SOCIAL CONTEXTS AND GENDER REPRESENTATIONS

What were 1940’s men like?

Men were the protector- the stoic defender of democracy and strength was measured by emotional restraint

What were 1940’s women like?

Melodramatic as their husbands were away in the war, emotional female characters.

What did women lack in the 40’s?

They lacked agency

What were 1960’s men like, what was the growing crisis about?

There was an emergence of a crisis of masculinity as some men had lost their power due to societal changes and growing roles of women

What were 1960’s women like?

There was a growing restlessness driven by a return to domesticity.

Who wrote the ‘Feminine Mystique’ and what did they argue?

Betty Friedan, arguing that feminine women only want to be perfect housewives

In the 50’s what happened to societal roles between men and women?

Women returned to be the perfect housewife after the end of the war.