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Stereotypes Of Women In The 1950s

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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. Because of the rise in television it was display the ideal stereotypes of each gender through shows and commercials. …show more content…

At this time most media displayed stereotypes and gender bias through most of the 1950s, and the idea is that women should live for her husband and family(Kelshall). American media characterized women to be well dressed housekeepers, they were supposed to be well figured, wore elegant dresses, heels, jewerly (preferably pearl necklaces) and were always smiling. This was a way to show women what men wanted at that time and even a little bit into today. The media illustrates to women what men want, what men think is ideal so the women can strive for that because it makes them think that’s how they are going to get a man. This view is very patriarchal, it’s all about the man and what he want and what he wants in a

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