The Portrayal Of Women During The 1960 's And 1970 ' S

Historically, women have been considered the weaker sex. This idea turned women into a target of violence in many different ways. The ideas of the role of a woman in society and in households place a burden on the backs of young girls who want to be successful and don’t see themselves being runners up to men for the rest of their lives. Women are objectified in every way, all the way from how they look to how music artists represent them. Women can’t even have sex without men and other women calling them sluts and whores.

Throughout time women and their rights have varied among where they are living and the people that surround them. Some of the major changes with women’s rights is giving them the right to vote, reproductive rights, and the right to work for equal pay. Another thing that varies throughout time is women’s roles. For example 100 years ago the only jobs that women could have was to either be a housewife, nurse, or a teacher. Until about 1910, women didn’t really fight for their rights and what they could do. In 1910, women started to voice their opinions in society and fought for the right to vote. Though things have changed greatly today, there are still women in the world that believe in the “traditional way” and prefer to still wait on

The idea of the ideal wife is a woman who is happy with staying home all day, tending to the home, caring for the children and husband. A woman's success in patriarchy is measured by how happy she makes her husband and how well the home life is portrayed to be. These ideas were strongly portrayed in a popular shows in the 1950s. Shows such as Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and I Love Lucy allowed audiences to faithfully watch the TV and subconsciously absorb what they saw. They are each very conservative shows that show strong family values and patriarchal ideals such as the nuclear family, the wife submitting to the husband, and teaching moral lessons to their children.

In the 1900’s it was a social accepted practice to believe one’s gender restricted what an individual was cable of doing. During this time period and going back further in the past the main ideology of society was males were there to lead, provide and protect the fairer sex. Susan Glaspell uses stereotypes to disprove the notion that women are less superior than their male counterparts by having the women solve the murder of Mr. John Wright.

1919, the dawn of a new era, the era of war , and the era of women’s votes, this was also an era of elegance, but to some the era was not so kind. Young Lacey’s mother passed away in 1919, leaving her and her brother’s and sister’s to be raised by her aunt Caroline. Aunt Caroline insisted that the children attend a Christian church on Sunday’s, where she served on the missionary board doing charitable works. The church is where Lacey first laid eyes on Larry, seeing him Sunday after Sunday, wearing his loose fitting sack suit, belted high on his waist. Larry was the son of a freeman who stayed on the land that his father was given by his boss in Prince William County, Virginia. He inherited a field and a house that sat on forty acres of

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

Underlying the feminism movement of the 1960s and 1970s was the “white racist ideology.” The women’s movement of the 1960s was in fact the white women’s movement. It was an opportunity for white feminists to raise their voices, but they only spoke about the plight of the white woman and excluded themselves from the collective group of women across all races and social standings. White women assumed that their experience was the experience of all women. When black women proclaimed that the movement was focused on the oppression of white women, the white feminists asserted “common oppression” and retorted with “oppression cannot be measured.” Ironically, feminists in the 1960s compared their oppression to the oppression of African Americans as

During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a period of unhappiness that affected American housewives across the nation. For years leading up to this, women had been conditioned to find academic careers unfulfilling and were instead taught to find happiness in becoming committed housewives who were heavily involved in their community. If a woman had a problem, she assumed it had something to do with her marriage or herself. Women were told that they should be grateful and just accept their role as a submissive housewife. These women felt unfulfilled by their lives, which manifested in deep dissatisfaction.

On average, women are paid 21.7% less than men in the US for many of the same jobs. Women have been discriminated against since the beginning of time. Recently however, they have made several advances in the form of civil liberties towards a more equal society. Voting rights, the liberty to obtain and use birth control, and abortion rights are some of the forms of civil liberties and rights that women have made advances in. Women still face a gridlock in gender-based violence and in employment and pay.

The 1950s and the 1960s were a crucial stage for the feminist movement, a stage were women sought to find their rights and be whatever they wanted to be instead of what the society ought them to be. It is important we discuss the changes that have happened throughout time to see if we at all have improved, and how far we still have to go in this day and age. This topic is of special interest to me seeing as I love editorial and the printed media, whilst I am also a strong believer in equal rights and fair representation of the sexes.

Throughout history women have been depicted and treated as an inferior to the male all aspects of life. It is without debate, that to this day, like many other countries, the United States of America is a patriarchal society, valuing men over women and using various tactics to oppress women by constructing gender roles. These gender roles are thrust upon people before birth and are reinforced through society within the media. This object here is to provide an overview of the portrayal of women in magazines from the late 1800’s to present day. As the years progress, so do the number of women’s rights. While women are still fighting for equality, the birth of feminism has done much to close the gender gap. Mass media, magazines in particular, facilitated in fostering a stereotype which became the standard, and continues to be, used by society. A society that continues to oppress and suppress its women. However, as the mass media has the capability to demystify, or to bring down and/or destroy a particular group or person, they also have the ability of mystification, or emulating a person or group into society’s graces. I plan to review how women were portrayed since this country’s inception with an analysis of how gender equality might be possible today.

The idea of television began since the 1820s but it was until 1927 when the 21- year old Philo T. Farnsworth produce the first electronic television picture. Experimental broadcast began, featuring music, wrestling, and dance; however, it was until the 1950s that TV really became the new form of mass entertainment. Nevertheless, in all the shows that were produced women was denigrated and producers focused mainly on their physical appearance and not their intellect capacity. Ward and Harrison stated, “TV has depicted females by focusing on their physical characteristics, sexual appeal, and romantic success, whether they are housewives, mothers, or objects of desire.” Women did not have a choice, they were placed on TV shows with a certain stereotype needed to be fulfilled by them, and because they wanted to work they did not deny the job, therefore, they encouraged the stereotype.

Over the years the United States has grown to love each other as the way people are, especially women. Women have proven to be even stronger than what people expected them to be. You can see the strength, the courage, and the confidence they have gained. It has been discussed many years that women shouldn’t be allowed in combat for not being “strong enough”. Men have shown that they can be “manly” enough to do women or girl things, so why can’t women do “manly” things? If women feel like they can handle being on the frontline then we should respect their decision and allow them to go.

How often do you hear your friends, family, or acquaintances say they would like to go back to simpler times such as the 1950s - the era where you could wear fancy poodle skirts, drive big cars, eat at your favorite diner, or catch a movie at the drive in. Americans tend to think of the positive aspects of the 1950’s. Unfortunately during that era women were treated unfairly. Even though women had rights, they were still unequal to men. Fortunately feminism has progressed since then. Today, women comprise over 50% of the workforce. Nonetheless, men still cling to stereotypes that should have been destroyed long ago, whether in the workplace, at home, or in society.

Feminist theory analyzes the gender inequality that women have faced throughout the years due to a patriarchal society. Women were expected to fit the traditional female and conform to the gender norms that society has constructed. According to A Brief Introduction to Critical Theory, “Feminism embodies a way of reading that investigates the text’s investment in or reaction to the patriarchal power structures that have dominated Western culture” (227). Patriarchal power has oppressed women economically, socially, and politically. Women were associated more with domesticity than with politics and financial situations. They were not provided the same educational opportunities as men. These issues have been addressed by people, such as Mary