"The ideal 1950s man was the
provider, protector and the boss of the house" -Life magazine, 1955 |
"The ideal modern woman married, cooked and cared for her family, kept herself busy by joining the local PTA and leading a troop of Campfire Girls. She entertained guests in her family's suburban house and worked out on the trampoline to keep her size 12 figure."
- Life magazine, 1956 |
Although 35% of women did go to college in the 1950s, most attended, not to earn skills but to find a husband-- the MRS Degree. In 1956, 60% of college women dropped out to marry. Most universities provided places for young couples to live and made arrangements for women to drop out of school and have children.
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“Everybody wants to graduate with a diamond ring. That’s the important thing”. -Woman at Smith College told Betty Friedan |
Increasingly, housewives complained of despair and aches. Betty Friedan analyzes the trend in The Feminine Mystique (1963). She reasons the problem originates from the superficial system created by society that forces a woman to identify herself with her children and husband.
“The problem that has no name—which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities—is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease” and “we can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: ‘I want something more than my husband and my children and my home’”. -The Feminine Mystique (1963) |
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The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, 1963 |