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The Suburban Paradox: The Rise Of Suburbia In The 1950s

2081 Words9 Pages

Zaylie Gore
CL US History
Mrs. Caligiuri
5/1/2023

The Suburban Paradox

In the 1950s, amid a changing America, where the feminist movement fought for women’s rights and equality, an unexpected counterforce emerged, cloaked in the allure of suburban tranquility.
During the mid-20th century, a significant social transformation took place in the United States, one that reshaped the dynamics of gender roles and expectations. Once the feminist movement had gained momentum during the 1940s, a movement that advocated for women’s rights and equality, a somewhat paradoxical movement followed it. The rise of suburbia in the 1950s, characterized by the growth of calm residential neighborhoods outside busy urban centers, became a powerful tool that rebuffed …show more content…

It subtly urged a re-popularization of traditional gender roles within the domestic sphere, and ensured a mass return from the socially disruptive times of war. Where the feminist movement aimed to challenge gender norms, the allure of promised suburban tranquility attracted many women into returning to traditional roles. That is not to say, of course, that women were, as a whole, entirely opposed to their suburban lives - many women found fulfillment and contentment with their lives in the suburbs. The complex relationship between the feminist movement and suburbia still echoes, reflecting the constant struggle for gender equality. The influences of mass media and other factors not only shaped the lives of suburban women in the 1950s, but impacted many views of women today. It is not uncommon to see internet posts or other published messages wishing for a return to a time where women “were more domestic” or “not so independent.” The legacy of this period of suburbia and its impact on gender roles remains pertinent today, serving as a reminder of how even supposedly unconscious practices can have lasting impacts on society.

Bibliography

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"Creators of Communities …show more content…

Dreaming Suburbia : Detroit and the Production of Postwar Space and Culture. Detroit: Wayne State University Press., 2004.

Marino, Michael P. "Looking for History in 'Boring' Places: Suburban Communities and American Life." The History Teacher 47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43264349?seq=4.

McEuen, Melissa A. Women, Gender, and World War II. N.p.: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, 2016. https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-55.

Palmer, Alfred. Women welders on the way to their job at the Todd Erie Basin drydock. 1943. Photograph. http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8e01109/.
Group of about a dozen women wearing overalls and visors or hard hats walking together beside a building.

Press, Andrea. "Gender and Family in Televisions Golden Age and Beyond." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 625.

Saegert, Susan. "Masculine Cities and Feminine Suburbs: Polarized Ideas, Contradictory Realities." Signs 5:S96-S111.

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"'Show Her It's A Man's World.'" Advertisement. Van Heusen.

Tuchman, Gaye. "Women's Depiction by the Mass Media." Signs 4 (Spring

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