Canadian Women's History: Postwar Era and the Birth of Idealized Heterosexuality

Part 1: Demobilizing Women After WWII

• Postwar Canadian Reality

  • Reintegration of 1.1 million military personnel into civilian life.
  • Emphasis on returning to safety, security, and reliability.
  • Idealized family structure emerges to facilitate this reintegration.
  • Boost from postwar economic boom leading to high living standards.

• Policies for Demobilization

  • Government initiatives encourage women to return to traditional domestic roles.
  • 1944 Family Allowance Program incentivizes women to bear and raise children.
  • Unemployment Insurance disqualifies married women from benefits, promoting male sole breadwinner status.

• Support for Home Ownership

  • National Housing Act facilitates home ownership for veterans.
  • Loans and subsidies available to purchase homes, leading to an increase in single-family home ownership.

Part 2: Turn Towards Domesticity and Marriage

• Marriage: An Origin Story

  • Traditional view: Marriage as an economic contract focused on stability and procreation.
  • Power dynamics favor males, with women and children fulfilling specific familial roles.

• Marriage: A Time Before Romance

  • Up until the 1950s, love not a central tenet of marriage.
  • Economic stability prioritized over romantic attachments.

• The Beginning of Companionate Marriage

  • Shift towards marriage as a romantic partnership emphasized bonding and sexual attraction.

• The Threat of Divorce

  • Divorce rates doubled from 1941-1951, yet gaining social acceptance remained difficult due to legal complexities and societal taboos.

Part 3: The Invention of Heterosexuality

• Heterosexuality: A Brief History

  • Before the 1880s, sexual behavior was not tied to identity.
  • Control over sexuality rested with religious and legal authorities.

• Heterosexuality & Sexology

  • Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis popularized the term "heterosexual."
  • Created a binary: heterosexuality deemed 'normal' and homosexuality labeled 'abnormal'.

• Heterosexuality: Something to Learn?

  • Questions raised about sexual orientation's malleability; psychiatry sought to guide individuals to conform to heterosexual norms.

• Heterosexuality: Destabilized by Kinsey

  • Alfred Kinsey's groundbreaking research altered perceptions of sexual behavior with significant public interest.

• The Kinsey Scale

  • A continuum from exclusively heterosexual (0) to exclusively homosexual (6), providing a nuanced view of sexual orientation.

Part 4: Growing Up Heterosexual

• Girlhood and Heterosexuality

  • Socialization of girls towards future roles as wives and mothers, emphasizing femininity through dress and behavior.

• Parenting Girls: Advice from Samuel Laycock

  • Importance of early emotional education in relation to opposite-sex interactions emphasized by child psychologist Samuel Laycock.

• Samuel Laycock: How to Avoid Raising a Homosexual

  • Claims emphasized that gender conformity equated to sexual orientation, driving parenting strategies in the 1950s.

• Dating: Practicing Heterosexuality

  • Encouragement of supervised dating and conversations about sexuality to prepare teens for adult heterosexual relationships.

• Dating: Advice for Teens

  • Guidelines emphasized safe interactions with the opposite sex without premarital sexual encounters.

Conclusion

• Key Takeaways from the 1950s in Canada
  • Society constructed ideals around heterosexuality influenced by sexology, traditional gender roles, and a utopian view of domestic life.
  • The pressure to conform to ideals of the "perfect" heterosexual family created challenges for women, contrasting with the presented image of stability and prosperity.