Women, Then and Now
Women, Then and Now
Cassie Biery
COM/155
October 23, 2011
Tara Rodriguez
Women, Then and Now
The thought of the 1950s conjures up many wholesome images; perfectly dressed and smiling mothers who have every meal on the table, working fathers with all the answers to life’s problems, and perfect children all gathered around the table. Today, the words wife and mother conjure up images that are similar, however far more complicated. Unlike the clearly defined gender roles of the 1950s, today’s woman fills traditional roles as well as many formerly held mostly by men.
“If art imitates life, the trends in television situation comedies over the last 60 years certainly show where we are heading. Families in sitcoms have gone from the sublime to the dysfunctional” (Schweller-Snyder, 2010). The media’s portrayal of women in the 1950s media was the perfect picture of womanhood, a picture perfect portrait of family life. Donna Reed, June Cleaver, and Harriet Nelson were all memorable 1950s television mothers. All these women were homemakers, picturesquely portrayed from the opening credits to the closing scenes as lovely, agreeable housewives who cleaned in their high heeled shoes and lovely frocks (Rich, 2001). Some of these women, like Donna Reed, were prone to getting into comical jams. These jams were usually caused by going against sound and stern advice from their very masculine husbands, and were usually solved by these same suburban knights.
The women of today’s media have brought more realistic and edgy subjects to America’s table. Roseanne, Claire Huxtable, and Lois Wilkerson all challenged the traditional women of television while producing laughs and facing realistic subject matter (TV Moms Bring Home the Bacon-A Look at the Evolution of TV Moms, 2009). These media portrayals showed women who abandoned the ladylike “momisms” of the 1950’s and were sometimes crude, imperfect parents, and no longer demure or deferring to their husbands.
In the
Cassie Biery
COM/155
October 23, 2011
Tara Rodriguez
Women, Then and Now
The thought of the 1950s conjures up many wholesome images; perfectly dressed and smiling mothers who have every meal on the table, working fathers with all the answers to life’s problems, and perfect children all gathered around the table. Today, the words wife and mother conjure up images that are similar, however far more complicated. Unlike the clearly defined gender roles of the 1950s, today’s woman fills traditional roles as well as many formerly held mostly by men.
“If art imitates life, the trends in television situation comedies over the last 60 years certainly show where we are heading. Families in sitcoms have gone from the sublime to the dysfunctional” (Schweller-Snyder, 2010). The media’s portrayal of women in the 1950s media was the perfect picture of womanhood, a picture perfect portrait of family life. Donna Reed, June Cleaver, and Harriet Nelson were all memorable 1950s television mothers. All these women were homemakers, picturesquely portrayed from the opening credits to the closing scenes as lovely, agreeable housewives who cleaned in their high heeled shoes and lovely frocks (Rich, 2001). Some of these women, like Donna Reed, were prone to getting into comical jams. These jams were usually caused by going against sound and stern advice from their very masculine husbands, and were usually solved by these same suburban knights.
The women of today’s media have brought more realistic and edgy subjects to America’s table. Roseanne, Claire Huxtable, and Lois Wilkerson all challenged the traditional women of television while producing laughs and facing realistic subject matter (TV Moms Bring Home the Bacon-A Look at the Evolution of TV Moms, 2009). These media portrayals showed women who abandoned the ladylike “momisms” of the 1950’s and were sometimes crude, imperfect parents, and no longer demure or deferring to their husbands.
In the