The topic women in the 1950’s mainly focuses on roles that were played by women in the years 1950-1959. Their roles have been a heated debate in many countries in the world and also concerning their morals. The topic having been debated for a long time would, therefore, be paramount especially in noting if there have been any differences from the year 1950. This will be by relating them to the recent years on how they have been perceived on their roles and how they should handle them. This, therefore, makes a paramount and also a very interesting topic on one of the most debated forums in the world.
1950s also marked the years that the roles of women changed a lot. Men came back from and took the jobs that they had left to the women back. The women had been entrusted with the jobs after men went to war. This was done by men themselves. Not all women were willing to give those back jobs. Some of them were forced to become wives and mothers as they lost their jobs to the men, and they had no any other source of livelihood. 70% of the women had clerical jobs and service jobs (Bock & Thane, 1994).
The women were supported a lot in having the jobs because they were the ones that mostly bought products for their houses. Women did most of the advertisements that were done on house products. An example is on products like food and cleaning materials. Women took these roles seriously and with time became very interested in them and started behaving the same as in the advertisements (Rosen, 1973). The society believed that women fitted in this role and that it was the role that women were supposed to aim at.
However, there were new appliances that were being invented, and this made women stay for only a short of time in their houses. Women were given the chance to explore all the other available opportunities through these platforms. Women who were uneducated started going to school and learn new things. This was a bit different from what they were meant to undertake earlier such as just staying home and meeting the pleasures of their husbands. In the 1950s, just after the war, the number of girls that had joined the college dropped significantly. Many of them left the colleges very early so that they could get married to the soldiers who had come from the war (Simonson, Gordo & Titova, 2011).
There were a large number of women who were left studying who did not pursue any career goals, but just stayed at the colleges. They planned mostly on taking care of their husbands silently and tending their houses after they were through with school. It was after these when the women were encouraged on taking special courses that they could apply at the comfort of their homes. Examples of such courses included interior decorating and family finances. The women who had attended colleges started looking for jobs despite what they had planned after college. They started looking for jobs ignoring what the society thought they should do. The roles that women were perceived to have started changing, women started taking jobs that they were not expected to by the society (Goldin, Katz & Kuziemko, 2006).
We should care about the topic of the women in the 1950s because as seen, and it provided a paramount basis in what has been happening today. This was the changing moment that changed the women from what they had been perceived as to people who could handle tasks that affected the whole society which was not seen earlier. It was the same span of years that the women realized the power they had and how they could utilize it for their survival (Nickerson, 2012). This had been the main defining period of when women started taking bigger responsibilities and even indulging themselves in politics and affairs of the nation. Their contribution became tremendous and significant and has been largely used by the modern day woman so that they can build their strengths. This is a topic that we have to care about especially on how women grew to become strong figures in the world.
For further research on the issue I would use the “Ladies Home Journal” (Wyeth & Bok, 1960) and “Popular Images of American Women in the 1950's and Their Impact on Ethel Rosenberg's Trial and Conviction” (Brennan, 1992). These are sources that could prove to be very helpful as they highlight the struggles of how women changed their perceived role into a much better role. There is also a variety of sources that will be used in the research due to their importance and how they have highlighted the whole change of the perspective. The topic is relevant and will answer many questions that have been asked and will also answer many questions that I have had on the issue of the strength of women and how it all became possible.
References
Bock, G., & Thane, P. (Eds.). (1994). Maternity and gender policies: Women and the rise of the European welfare states, 1880s-1950s. Psychology Press.
Brennan, S. M. (1992). Popular Images of American Women in the 1950's and Their Impact on Ethel Rosenberg's Trial and Conviction. Women's Rts. L. Rep., 14, 43.
Goldin, C., Katz, L. F., & Kuziemko, I. (2006). The homecoming of American college women: The reversal of the college gender gap (No. w12139). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Nickerson, M. M. (2012). Mothers of Conservatism: Women and the Postwar Right. Princeton University Press.
Rosen, M. (1973). Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies & the American Dream.
Simonson, J., Gordo, L. R., & Titova, N. (2011). Changing employment patterns of women in Germany: How do baby boomers differ from older cohorts? A comparison using sequence analysis. Advances in Life Course Research, 16(2), 65-82.
Wyeth, N. C., & Bok, E. W. (1960). Ladies' Home Journal (Vol. 10). LHJ Publishing, Incorporated.
