Images of the Ideal American Woman in the 1950s

During World War II, women were urged to join the work force, which they did willingly. Many found fulfillment in their newfound economic independence. However, when the men returned, over three million women lost their jobs and were forced to return to their domestic roles (whether they wanted to or not). Eventually, women returned to the work force, but in lesser positions and with lower salaries. Upon reentering the workplace, psychiatrist Marynia Farnham and sociologist Ferdinand Lundberg noted in their best-seller “Modern Woman; The Lost Sex” that “society always expects certain definite things of her. She is, obviously, expected to grow up, select a mate, create a home, and have children. She must not become career-minded to the detriment of her home, husband, and children…If there is no current demand for her services outside the home, she should devote all of her efforts to improving it in every way” (7-8). Women who put career goals ahead of domestic tasks were not being true to themselves, and they were not acting in accordance with “American values.” Women who were not domestic were not part of the “norm” that they were supposed to follow and, subsequently, they were encouraged by society, especially the media, to become housewives.

Television shows and advertisements endorsed the idea that women were happiest as homemakers; kitchen and cleaning appliances like Hoover vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and Frigidaires were publicized as being every woman’s dream. Articles in The Ladies Home Journal and Women’s Home Companion focused on domestic issues, promoting ideas that suggested women should focus all of their time and energy on making their husbands and families happy; this would fulfill a woman more than the pursuit of her own interests and desires. An article titled, “How To be a Good Wife,” which appeared in the magazine “Housekeeping Monthly” in 1955, explained the proper techniques of being a good wife.

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs… Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You will have no right to question him. A good housewife always knows her place. (“The Good Wife’s Guide”)

Women were also encouraged to repress their sexuality. Magazines like Teen and Datebook instructed women on how to act sexually. Men were seen as sexual beings that could not control their lustful appetites whereas women could. Therefore, women must not allow men to have sex with them; the fault would be their own if they became pregnant. Birth control and abortion were illegal, and premarital pregnancy was taboo and shameful. Since women were supposed to control of their sexual urges, society deemed unwed mothers promiscuous, wicked, and immoral.

Women were also encouraged to go to college but only to earn their “MRS” degree (in other words, to find a successful husband). The mainstream believed that “College degrees made women better companions, not for themselves, but for their husbands” (Douglas xxi).

So women indeed felt pressured to conform. Furthermore, the pressure placed upon them to conform to gender role was greater than that placed upon men. Women not only had to endure heightening consumerism, and political and sexual repression, but also the biologically-deterministic belief that they were domestic beings.

Works Cited:

Douglas, Ann. Introduction: “Strange Lives, Chosen Lives: The Beat Art of Joyce Johnson.” Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir. Joyce Johnson. New York: Penguin, 1999 (reprint).

“How to Be a Good Wife: The Good Wife’s Guide.” History Learning Site. 19 Apr 2005.

Lundberg, Ferdinand and Farnham, Marynia. Modern Women: The Lost Sex. New York, Harper, 1947.