This week's discussion post asks you to think critically - and historically - about the depiction of "suburban motherhood" in the Donna Reed Show, a popular television program from the 1950's, in Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," a best selling book that was a critique of that role, and in one person's life, as narrated by the historian Stephanie Coontz. What different points of view about "suburban motherhood" do the The Donna Reed Show, Mrs. Coontz's experiences, and Betty Friedan's critique all show?
This week's discussion post asks you to think critically - and historically - about the depiction of "suburban motherhood" in the Donna Reed Show, a popular television program from the 1950's, in Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," a best selling book that was a critique of that role, and in one person's life, as narrated by the historian Stephanie Coontz.
What different points of view about "suburban motherhood" do the The Donna Reed Show, Mrs. Coontz's experiences, and Betty Friedan's critique all show? How do all three sources (Reed show, Mrs. Coontz, and Betty Friedan) show historical change and historical significance in white suburban women's lives in the 1950's? Despite their differences, what were all three women saying about the consequences of the 'prescribed, Happy Housewife' role for women found in TV, movies and magazines?
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