BIBLIOGRAPHY

“A Date With Your Family.” ​Youtube,​ 1950, ​www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQIGiE5vSSM​This 1950 instructional video shows children how to behave at the dinner table with their families. The video provides insight as to what familial society looked like in the 1950s and what values children were being brought up on.

 

Allitt, Patrick. "American Catholics and the New Conservatism of the 1950s." U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 15–37.

Allitt analyzes how conservatism in mid-century America was a result of growing fears of communism. He then draws connections between the new conservatism and growing Catholic tensions between political officials and ideals.

 

Beauvoir, Simone de, et al. ​The Second Sex.​ Vintage Books, 2015.

Beauvoir analyzes the history of the treatment of women through an existential lense. She comments on the concept of the “western woman” and the oppression they have faced. She provides an in depth analysis of how women have felt removed from the controls of society throughout history.

 

Blackwelder, Julia Kirk. “Quiet Suffering: Atlanta Women in the 1930s.” ​Intercultural and Interracial Relations,​ 1977, doi:10.1515/9783110978926.373.

Blackwelder considers the status of women in Atlanta in the 1930s. She examines racism, sexism and other forms of societal oppression in the workplace.

 

Boris, Eileen. “Desirable Dress: Rosies, Sky Girls, and the Politics of Appearance.”International Labor and Working-Class History,​ vol. 69, no. 1, 2006, pp. 123–142., doi:10.1017/s014754790600007x.

The appearance of female flight attendants in the latter half of the twentieth century exemplified the sexual discrimination and objectification against women. By oversexualizing their position, flight attendants were discriminated against in the workplace which became a large aspect of the Women’s Movement.

 

Bowlby, Rachel. “'The Problem with No Name': Rereading Friedan's ‘The Feminine Mystique.’”Feminist Review,​ no. 27, 1987, p. 61., doi:10.2307/1394811.

Bowlby provides an in depth analysis of the ​Feminine Mystique​, both the book and the concept. She uses Friedan’s book to discuss the intricacies of the second wave of feminism and the history of its creation.

 

Boxwell, D. A. “The (M)Other Battle of World War One: The Maternal Politics of Pacifism in Rose Macaulay's Non-Combatants and Others.” ​Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature​, vol. 12, no. 1, 1993, p. 85., doi:10.2307/463758.

Women became very active during World War I. Some helped to fight the war while others argued on the side of pacifism, peacefully protesting and doing what they can to help end the violence.

 

Brennan, Mary. “The Cold War World.” ​Wives, Mothers, and the Red Menace: Conservative Women and the Crusade against Communism,​ by Mary C. Brennan, University Press of Colorado, 2008, pp. 13–30.

Women played a very active role in the Cold War by passively participating in the domestic ideal. Brennan argues that women’s roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers during this time helped to encourage conservative values and domestically resist the spread of foreign, potentially communist values.

 

Bryant, Marsha. “Plath, Domesticity, and the Art of Advertising.” ​College Literature,​ vol. 29, 2002, pp. 17–34.

Bryant examines Sylvia Plath, feminist author of ​The Bell Jar​, and her work in advertising. Bryant provides an extensive image of what advertising was like in the 1950s and how these marketing strategies contributed to the domestic ideal.

 

Cassidy, Marsha F. “Visible Storytellers: Women Narrators on 1950s Daytime Television" ​Style,​vol. 35, no. 2, 2001, pp. 354–374. ​JSTOR​,​ ​www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/style.35.2.354​.

This source analyzes several examples of a popular day time program with women: The confessional quiz show. Cassidy explains how these shows encouraged domestication and beautification of the “modern housewife" This source also examines several marketing techniques of television towards women in the 1950s. This source helps to show the effect of television on women and explain marketing strategies of television.

Cassidy, Marsha F. ​What Women Watched: Daytime Television in the 1950s.​ University of Texas Press, 2005.

Cassidy’s book describes what women watched in the 1950s and how television helped to revolutionize marketing for women by reinforcing the domestic ideal. Television presented itself as a welcoming distraction to housewivery while simultaneously teaching women how to better fit into society’s vision of the perfect woman.

 

Clark, Shellie. “The Sexual Revolution of the ‘Roaring Twenties’: Practice or Perception?”Digital Commons @Brockport,​ 2016, digitalcommons.brockport.edu/hashtaghistory/vol1/iss1/7.

Clark argues that the twenties brought a sexual liberation for American women. The 1920s can be seen as both a liberating time for women, and the beginning of a new oppression through sexual objectification.

 

"Contraception: Freedom from Fear." Time 07 Apr. 1967. Web. 18 Jan. 2018.

This 1967 ​Time Magazine a​ rticle examines the pros and cons of oral contraception. By tracing the history of “the pill,” the article focuses on the impact that the new drug had on the social liberation of women.

 

“A Date with Your Family.” ​Youtube​, 1950, ​www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd7RqwgDUDg​.

This 1950 educational video shows young adults why it is important to value family dinners and how to behave at them. The video demonstrates key values in the domestic society during this era and demonstrates what was expected of each family member.

 

Dicker, Rory Cooke. ​A History of US Feminisms​. Seal Press., 2016.

Dicker’s book examines the history of American feminism. By observing an in depth analysis of the first, second, and third waves of feminism, we gain a better understanding of the history of feminism as a whole.

 

Doty, Alexander. "The Cabinet of Lucy Ricardo: Lucille Ball's Star Image." Cinema Journal, vol. 29, no. 4, 1990, p. 3., doi:10.2307/1225313.

“I Love Lucy” was a popular television show of the 1950s. Doty describes how the image of Lucille Ball, the actress and main character of the show, fueled the domestic image and the concept of consumerism for the housewives watching from home.

 

Dow, Bonnie J. “Feminism, Miss America, and Media Mythology.” ​Rhetoric and Public Affairs​, vol. 6, no. 1, 2003, pp. 127–149. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/41939812. Accessed 6 May 2020.

The Miss America protest was famous in feminism history for giving feminists the name of “bra burners,” even though no bras were actually burned. Dow describes the role that the media played in the portrayal of feminism and how that has impacted our modern view of feminists.

 

Dunak, Karen. "Teaching the Many Americas of the 1950s." OAH Magazine of History, vol. 26, Oct. 2012, pp. 13–16.

This article gives advice on how to teach different stages of American culture, with a focus on the 1950s. Dunak has her students analyze the intricacies of gender roles and the part they play in society.

​

Fox, Bonnie J. “Selling The Mechanized Household:” ​Gender & Society,​ vol. 4, no. 1, 1990, pp. 25–40., doi:10.1177/089124390004001003.

This source examines a multitude of ​Ladies Home Journal ​advertisements and their impact on the domestic ideal. The advertisements show a push for the “mechanized household” and the pressures of work performance that women faced as housewives.

 

Fox, Corinne. “American Women in the 1950s: The Years Between the War and Liberation.”Saber and Scroll,​ vol. 2, no. 3, 2013.

Fox examines the life of women in the 1950s and how the stability of society played into the ensnarement of their position in society.

 

Freedman, Estelle B. “The New Woman: Changing Views of Women in the 1920s.” ​The Journal of American History​, vol. 61, no. 2, 1974, pp. 372–393. ​JSTOR,​www.jstor.org/stable/1903954​.

The 1920s brought a newfound sexual liberation for women. This can be seen as an act of feminism because women were now given the opportunity to express themselves as sexual beings that engaged in frivolity such as drinking, smoking, and having sex all of their own free will.

 

Friedan, Betty (1963) ​The Feminine Mystique​ reprinted 1964 New York: Dell. Publishing Co.

Friedan’s book is one of the most important literary works in the second wave of feminism. She uses personal anecdotes and interviews to describe the relatability of the domestic oppression that all women were facing at the time.

 

Friedan, Betty. "The Way We Were-1949." New York Magazine, 1974, pp. 26–37.

Friedan hopes to encourage female audiences by describing the fight that their grandmothers had given when they were hungry for the right to vote. She compares the necessity of their situation now. Friedan also analyzes the shift that happened between the forties and fifties, with women going from economic independence and social liberation to domestic confinement.

​

Greenham, Catherine, and Michael Greenham. “The 1950s Woman Patterns Portraying the '50s and '60s 1950s Adverts We Will Never See Today: The 1950s Post-War Circumstances. Created a Different Woman to the One We Know Today. Catherine and Michael Greenham Look at How She Lived and Coped with Her World and the Legacy She Left.” The Mercury,​ 22 July 2019.

This source is a news article explaining several influences on the societal role of women during the post-war period including marketing, literature, and the new phenomenon of suburbia. It analyzes the transition out of the war period and hints at the bubbling tension resulting from frustrations of the requirements placed on women of that time.

 

Hall, Simon. “Protest Movements in the 1970s: The Long 1960s.” ​Journal of Contemporary History​, vol. 43, no. 4, 2008, pp. 655–672., doi:10.1177/0022009408095421.

Many social changes occured in 1960s America that triggered strong waves of previously suppressed anger from those who had faced societal oppression. Because of this boiling anger, many protest broke out throughout the seventies. Issues that were protested and considered were centered mainly around Civil Rights, including homosexual rights, feminism, and anti-racial discimination sentiments.

 

Harvey, Brett. "Fitting In for Fifties Women." The 1950s, edited by Stuart A. Kallen, Greenhaven Press, 2000, pp. 153–158. America's Decades.

This source examines the struggle that women faced in order to fit into the ideal image of the woman in the 1950s. It considers the transition from WWll and illustrates how the drastic change in lifestyle was rather difficult for women to mentally adjust to.

 

Hennessy, Rosemary. “The Moral Property of Women: A History of Birth Control Politics in America by Linda Gordon.” ​Science and Society,​ vol. 68, 2004, pp. 120–123.

Hennessy’s review of Gordon’s book shows a brief history of women’s birth control. Birth control has been a large topic in politics since it was first released in the sixties.

 

Hewitt, Nicholas. "Introduction: Popular Culture and Mass Culture." Contemporary European History, vol. 8, no. 3, 1999, pp. 351–358., doi:10.1017/s096077739900301x.

Though the article is centered around European culture, Hewitt provides an understanding as to what popular and mass culture truly entail. There are also sizeable differences between the two. Popular culture can encompass anything culturally related to the changing modern times. Whereas mass culture is something that almost everyone agrees on and lives their life in tune with, usually without ever speaking about it.

 

​"Housewife From the Burbs Shook 1950s Fantasy World of Women.” ​The Salt Lake Tribune,​Jun 22, 1993, pp. A1​. ProQuest​,https://search.proquest.com/docview/288540795?accountid=338​.

This article describes how Betty Freidan helped dismantle the domestic ideal with her writing. By helping women to stop feeling isolated in their pain, she helped convince them to unite and fight against the pain of oppression.

 

Keller, Kathryn. “Nurture and Work in the Middle Class?Imagery from Women's Magazines.”International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society​, vol. 5, no. 4, 1992, pp. 577–600., doi:10.1007/bf01419557.

Women’s magazines presented women with images of homemaking. The concept of the working world remained a largely foreign image as the magazines were mostly focused on the concept of motherhood and domesticity.

 

Kreydatus, Beth. “Confronting the ‘Bra-Burners:" Teaching Radical Feminism With a Case Study.” ​The History Teacher​, vol. 41, no. 4, 2008, pp. 489–504. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/40543887. Accessed 6 May 2020.

Kreydatus examines the history of the concept of “bra burning” and considers why feminists became associated with such a term despite the fact that they never committed such an act. She examines the differences between radical and modern feminism and what historical acts separated the two.

 

Landay, Lori. "Millions 'Love Lucy': Commodification and the Lucy Phenomenon." NWSA Journal, vol. 11, no. 2, 1999, pp. 25–47., doi:10.1353/nwsa.1999.0013.

Landay examines why Lucy, from the popular television show “I Love Lucy,” became such an icon. She explains that the television provided a family friendly center for the post-war, suburban home. Families looked to television for social values and guidelines to follow within their own lives.

 

Lessor, Roberta. “Social Movements, the Occupational Arena and Changes in Career Consciousness: The Case of Women Flight Attendants.” ​Journal of Organizational Behavior​, vol. 5, no. 1, 1984, pp. 37–51., doi:10.1002/job.4030050105.

The discriminations and employment limitations faced by female flight attendants of the twentieth century represent Civil Rights violations that women commonly experienced in the workplace as a result of sexism. The objectification of female flight attendants also provides insight into the sexism of the age.

 

Libbers​. Directed by Vanessa Engle, BBC, 2010. Youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOsLjbpHV8M

This documentary film follows the story of several influential feminist authors and movement leaders during the second wave of feminism. Asking about their books and the personal journeys the authors took to get there gives a first person understanding of what life in the fifties was like and what it drove women to do in the following decades.

 

Litoff, Judy Barrett, and David C Smith. “American Women in a World at War.” ​OAH Magazine of History​, vol. 16, no. 3, 2002, pp. 7–12.

Litoff and Smith describe the roles that women took on during World War II. These new societal roles liberated them from traditional gender roles by allowing them to take on jobs that traditionally only men would be tasked with. Their efforts both on the home front and abroad greatly aided the American war effort.

 

Meyerowitz, Joanne. "Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A Reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, 1946- 1958." The Journal of American History, vol. 79, no. 4, Mar. 1993, pp. 1455–1482., doi:10.2307/2080212.

Meyerowitz examines literature during the 1950s that opposed the domestic ideals in an era where the “Feminine Mystique” was written to free women from societal oppression. Meyerowitz points to examples of women’s literature, such as women’s magazines, that celebrated the success of working women. However, Meyerowitz acknowledges that even though there were still sources encouraging women to work, there was an overall aura encouraging women to be homemakers.

 

Mcgovern, James R. “The American Woman’s Pre-World War I Freedom in Manners and Morals.” ​Sexuality and Sexual Behavior​, 1968, doi:10.1515/9783110976342.381.

McGovern describes the lives of women in the Victorian Era and how they were expected to behave in society. Victorian women were expected to be focused around the family and behave under strict, conservative guidelines.

 

McGrath, Matina. Personal interview. 20 January 2020.

Dr. McGrath is a professor at George Mason University. She has studied histeography and women’s studies for many years. She spoke with me about the history of feminism and the differing roles that played into the domestication of the 1950s.

 

Modleski, Tania. "The Rhythms of Reception." Regarding Television, edited by E Ann Kaplan, vol. 2, University Publications of America Inc, 1983, pp. 67–75. The American Film Institute Monograph Series.

Modleski examines the flow of women’s television from soap operas, to quiz shows, to commercials. Modleski claims that each show and commercial is intertwined to create an ultimate marketing and subconscious instruction on how to be a woman during the period where the cult of domesticity ruled over society.

 

Murray, Gillian. "Regional news and the mid-twentieth-century 'housewife': exploring the legacy of afternoon television in Midlands news programmes in the 1950s and 1960s" Critical Studies in Television, vol. 9, no. 2, 2014, p. 54+. Gale In Context: High School

This source describes the ideal housewife of the mid 20th century by examining both marketing and daytime television. The source explains that the woman’s place in the home was Christianly ordained to serve her husband, raise her children, and maintain perfection at all times. In addition examining the marketing influence of television on women, the source also examines the significant amount of pressure that women were facing at that time, much of which was exhibited through portrayal of women in television. This source helps to describe society in 1950s America, how television influenced women, and the marketing strategies used on TV.

 

Neuhaus, J. “The Way to a Man's Heart: Gender Roles, Domestic Ideology, and Cookbooks in the 1950s.” ​Journal of Social History,​ vol. 32, no. 3, 1999, pp. 529–555., doi:10.1353/jsh/32.3.529.

Neuhaus looks at a specific source of literature from the 1950s in order to depict how women were being taught to fit into domestic ideals. Cookbooks, aside from the many recipes, contained numerous tips and tricks on how to be a better wife. As a whole, these cookbooks taught women how to better belong in the domestic sphere.

 

Nickerson, Michelle. “Women, Domesticity, and Postwar Conservatism.” ​OAH Magazine of History​, vol. 17, no. 2, 2003, pp. 17–21. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/25163575. Accessed 18 May 2020.

Women played an important role in the anti-communist movement by ensuring that households were centered in traditional, conservative, American values. In return, women were limited to the confines of domestic concerns by the very values they struggled so hard to uphold.

 

Restad, P. "The Third Sex: Historians, Consumer Society, and the Idea of the American Consumer." Journal of Social History, vol. 47, no. 3, 2014, pp. 769–786., doi:10.1093/jsh/sht109.

Playing off of Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex,” Restad analyzes how the 1950s caused women to morph into the foreign qualities of consumerism. By labelling women as consumers, there is an established non-gender aspect that plays into their oppression.

 

"Roe v. Wade." ​Britannica School​, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1 Dec. 2011.school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Roe-v-Wade/125053​. ​Accessed 12 May. 2020​.

This article explains the history and impact of the law case of ​Roe v. Wade​. By examiningRoe v. Wade​, the social imapct of legalization of abortion can be seen in context of the feminist movement.

 

“Sexual Harassment.” ​U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission​,www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment​.

This is the official website of the EEOC and defines sexual harassment as prohibited by law. According to the EEOC, sexual harassment can be “​unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”

 

Shehan, Constance L, et al. “Depression and The Social Dimensions of The Full-Time Housewife Role.” ​The Sociological Quarterly,​ vol. 27, 1986, pp. 403–421.

This source examines the levels of depression in housewives and how the role affects their mental health. Though focusing primarily on women of the 1970s, it is useful in examining how housewivery in general takes significant mental strength in order to maintain positivity.

 

Spigel, Lynn. ​Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America​. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2010.

This book explains the role of television in creating the family ideals of postwar America. It examines the history of family ideals, tracing back to the Victorian age and how it evolved to what it became in the 1950s. The source examines multiple shows and advertisements to explain the differences in family roles and domestication of 1950’s America. This source describes what society looked like in 1950s America and how television coupled with strategic marketing influenced all members of the family both as a whole and individually.

 

“Storied 1968: Miss America Pageant Protest.” ​Youtube​, Minnesota History Center, 15 Oct. 2019, ​www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmG3u9IcFnc​.

Representatives of the Minnesota History Center interview the 1968 Miss Minnesota, Arlene Larson, about her experiences with the Miss America protest. She also shares her thoughts on feminism and the Miss America pageant as a whole.

 

Walker, Nancy A. ​Women's Magazines, 1940-1960: Gender Roles and the Popular Press.​Bedford/St. Martin's, 1998.

Mid-century American women turned to women’s magazines as a main source of entertainment and information. The magazines offered advice columns, fashion guides, marriage advice, and advertisements. The collection of selections from ​Ladies' Home Journal​, ​Woman's Home Companion,​ ​McCall's​, ​Redbook,​ and others provides an understanding of how the popular press perceived and influenced women’s place in society.

 

Ware, Susan. Modern American Women: a Documentary History. McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Ware’s anthology gives an opinion of modern America through the eyes of a woman. By examining the historical tribulations that women have experienced, we can gain a better understanding of their troubles today.

 

Whiteley, N. "Toward a Throw-Away Culture. Consumerism, 'Style Obsolescence' and Cultural Theory in the 1950s and 1960s." Oxford Art Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, 1987, pp. 3–27., doi:10.1093/oxartj/10.2.3.

Whiteley analyzes how consumerism became a large part of the societal culture of the 1950s. Women were targeted the most as consumers of domestic appliances, therefore becoming the representatives of the new domestic ideal.

 

Wilensky, Harold L. "Mass Society and Mass Culture: Interdependence or Independence?" American Sociological Review, vol. 29, no. 2, 1964, p. 173., doi:10.2307/2092122.

Wilensky evaluates how social structure, high culture, and mass culture are all interconnected. By examining the different factors playing into a societal culture, we gain a better understanding of how society truly functions and potentially what could have fueled the domestic centered culture of the 1950s.

 

“50 Start Training as Stewardesses.” ​New York Times,​ 25 Nov. 1957.

This article from 1957 advertises the position of stewardess to readers and recounts several position requirements.