1950s Women Research Paper

Contention (Introduction): At the beginning of the 1950's women faced the expectation that they must become a housewife. Towards the end of the 1960’s, women started to believe that o The influence of the media played a vast role in preventing women from achieving the American Dream. o They were destined to be housewives, who helped look after the children while their husbands were at work. during World War 2 there were some Influence of the Media:

Contention (Paragraph 2): Media during the 1950’s played a huge role in depicting women as housewives and preventing them from achieving the American Dream. It slowly started to open up opportunities for the women at the end of the 1960’s. o Television was not merely entertainment. It was a teacher, offering lessons in what was acceptable

Expectations on Appearance and the Society

Contention (Paragraph 3): The society which surrounded women of the 1950’s and 1960’s illustrated that there was a stereotypical ‘ideal woman’, most women felt the need to be like this to ‘belong in the society’. o Advertisements from the 1940s and 50s depicted skinny women as being hopeless in romantic pursuits, noting that gaining weight was their only hope to attract a man. o An article titled 'Men wouldn't look at me when I was Skinny' advertised that after gaining 10 Pounds it was a new and easier way to attract Men and have all the dates that a women would want. o 'Super-rich yeast, is ironized with 3 special kinds of iron which strengthen the blood, and add energy.'

Day after day, watch flat chest develop, skinny limbs round out attractively. Skin clears to beauty, new health comes- you're an entirely new person. o In the 1960's, women had the idea it was better being skinnier (department store buyers reported that most women had shrunk 3 or 4 dress sizes), more feminine (30% of women dyed their hair blonde), and much