In the 1950's, the typical household included a father, mother, and their children. The father maintained a job while the mother was a full-time homemaker. Families, in general, spent a good deal of time together as most households only had one television and phone, so children did not have the option off in their own rooms playing video games or surfing the web on smartphones as they do today. In general, families abided by strict gender roles set forth by society. These gender roles controlled all activities and duties in the home and outside the home.
The Role of Wives
During the 1950s, a woman was reliant on a husband to provide for her and her children. As a result, women were seen as dependent people who constantly needed the aid of a stronger male figure. Generally, women gave up their job after they married, or if not after they married, then after they had children. According to Linda J. Waite of the Rand Corporation, in the early 1950's, about twelve percent of married women worked outside the home.(1)While her husband was at work, the woman was left to take care of the home and the children. This was a full time job. An example of the typical 1950's woman's day is seen below.
Daily Housewife Schedule from America's Housekeeping Book by the New York Tribune Home Institute (2)
8:00am Walk kids to school
9:00am Walk to the shops, stopping at the butchers, and green groccers.
10:00am Walk home.
10:30am Give all rooms their daily clean in the following order, hanging out washing when needed and putting more on Living Room Bring in cleaning equipment
11:30am Washing
12:30pm Start dinner preparations, make and eat lunch, make afternnon snack, wash dishes
1:00pm Finish washing, this includes folding and putting away of washing
2:00pm Rest
3:00pm Pick kids up from school
4:00pm Kids snack time and tv time while I finish the washing
4:30pm Homework
5:00pm Start dinner
5:30pm Kids bath time, do a quick light clean again before husband gets home
6:00pm Finish dinner
6:15pm Husband returns home
6:30pm Dinner time
7:00pm Wash dishes, make husband and kids Lunches,
7:30pm Make sure school bags are ready for tomorrow and clothes laid out
8:00pm Quiet time before kids go to bed
8:30pm Kids Bed Time. Shower and curl hair
10:30pm Bedtime
Daily Housewife Schedule from America's Housekeeping Book by the New York Tribune Home Institute (2)
8:00am Walk kids to school
9:00am Walk to the shops, stopping at the butchers, and green groccers.
10:00am Walk home.
10:30am Give all rooms their daily clean in the following order, hanging out washing when needed and putting more on Living Room Bring in cleaning equipment
11:30am Washing
12:30pm Start dinner preparations, make and eat lunch, make afternnon snack, wash dishes
1:00pm Finish washing, this includes folding and putting away of washing
2:00pm Rest
3:00pm Pick kids up from school
4:00pm Kids snack time and tv time while I finish the washing
4:30pm Homework
5:00pm Start dinner
5:30pm Kids bath time, do a quick light clean again before husband gets home
6:00pm Finish dinner
6:15pm Husband returns home
6:30pm Dinner time
7:00pm Wash dishes, make husband and kids Lunches,
7:30pm Make sure school bags are ready for tomorrow and clothes laid out
8:00pm Quiet time before kids go to bed
8:30pm Kids Bed Time. Shower and curl hair
10:30pm Bedtime
The Role of Husbands
The husband was the supreme leader of every American family during the 1950's. He made the final decisions, managed finances, and anticipated obedience from his family. A man's first priority was supporting his family. Men left their wives to take care of the home and the children alone. A man's main goal in life was to get an education and make enough money to provide a comfortable lifestyle for his family. The typical 1950's man got married around the age of twenty two and was expected to immediately begin a family with his wife. On top of being the "breadwinner" of the family, the man was also in charge of teaching his son masculine skills such as sports, yard work, and car repair.
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Footnotes
1.) Linda J. Waite, U.S. Women at Work (Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 1981).
2.) New York Herald Tribune. Home Institute, America's Housekeeping Book (New York, NY: New York : C. Scribner's Sons, 1951).
Cover image courtesy of H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Corbis (http://blog.iat.com/2015/03/26/science-why-study-it-1950s-video/)
2.) New York Herald Tribune. Home Institute, America's Housekeeping Book (New York, NY: New York : C. Scribner's Sons, 1951).
Cover image courtesy of H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Corbis (http://blog.iat.com/2015/03/26/science-why-study-it-1950s-video/)