Females in Male Roles
The Doctor Riddle
A father and his five-year-old son are in a car accident.
The father dies, but the son is alive and needs surgery.
The doctor says, "I can’t operate on this person because he is my son."
The doctor is the boy's mother.
The Kindergarten Teacher Riddle
A mother and her five-year-old son are in a car accident.
The mother dies, but the son is alive and survives surgery.
On the first day of kindergarten, the teacher says, "I can’t teach this person because he is my son."
Notably designed to challenge assumptions, similar to the doctor riddle.
Scarcity of Male Teachers in Early Education
In 2017, women constituted 77.9% of elementary and middle school teachers in the U.S.
The percentage of female preschool and kindergarten teachers was even higher, at 97.2%.
Percentage of Physicians by Gender and Age (as of 2004)
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Under 35: Male - 3%, Female - 13%
35-44: Male - 10%, Female - 22%
45-54: Male - 14%, Female - 23%
55-64: Male - 26%, Female - 30%
65 and Over: Male - 35%, Female - 28%
Residential Population Percentages
Early 1940s:
Rural and farms: 49%
Cities: 32%
Suburbs: 19%
Late 1960s:
Rural and farms: 31%
Cities: 31%
Suburbs: 38%
Suburbanization in the 1950s
July 1950: Suburbs were perceived as safe and attractive, with residents often envisioning themselves as affluent.
Suburban Americans identified as middle to upper-middle class.
1947: Levittown, designed by William Levitt (1907 – 1994), represented an early version of standardized, affordable housing in the 1950s suburbs.
1950s Family Facts
Divorce rate: 25% (33% in 1946)
Educational gap: Increased between young middle-class women and men.
Job segregation: Peaked for working men and women.
1960: 72% of women (aged 20-24) were married.
1990: 33% of women (aged 20-24) were married.
U.S. Births: 1930-Present Day
Baby Boomers: (1945-1965) – Almost 80 million U.S. babies born.
1957: 4.3 million births (U.S. record).
ECHO Boomers (1980 – 2000).
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
Pre-1965 Laws from Connecticut and other states: Prohibited any drug, medicinal article, or instrument for preventing conception (enacted in 1879).
1961: Estelle Griswold (Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut) opened a birth control center in New Haven.
Police arrested Griswold, who was found guilty and fined $100.
Choice and Diversity
A quote (possibly by Nixon or Krushchev) emphasizes the importance of diversity and choice, contrasting it with centralized decision-making.
The example used is the availability of different washing machine manufacturers, allowing housewives to have a choice.
The Idealized 1950s Housewife
In 1956, Life magazine profiled Marjorie Sutton as a successful woman who fulfilled her feminine potential as a mother, wife, home manager, and hostess.
Sutton had four children and handled all cooking, cleaning, and sewing for her family.
She also supported her husband's career by entertaining his business clients.
Constraints on Women in the 1950s
Women's fashions emphasized femininity over practicality and comfort.
Strong pressures existed for women to conform to prevailing sexual stereotypes.
The Influence of Barbie
First Barbie dolls launched in 1959.
Questions raised about whether Barbie influences physical enhancement initiatives among women.
U.S. Cosmetic Procedures (2007)
Data from 2007: U.S. Cosmetic Procedures Women (91%) Men (9%).
Women:
Breast enlargement: 399,440
Botox: 2,445,656
Liposuction: 398,848
Eyelid surgery: 208,199
Laser Hair Removal: 1,226,974
Abdominal reconstruction: 180,457
Rhinoplasty: 298,056
Breast Reduction: 153,087
IPL Laser Treatment: 584,530
Men:
Chest-enhancement: 20,280
Botox injection: 329,519
Liposuction: 57,980
Eyelid surgery: 32,564
Laser hair removal: 185,684
Abdominal recon.: 16,241
Rhinoplasty: 31,713
Hair transplantation: 16,491
IPL laser treatment: 63,177
U.S. Reconstructive Surgery Statistics (2012-2015)
2012:
Women: 9.1 million cosmetic procedures (90%)
Men: 1 million cosmetic procedures (10%)
2014:
Women: 9.6 million cosmetic procedures (90%)
Men: 1 million cosmetic procedures (10%)
Gender Representation in Media and Marketing
Questions raised about differences in how men and women are dressed and displayed on U.S. televised news programs.
Consideration of the demand created by the male-heterosexual market seeding food services at restaurants like Hooters or Tijuana Taxi or Twin Peaks.
Dissatisfaction of Women in the 1950s
Mid-century women were caught in a dilemma, resenting the lack of mental stimulation and outlets for their academic skills and intellectual energies.
Women's Employment
1960: 40% of U.S. women were employed.
1960: 60% of female workers were married.
1960: 33% of married women were employed.
1970: 50% of married women were employed.
Common Jobs Among Women: 1950s
Clerical (helped take care of office workers and managers).
Early-grade education (helped take care of school children).
Nursing (helped take care of medical patients).
Stewardess (helped take care of airplane passengers).
Betty Friedan and "The Feminine Mystique"
Betty Friedan (1921 - 2006).
Inspired by her 15th-year college reunion (Smith College) in 1957.
Friedan’s Statistics from Chapter 1
End of 1950s: Average marriage age (female): 20 years.
14 million females engaged by age 17 years.
1958: 35% of women attended college (60% drop out rate).
Suspected reasons included marriage and fear that too much education would be a marriage bar.
Friedan generalized that girls started going steady at 12 and 13, and in junior high.
Analysis
Questions how finances become a factor when analyzing why younger persons are ever attracted to marriage and dating with older persons?
Historically, how has gender been a variable in this analysis?
Labor Force Participation by Gender (1950-2015)
Presentation of a chart showing women's and men's share of the labor force from 1950-2015, with projections to 2024.
Income Disparity Throughout the Decades
Year Women Men Difference Percentage
2010 36,931 47,715 10,784 77.4%
2000 27,355 37,339 9,984 73.3%
1990 25,451 35,538 10,087 71.6%
1980 22,279 37,033 14,754 60.2%
1970 20,567 34,642 14,075 59.4%
1960 16,144 26,608 10,464 60.7%
Source: National Committee on Pay Equity
Nostalgia for the 1950s
Quotes from American Identities (Page 17 – 20) What We Really Miss About the 1950s.
“…a time when there were fewer complicated choices for kids or parents.”
“…when there was more predictability in how people formed and maintained families.”
“…when there was a more coherent ‘moral order’ in their community to serve as a reference point for family norms.”
“Even when people who found that ‘moral order’ grossly unfair or repressive often say that its presence provided them with something concrete to push against.”
1950: 70% of children lived with both biological parents.
1990: 50% of children lived with both biological parents.
Women in the Entertainment Industry
Reference to a review of Women Aren’t Funny.
Kathryn Bigelow: First and only woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director (Film: The Hurt Locker) in 2010.
Only men have won the award 86 times since the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.
Income Distribution in the United States (2005)
SOURCE: U.S. Census (2005)
Presents data on income distribution by gender and ethnicity (Overall, Hispanic, Black, Asian, White).
Professional Trends & Disparities (2013)
United States Statistics:
Members of U.S. Congress: Male - 82%, Female - 18%
State Governors: Male - 88%, Female - 12%