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1950 S 1960 S From Housewive To Feminist

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1950 S 1960 S From Housewive To Feminist
The 1950’s and the 1960’s and the American Woman : the transition from the ”housewife” to the feminist
Vanessa Martins Lamb

To cite this version:
Vanessa Martins Lamb. The 1950’s and the 1960’s and the American Woman : the transition from the ”housewife” to the feminist. 2011, pp.106. <dumas-00680821>

HAL Id: dumas-00680821 http://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-00680821 Submitted on 2 Apr 2012

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Université du Sud Toulon-Var
UFR Lettres et Sciences Humaines
Master civilisations contemporaines et comparées

The 1950’s and 1960’s and the American
Woman: the transition from the “housewife” to the feminist

Vanessa Martins Lamb

Directeur de recherche : Michel Van der Yeught

Juin 2011

To my parents, Selma and Sérgio.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

1

1. The American woman in the 1950’s: from the
“ideal woman” to the “woman in crisis”

5

1.1. The American Way of Life” and women in the 1950’s

5

1.2. Building the ideology of the “ideal woman” as “housewife”

17

1.3. The identity crisis of the housewife in the late 1950’s: looking for a new role in society

28

2. The search for a new feminine ideal in the 1960’s, from the newly emancipated
American woman to the feminist

46

2.1. “There’s something missing”: from women’s individual crises to the collective awareness of their common condition

46

2.2. The revival of a Movement and the development of Egalitarian Feminism

50

2.3. The Egalitarian Feminist Revolution

59



References: 2. 1950’s Advertisements of household products 3

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