lamb, “The 1950’s and the 1960’s and the American Woman”, uses language devices to convey the message that women in the 50’s were indeed represented as a sexualised identity and stereotypical gender roles were significant in society. The author described the jobs a married woman had to do in order to be the perfect housewife, “have dinner ready, prepare yourself, prepare the children, minimize all noise, be happy to see him, listen to him, make the evening his”, puts emphasis on the fact that all of the woman’s duties
Pop Culture,technology, and the role of women changed throughout the years in 1950. Although the 1950’s were pretty much known for the greaser styles, doo wap music and breakthrough advertisements styles and morals continue to be an inspiration. Women were submissive and expected to be the perfect housewives. They were expected to stay home, cook
During his speech addressed to the UN general Assembly given on September 25,1961, John F. Kennedy stated, “Conformity is the Jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” In other words, if we all accept the circumstances and go with the flow like dead fish, how can we know what we are capable of accomplishing-how much we can grow, especially as a nation? Conformity can be defined as the compliance with standards, rules, or laws or the moment you willingly chose to fit in when you’re meant to stand out. In the 1950s, a flood of social conformity washed over the country and had people leading similar and stereotypical lives. Many, at the time, strived for the comfort and simplicity depicted in TV shows such as “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it
The 1940s to the 1960s was a period of great change and transformation in America. The 1940s saw the end of World War II, which had a significant impact on the American economy and society. Many soldiers returned home and there was a baby boom as people started families. The post-war years were also characterized by a time of prosperity, as the economy boomed and the standard of living for many Americans improved.
There are similarities and differences between the 50s and today’s society the 50s were a bad time to be in for all people. People were discriminated by other people. Whites discriminated the blacks because of their color, blacks didn’t have the same rights as the whites and that isn’t fair. They couldn’t even drink from the same water fountain or even use the same bathroom because of the color. This also includes having problems with war but dodge it because in the article called “The Fifties”:
During the 1950’s-1975 the society changed dramatically. There were a lot of things that occurred during this period like: Women’s rights, Abortion and the Pill, Indigenous rights, civil rights movement, Drug culture and sexual revolution (Counterculture), assassination of both John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. All this, had both a positive and a negative impact on the society. Women’s right during the 1960’s changed dramatically, more women were entering the paid workforce. They were dissatisfied with the unequal payment and the sexual harassment that was happening in the workplace.
The American way of life has predominantly remained the same since the 1950’s even though substantial changes have taken place. Some comparisons between the 1950’s and today are: insufficient education for non-white students in cities, lack of political reform, and stereotypes. Some things that make today different from the 1950’s are: integration, the fear of communism, and inter-racial marriages. As established in the 1993 film Philadelphia a good definition of discrimination is: “the essence of discrimination: formulating opinions about others not based on their individual merits, but rather on their membership in a group with assumed characteristics.” Therefore many organizations/groups believe that discrimination of any type shall be considered
“I can’t imagine there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to live than America in the 1950s. No country has ever experienced such prosperity.” The 1950s was a time of affordability, lifestyle, and prosperity. The 1950s were a better decade because many people benefited from the economic boom, teenagers had more freedom, and NASA was founded. There was a big economic boom.
The 1950’s was seen as a fantastic era in the United State’s history. Sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of the United States, this time period was seen as a pinnacle of the country’s economic and social growth. Although this era is called the Golden Age, the 1950’s wasn’t as bright as we remember it. In reality, the 1950’s were a pretty dark time in the history of America and for the rest of the world as well. The article “What we really miss about the 1950’s” by Stephanie Coontz and the excerpt by Malcolm X entitled “Learning to read” explain how and why the 1950’s isn’t an age to feel nostalgic over.
Though the dictionary defines a hippie as anyone who rejects the conventional customs of society, in America the hippies were a very specific group that developed in response to the countercultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Although the term was sometimes applied too broadly (especially by the “straights,” whose world the hippies scorned), hippies tended to be gentle people who embraced colorful clothing, nonpossessive sexual relationships, the use of marijuana (see entry under 1960s—The Way We Lived in volume 4 ) and LSD, communal living, and a “live for today” philosophy. On Broadway (see entry under 1900s—Film and Theater in volume 1 ), the musical Hair (see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 4 ) opened in 1968 to celebrate
The 1920s, led by the youth, was a restless time. Americans were tired of the moral restrictions of previous generations and the progressive reform a decade earlier. The “roaring twenties” were exemplified by new economic prosperity, social/cultural changes, and advances in technology. During the 1920s, many Americans challenged traditional ideas of acceptable or proper behavior; this marked the start of the sexual revolution.
