what was the lifestyle of women in the 50's?

Question

what was life like for them??

Answer 1

Well most women didnt work.. their jobs was to raise the kids, keep the house, and make hubby happy. Sounds pretty repressed.. but in alot of ways it was better than it is now.

Answer 2

Well first of all it was the post-war period. Men came home
just a few years earlier, after taking part a long terrible war and many of those women who worked during the WW2 era had to go back home (vacate jobs for the men) and also to somehow build a home life after years of separation. The propaganda showed happy women in the suburbs raising many kids, washing laundry that was white and shining in the sun, polished the pots and the floors and were happy. Were they happy? A sociologist by the name of Betty Friedan did not think so, she was not happy and her friends were not happy, so how come? What went wrong? Her famous book "The Feminine Mystique" was an eye opener for the 1950's women generation and about a decade later, the first feminist movements spread out through the US and later to other countries. I am sure some women were pleased with their roles and wives and mothers but many others were not.

Answer 3

I was a child in the 50s and there isn't anyone I know that felt repressed (Gloria Steinism) by staying home and carrying for their families. It was an honor to care for your home and be there for your children when they came home from school (I know I loved having mom there each day).

All three meals were eaten at home so after cooking most things from scratch, there were always dishes/pots and pans to wash after each meal so everything would be ready for the next meal. And the kitchen floor was swept after each meal and mopped two or three times a week.

Monday ~ That was wash day and mom was in the basement using her wringer washer. This meant washing them, emptying the water and filling the tub with clean water twice to rinse all the soap out and put them through the wringer to squeeze out all that extra water. Didn't have fabric softener back then so clothes were always kind of rough feeling, even if it was cotton.

White clothes were placed in a metal tub to soak in bleach water and my dad worked in a steel plant so his clothes had to be boiled on the stove first to get all the grease and soot out before they went through the washer.

All the clothes were then carried up the stairs in baskets and hung on the clothesline in the backyard. In the winter, they were hung on lines in the basement.

Tuesday ~ This was ironing day and usually an all day job because there wasn't any permanent press back then. And don't forget, meals still had to be cooked and dishes still had to be washed and the kids still had to have a bath at night before they went to bed.

There were different chores throughout the week as they cleaned and scrubbed the house to keep everything clean. When my dad got a job driving truck later, he bought mom a TV so she could enjoy that after a hard day around the house. Only 2 or 3 channels at that time but there wasn't a show on TV that wasn't clean ~ no cussing or sex and it was much better that way.

And never downplay the importance of the mother's roll in the house and say they are repressed. That is one of the highest honors a woman can have is to care for her family and teach her children right from wrong.

Answer 4

Wringer washing machine, clothes dried on a clothes line outside, all clothes had to be ironed. Huge garden, lots of canning and on the farm where I was we had our own beef, sheep, hogs etc. People didn't have freezers at home they rented a 'locker' from a cold storage and kept meat there. Mom never wore slacks always in a dress. She was working in a cannery when I started going to school. She never drove, weekends were lots of visitors and often lots of beer drinking--all other farm people or construction workers. Kids were all plopped in one house when the adults went out and the older ones watched out for the little ones. They were not always madly in love and many husbands were physically abusive to wives. The weaker sex obviously. All in all they had to have a bunch of stamina and home skills as well as being humble and submissive.

Answer 5

As a boy growing up in the '50s I can tell you my Mum loved to cook, did a fantastic amount of time looking after her three boys despite her illness which was to kill her, still as a young woman before the end of the decade.
She supported us and one of the few memories of her was her making me a fancy dress costume of that fancy soft paper stuff to dress up as Robin Hood, and that I won the prize as the Best boy's costume. The credit should have gone to her, but as a kid she was a great Mum.

Answer 6

More and more these days, women choose to stay home and fulfill the same role. A reversal of the 1980s drive for women to work.

Answer 7

The women in 50s were simple but healthy. Their habits were healthy habits. I mean to say they used to go to bed early and rise early.Their only enjoyment was their husbands and their family. Unlike the present social structure they were considerate towards their families and were very much in love with their husbands. They were very loyal to their husbands and they did not like to do sex with any other male except their husband. It was the main reasons that they were not infected by Aids/HIV and they were perfect life partners.

Answer 8

Dreamt of a prince but wanted to get married as soon as possible to have kids and be a homemaker.

Answer 9

watch a Doris Day movie

Answer 10

fun