Plight of Women - Assignment Example

Question One

Just after the Second World War, some family issues needed to be considered especially by the middle-class women, who felt most burdened by the situation they found themselves in (Ladies Home Journal, “Young Mother”. 1956). Mrs. Gould felt that they ought to have received more attention than they actually did at the time, not only for their sake but also for the community as a whole. Mrs Petry represents the plight of women; their busy schedule in terms of taking care of the children and all other schedules keeping the house in check. (Pg 1). Mrs. Erhardt also complains of limited time out with her husband because there was no one to look after the children back at home entirely in her absence. Their recreational activities are also hindered. She says that she had to squeeze her work time, which served as her recreation to be with the kids at home, as her husband could not manage the kids alone. “...so I asked if I could just come to the store during the week...” (Ladies Home Journal, pg 2). Another challenge that women experienced was when the children fell ill. They felt they would be blamed for the illnesses. “...so I had exposed fifteen children to measles, and I was not the most unpopular mother in the neighborhood...” (Pg 3) On the other hand, the richer women boasted of easier work handling of the house chores as they were introduced to machines like the hoover and the “full kitchen” accessories (Primary source pictorial, page 2 and page 5).In general, women found themselves caught between house chores and their leisure, which they often chose to forego.

Question Two

In as much as the parents and social scientists of the day experienced anxiety over the emergence of a separate teenage culture, the business community took this to their advantage and produced more goods that would fit in the teenager's lifestyles. The increasing “teen market” was directly proportional to production and sales by the companies (The Teenage Consumer, Life 1959. Pg 2). Teenagers no longer fancied bikes and dresses; instead they surrounded themselves with millions of photographs, television sets, and cameras, much to the disbelief of the parents who thought such as luxuries at their time (The teenage consumer, Life Magazine. Pg 1). As illustrated in "Life Magazine", (August 31st, 1959, Pg 1), previously the businessmen mainly ignored the teenage market. However, they later began to pump more resources in line with the teenage demand.  A case example of a 17-year-old Suzzie is given; a route that apparently teenagers would then take up to. Spending rather luxuriously in comparison to her parents’ days “close to $ 4000 every year.” However, all this lavish life did not seem to affect the teen life negatively since Suzzie still was able to feature as a top student in school and even made it to college.