Women In The 50's

Women of the 1950’s through the 1960’s are ridden with male oppression and self-esteem issues. The book Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and an episode of Mad Men titled The Shoot have a lot in common. The differences and similarities between the leading women in both of these stories from the 1950’s show that times are different today. The women of the 1950’s had a dream for the future and their dream has finally become a reality for American women. From Mad Men, Betty Draper’s dream of becoming a model and in Revolutionary Road, April Wheeler’s dream of traveling the world are actual realities for women today. Their dreams show similarities, differences and the “American Dream” that every woman has.

People may say that the true years of fashion began in the late nineteen forties and went on through the early nineteen sixties. If you look at fashion today, its almost repeated the look from sixty years ago. In each generation fashion trends become based on history and/or important events. in the nineteen forties fashion was being modeled by the military wear. World War II caused a drastic change in the way clothes were being made and worn. In the nineteen fifties Americans admired the fashion of movie stars and music artists. Media had a strong influence on the wordly trend. The people of the sixties expressed there personalities and emotions through

The idea of television began since the 1820s but it was until 1927 when the 21- year old Philo T. Farnsworth produce the first electronic television picture. Experimental broadcast began, featuring music, wrestling, and dance; however, it was until the 1950s that TV really became the new form of mass entertainment. Nevertheless, in all the shows that were produced women was denigrated and producers focused mainly on their physical appearance and not their intellect capacity. Ward and Harrison stated, “TV has depicted females by focusing on their physical characteristics, sexual appeal, and romantic success, whether they are housewives, mothers, or objects of desire.” Women did not have a choice, they were placed on TV shows with a certain stereotype needed to be fulfilled by them, and because they wanted to work they did not deny the job, therefore, they encouraged the stereotype.

the house becoming the homemaker once the war was over. The 1950s has also been

How adolescence behaved during the 1920’s altered the future generations to come in many different ways. One of these ways includes how they dressed themselves. Before the 1920’s girls wore dresses normally past their knees, but during this era they began to wear shorter clothing items above their knees. Very similar nowadays, girls are wearing

Feminism is about empowering women and achieving equality in all aspects. There have been several waves of feminism throughout American history. These periods of time are now referred to as waves because a majority of women could be seen protesting and fighting for specific rights over consecutive years. The First Wave of feminism laid the groundwork for all the rights women have today. During this time period, women changed how they could dress and also fought for their right to vote in general elections. Before the First Wave, women were treated as property and had to obey their husbands or other male leaders of their families. Consequently, women grew tired of not having a voice or a say about their own lives. Much of what the women in

Women in the early 1960's wore bouffant hairstyles, and like the 1920's, knee length dresses. However, later in the decade, mini skirts, or hot pants, with go-go boots became popular. These skirts revealed their legs as bodywear revealed their curves. Women's hairstyles even changed. Women either wore their hair very short or long and lanky. Also, peasant skirts, or granny dresses, and chunky shoes somehow came into fashion during this period of time too. By the end of the decade, unisex dressing was very popular especially with the hippies. Both sexes wore bell-bottom jeans, love beads, and embellished T-shirts. This was also the era of the Afro, which both sexes of African Americans wore.

For example,the article Flappers in the 1920’s states,“ The outer clothing of flappers is even still extremely identifiable. The waists of flapper clothes are dropped to the hipline. She wore stockings - made of rayon ("artificial silk starting in 1923 which the flapper often wore rolled over a garter belt”.Due to that being said the line coco chanel is still being used as a fashion trend now.Women use it in the 1920’s and its a famous fashion brand that is being used now a days as

A lot was going on in the world in the 1950’s. World War II had just ended, the Civil Rights Movement was just getting started, the “Baby Boom” was under way, and women in sports play a very uneven role. In the 1950’s men really preferred the masculine role, they wanted to be the man of the house and with that, the best athlete. It was happening all around the world in the 1950’s, men wanted to show the ladies who really was in charge, and as a result woman in sports were not fairly treated. How are women treated in regard to sports and what stereotypes are shown and what role do these women play in the 1950’s? During the 1950’s, magazines and newspapers degraded women athletes by not highlighting their talents necessarily, but more of

In the 50s and 60s women were required to dress a certain way in and outside of school. Many handbooks and guides on what to wear and how to style your clothing were published at this time. Schools sent out dress code requirements regarding what clothing was acceptable. Girls in school were expected to wear skirts, blouses or dresses and their shirt tails were to be tucked into their skirts. Sun dresses were not to be worn, along with any other revealing clothing. Hair scarves, curlers, or clips were not to be worn in the classrooms. Sandals were not allowed and socks or peds had to be worn with sneakers. Outside of school women wore dresses, skirts, and occasional trousers. Gloves were also popular and would be seen outside the house at special events. In the early 1960s, women started to wear more revealing dresses and pencil skirts which accentuated their curves. Shorter dresses showed more confidence in a

Womens Clothing Wear During the late 19th century women usually wore separate tops and skirts. As fashion making developed, there was a change between someone supplying/making your clothes to the clothing department store. Wealthy women would still have high fashion dressmakers continue to provide them with the clothing they want, and to have the perfect fit.

Fashion in the 1950s and now are disparate. Back then, most mothers sewed clothes for their children, and fabric cost roughly $1 per yard. Girls didn’t regularly buy clothes from the department store because their mothers had time to sew their modish outfits. Girls were required to wear dresses or skirts to school because pants weren’t befitting enough at the time for women. Poodle skirts, as well as sweaters, were quite popular. Girls wore nylons with their attire, but nylons are made differently now. Nylons back then were 2, basically full-leg long socks, whereas, today they are sewn together as one. They wore belts to hold the nylons up, and they had a seam up the back. Popular hairstyles back then included the back-comb, and embellishing flowers around the bun.

Overall, the sources do not support the statement that women’s lives had improved ‘enormously’ by the end of the 1950s.

In today’s society, phrases such as “a woman belongs in the kitchen” often sparks outrage. It is an outdated, sexist cliché that a woman’s only value is to serve the needs of others. Yet, all clichés originate from some sort of truth. In the 1950’s, the image of a woman in a kitchen was not offensive; it was an expectation and an aspiration. A General Electric advertisement circa the 1950’s demonstrates how suburbanization and consumerist culture glorified women’s role as a housewife thereby reinforcing the gender stereotype that a woman’s duty is to their home and family before themselves.

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants