Response to Main Post (9/6)

During the 1950's and 1960's the American woman was caught in a crossroads...and by woman I mean predominantly white, middle to upper class housewives. They were being pulled in several different directions, which both Betty Friedan & Ariel Levy discuss.
     1. Societal and familial expectations severely constricted women and their life goals. Even when women had dreams and higher expectations for themselves, they often times settled for being a housewife and having children. However, many women were raised to only dream of being a housewife and catering to her family.
     2. At this time, a sexual revolution was also right around the corner, which we see with the creation of Playboy and the dispersal of the birth control pill. Hugh Hefner pushed for the re-creation of gender roles and for the sexualization of society. Similarly, the women's liberation movement pushed to advance women's sexual pleasure. They were telling women that it was okay to explore their sexuality and that missionary position was not all that pleasurable.
     3. Educated women who became housewives suffered in a similar fashion to the uneducated housewife. It is thought that they might have had a harder time accepting their societal roles. The tasks and expectations of a housewife prevented women from having time to pursue their interests and careers. Extremely educated women went from reading and writing intellectual texts and papers, to folding laundry and chauffeuring their children around.

These different directions really clashed with one another and women were left to fend for themselves. The feminist movement was splintering into several different factions, that had very different opinions and beliefs, i.e. porn vs. anti-porn groups. This lead to the isolation of countless housewives, who had to suffer alone. Society expected these women to exude true feminine characteristics, which went hand in hand with material goods. This point made by Betty Friedan coincides with Douglas' beliefs about consumerism. Women were not supposed to have personalities, beliefs, aspirations and goals. These were replaced by appliances, clothes, supermarkets and manicured houses.

It wasn't the fact that women were inferior to men- they just were simply different. They had different: expectation, goals, aspirations and roles. When women experienced the inevitable loneliness and boredom that went along with being a housewife, they felt an extreme sense of shame and embarrassment. Numerous hypothesis were formulated on the growing endemic, labeled the housewife syndrome. Instead of realizing that women could aspire to be more than glamorized maids, their troubles were plastered on the covers of magazines and newspapers. No one could really put to words what these women were experiencing and therefore it was hard to establish if it was a valid complaint. They were bombarded with ample amounts of advice from therapists and counselors. Many people, including the suffering women, couldn't understand why they felt empty, because society told them that they had everything they could ever desire and need. Thus, many women adjusted to their given role and suffered in silence- believing that other women did not feel the same. If this was too hard to overcome doctors prescribed them tranquilizers and pills, usually to be mixed with an occasional cocktail.

In previous course reading, an excerpt described how a characters grandmother more or less told her that the way to be appealing to a man is to be informed but not educated. A housewife interviewed by Friedan explains that she would "spend fifteen minutes skimming the newspaper so I can be well- informed..." (Friedan, 63)

If we examine today's society we see that this confusion is still prevalent. Women are expected to be professional, classy and educated. However, in order to appeal to men we need to be sexually appealing and sometimes promiscuous. Douglas' argument focused on the gap between portraying women on television as successful and the reality of our society. However, for as many women that are shown as being successful, there are countless commercials and advertisements that show women mezmorized by household appliances.

Women are still struggling to conform to societal norms and roles. Until we figure out a way to express ourselves in a meaningful and fulfilling way we will continue to walk the tightrope.

Housewife circa 1950