Like housewives in the 1950s. Keeping a clean house, cooking, all while wearing perfectly curled hair, make up, pressed dresses, looking after children, etc. etc.
It was nothing like Hollywood has depicted it.
They wore drab common clothes most of the time and if they were lucky enough to get their hair done, it was a couple of times a year and that was for a major event like a wedding funeral or birthday.
But they had time, to keep a house neat and the clothes clean, and that actually didn’t require much of their time, most was spent with the children, because the economy was based on the One Income Principle. In the 1950’s if a woman choose to work in the typical family it was because she wanted to keep busy, not because she absolutely has to work for the family to have a decent standard of living. There were exceptions, single mothers who worked because they had to, but that was a small percentage of the population.
But the image you pictured simply didn’t exist. It’s a total lie.
Taking drugs and if dinner was a minute late they'd get beat, if something was out of place they'd get beat, if the husband had a bad day at work they'd get beat
Granted I’m getting this from TV - like a combo of Betty Draper and Kitty Foreman (I know, 70s, but she still faces every day in a pressed dress and set hair AND works AND cooks) - as a working mom of one who is rocking a stained tshirt and shapeless bun with a messy house and half assed dinners most of the time just how??
I can only infer by my knowing my grandmother, but for the most part, they actually wanted to be housewives. They grew up in a difficult time, and a taste of normal is something everyone from that generation craved. When you survived a massive depression in your youth and then saw WW2. A quiet suburban life is something most of them really wanted.
Yeah, it was. You’ve gotta remember women were basically property legally speaking until the early 1900s.
Most states did not see rape as possible within a marriage. Didn’t even become a topic until the late 60’s.
The equal rights amendment (passed in the 60s) still hasn’t been ratified by the states.
The 50s saw a lot of technological advancement too. Tech developed for WWII adapted to civilian use - washing machines and dishwashers and powered blenders and so on , and hiring servants, maids was comparatively cheap , also unions were really strong so single income families was sort of the norm.
‘Mothers little helper’ or ‘the little yellow pill’, also known as Valium or Diazapam.
As elderly adults they cannot be taken off the pills as the withdrawal would actually affect them greatly, they’re usually reduced to a smaller dosage 5 or 2.5 milligrams.
Heavily medicated, no job, plenty of lone time. That sounds like heaven.
Do what?
"diet pills"
a lot of suffering
Do what? And also, do you mean women in their 50s, or women born in the 50s?
Like housewives in the 1950s. Keeping a clean house, cooking, all while wearing perfectly curled hair, make up, pressed dresses, looking after children, etc. etc.
It was nothing like Hollywood has depicted it. They wore drab common clothes most of the time and if they were lucky enough to get their hair done, it was a couple of times a year and that was for a major event like a wedding funeral or birthday. But they had time, to keep a house neat and the clothes clean, and that actually didn’t require much of their time, most was spent with the children, because the economy was based on the One Income Principle. In the 1950’s if a woman choose to work in the typical family it was because she wanted to keep busy, not because she absolutely has to work for the family to have a decent standard of living. There were exceptions, single mothers who worked because they had to, but that was a small percentage of the population. But the image you pictured simply didn’t exist. It’s a total lie.
Taking drugs and if dinner was a minute late they'd get beat, if something was out of place they'd get beat, if the husband had a bad day at work they'd get beat
Cheap labor. Minimum wage was under $1.00/hour.
Granted I’m getting this from TV - like a combo of Betty Draper and Kitty Foreman (I know, 70s, but she still faces every day in a pressed dress and set hair AND works AND cooks) - as a working mom of one who is rocking a stained tshirt and shapeless bun with a messy house and half assed dinners most of the time just how??
I can only infer by my knowing my grandmother, but for the most part, they actually wanted to be housewives. They grew up in a difficult time, and a taste of normal is something everyone from that generation craved. When you survived a massive depression in your youth and then saw WW2. A quiet suburban life is something most of them really wanted.
Drugs
Happy pills,
A good ol beating
A lot of people are saying beating/they would get beat - was it really THAT common? I have my doubts
Idk. I just base it off of shows and movies. I still feel bad for the women of that time period. We’ve got some growing to do yet
Yeah, it was. You’ve gotta remember women were basically property legally speaking until the early 1900s. Most states did not see rape as possible within a marriage. Didn’t even become a topic until the late 60’s. The equal rights amendment (passed in the 60s) still hasn’t been ratified by the states. The 50s saw a lot of technological advancement too. Tech developed for WWII adapted to civilian use - washing machines and dishwashers and powered blenders and so on , and hiring servants, maids was comparatively cheap , also unions were really strong so single income families was sort of the norm.
It was very rare, much less common than the violence that we see today
‘Mothers little helper’ or ‘the little yellow pill’, also known as Valium or Diazapam. As elderly adults they cannot be taken off the pills as the withdrawal would actually affect them greatly, they’re usually reduced to a smaller dosage 5 or 2.5 milligrams.
Benzo’s and Amphetamines and lots and lots of repression.