1950's Compare And Contrast Essay

The 2010’s and the 1950’s were two very important decades for women and their roles in society. The 2010’s is the social media era, where everything is online and electronic. 1950 is often called the hip decade. This was the decade where house wives were summed up in two words, June Cleaver. Wives catered to their husbands and took care of his every need before considering their own needs. Their “uniforms” were starch-ironed dresses with a spotless apron over it, accented with a string of pearls around their necks and a slim figure all around even after bearing forth at least three children, and to complete the entire outfit a pair of kitten heels. But most importantly they held the family together (Stoneham).

Family life was very important to mothers in the 1950’s, and it was very different than that of the 2010’s. For starters, most families would consist of a two a parent household, both a mother and a father. Divorce was not the norm because society’s pressure would have been on the

family to appear perfect, even if the marriage was on rocky ground. When you got married it was for life, divorce was like a big storm cloud that would rain on your parade everyday of the rest of your life. In the 1950’s most men would be married by the time they were 22 years old and women by the age of 20 which then allowed the divorce rate to be lower and the marriage rate higher (Family Life in the 50's). In 1950, 385,000 divorces occurred in the United States, and only 395,000 by 1959. But in 1998 there were a shocking 1,135,000. Meaning only 2.6 people per every 1,000 would have been divorced in the year 1950 compared to the 4.2 people per every thousand in the early 2000’s (Family Life in the 50's). To summarize once you were married you stayed married through thick and thin, sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death, even if you did marry young.
A house wife in the 50’s was exactly that, a house wife something that looked pretty and knew how to keep other things pretty. She would be expected to keep a clean house, prepare a hearty breakfast for her husband, a refreshing lunch, and a well balanced dinner that was homemade through and through, not frozen or out of a box (A Good Wife's Guide). She would be expected to not only look the part of a classy lady but be a classy lady. She would never reveal too much about herself and always kept people on their toes about who she really was, but also be down to earth and approachable (A Good Wife's Guide).
In 2010 there was no average “house wife” there were either stay at home soccer moms who pin things of Pinterst while looking up hip new recipes, “DIY” projects at home which you do it yourself, and fun new crafts for their bratty children, who are spoiled to the core of their being. Or there were working moms, who worked all hours to make ends meet for their children or at the bare minimum to provide the essentials of food and clothing for them, who they were trying to do right by.
In the modern era, a mother’s attire was anywhere from stiff business suits to jeans and a t-shirt to baggy sweatpants or even skintight bearing-it-all-for-the-world-to-see yoga pants (How has Life for Women Changed from the 1920's to the 50's to Now? - Education Photo Book). Women, especially mothers, were considered strong, independent go get-ers who went after whatever they desired and did not need a man to support her. For instance if a zombie apocalypse were to occur, I strongly believe that women, mainly mothers and their children would be the sole survivors and could totally dominate in killing zombies, and the male population would slowly decrease until women took over the world. Cue evil laugh while rubbing hands together in a fairly creepy and concerning manner.
Women have come a long way in the face of motherhood.

They have gone from being an object, that seemingly does nothing other than look pretty while making sandwiches in the kitchen to being scientists, amazingly talented surgeons not just the cute nurse, doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists, writers, professors, actresses, politicians in front of everyone not just behind closed doors, and the list goes on and on. Each mother, each woman has fought for her place, whether she knows it or not. She knows what exactly is at stake and she refuses to fail to become just another statistic, another number, and another blank face in a crowd that is full of desperation. It is in these times of struggle is when the true heroes are born. William Shakespeare wrote, “but be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.” Hopefully he knew that these words would be remembered and said over and over by people for years and

years.
In conclusion, both women in the 1950’s and the 2010’s had their own struggles and their own advantages. Whether they are pretty young things that keep a pretty clean family, or working moms, they are both moms. They are just trying to raise their kids the right way and have them grow up to be successful. Each had their own advantage to their time period and each had their own distinct disadvantages, but no matter what they pushed through adversity in a man’s world and have taken over and have reclaimed what is rightfully endowed to them as respectful human beings.