Soft and feminine, etc. like the teacher on Leave it to Beaver or the woman on White Christmas or other old movies.....anyone know what im talking about? Did women really try and shape their voices like that in the 50's or was that just on TV?
2006-12-07 02:34:19 · 14 answers · asked by Kristine R 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
People who wouldn't dream of stereotyping now seem often to think of even the recent past as monolithic. 50's society was vibrant and varied, just as now.
Having said that, I also have to say that gentility was more prized, and in general people seem to have had a greater ability to disagree without being disagreeable.
I'd also warn against stereotyping women of the era as passive or submissive. I'd say it's more a matter of modern loss of appreciation for subtlety, understatement, and gentility. Nobody in those days wanted to act like the people on Jerry Springer.
2006-12-07 03:07:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The TV moms were the model for a generation so they've overdone it. However, most moms of that era did believe in being polite and respecting Dad. He was, after all, the sole breadwinner in the house most of the time.
Most men of that era also believed in supporting their wives in front of the kids. You don't talk back to your mother because she's in charge while I'm gone.
It was a much easier life. Women raised the kids and took care of the house without having to go out and earn a wage on top of that. Now they have to juggle kids, housework, and jobs. It's no wonder their language has gotten bad, the houses are dirtier, and kids are so badly mannered.
If anyone ever does a study, they'll probably find that the most successful kids are ones who come from whole families where the mother could stay home and raise the kids.
2006-12-07 10:44:36 · answer #2 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is no way to generalize about how women talked at any given time. June Cleaver and other TV/movie women from the 50s idealized a submissiveness and cheerfulness that did not, and does not, exist in real life. I'm always amused when we romanticize those times now, when women supposedly stayed home and were happy with their Hoovers and their aprons and their string of pearls on while they cleaned the loo. Not so. Don't forget that many of them were quietly desperate, and smoked, and drank, or took pills to escape from the tedium.
2006-12-07 10:51:25 · answer #3 · answered by meatpiemum 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are some women who still have soft voices, even baby girl voices (which make me vomit)
They just picked those types of women because of the roles that they were playing, nurturing roles.
It would have sounded strange to have a woman play those roles who had a voice like Joan Rivers or Rosie O'donnel.
2006-12-07 10:38:40 · answer #4 · answered by MsFancy 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It depended on a woman's social class. However, every woman who aimed to get anywhere in life aspired to be a lady and being a lady involved, among other things, cultivating a voice and modulations of tone which were pleasant to listen to, as it was reckoned to be somewhat coarse to raise one's voice. Nowadays things seem to be moving the other way and you may be interested in this link which shows that even within the British family accents are becoming less refined. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/04/nqueen04.xml
2006-12-07 11:00:57 · answer #5 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I was born in the 60s so I missed that. But I do remember both of my grandmothers talking in that "tone" of voice. So I believe the answer to your question is yes, for the most part.
Now Kathryn Hepburn was another whole issue!
2006-12-07 10:36:33 · answer #6 · answered by kja63 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, and women who didn't speak like that worked very hard to learn how. Ridiculous. My Mom didn't buy into the whole "me and my life are perfect" facade, (thank God) however my mother-in-law did. She told me that my father in law did not want her to curse,smoke, or drink and she never did. He, of course, indulged in all 3 and does to this day but not her! Yeah, I wouldn't have faired very well during that era.
2006-12-07 10:47:21 · answer #7 · answered by N0_white_flag 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes they did. The English language is like a living thing, it constantly changes. I speak differently from my parents and grandparents; the younger generations will speak differently from me.
2006-12-07 10:43:23 · answer #8 · answered by Gallifrey's Gone 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Back then some women were soft spoken and "obedient," yes, but not all of them were like this.
2006-12-07 10:36:17 · answer #9 · answered by Justsyd 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes they really did speak that way....and men didn't use such profanity as they do today. It was a much nicer way of life - people actually respected other people!
2006-12-07 10:38:45 · answer #10 · answered by trivia buff 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋