So recently I have heard a staggering number of teenager girls lamenting the fact that they were born in the late nineties, rather than the late forties. Often, these girls will talk wistfully about the nice clothes, the tradition of chivalry, and the actuality of school dances. They of course will wish against all hope that these things were still alive today, totally ignorant of the reality of this time period (for women particularly.) So, to rid anyone of these impossible desires, I decided to compile a list of the top five reasons you actually wouldn't want to have lived in the 1950s. Here it goes.
1) Equal-Opportunity Was Non-Existant
Despite the fact that the quote "we hold these truths to be self evident" was common cultural knowledge by this time, there was still no resemblance of equality- between races, or between genders. For the sake of this point, I'll focus on genders. Women were house wives and mothers- that was it. There were no career-moms, let alone single women with high professional positions. This is all without even considering the social state of equality, which was also barely a glimmer of hope in the feminists' of the time's dreams. So, all in all, it's fairly obvious that women did not nearly have the opportunities they have today (which, unfortunately are still limited- but that's for another post). This by itself would not be worth a trade for pretty dresses and polite boys- and there are four more points to go.
2) Racial Inequity
Again, extremely obvious. I can't imagine someone wishing to live in a time that was even more racist than the one we currently live in; which is pretty racist (socially, anyway). Fun fact: the Jim Crowe laws were not overruled until 1965.
3) Feminine Hygiene
Not a commonly discussed topic, but one that I like to bring up in these conversations because of how shockingly easy it is to convince someone of their utter wrongness through merely it's mention. Let's be realistic, the stories I've heard from my own mother, whose teenagehood existed within the 1980s, about the state of feminine hygiene products at the time makes me shudder- I don't even want to think about how my grandma and her contemporaries had to deal with "mother nature." Also: pointy-bras. I think that about sums it up.
4) The Internet Did Not Exist
I think it's quite obvious that we all love our cell phones and readily available wifi; so living during the advent of television might be a little tough for some of us. Living during a time where information is so readily available and equality is for everyone (mostly) - not jut white, middle to upper class men, it's hard to imagine life as any kind of minority in the 1950s. Also, as a side note- who wants to live through the Cold War? That's just a little too nerve-wracking for me.
5) You Wouldn't Have Got To See The Beatles In Concert Anyway
Well, maybe you would have. I certainly would not have, though. Also, anyone who thinks "everything was so much less expensive then!" does simply not understand the concept of inflation. As another side note, often people express their frustration with how "out in the the open" everyone is now about their problems, and how they long for the days of secrecy and formality. I fundamentally disagree with this idea. It is so important to realize that the reason for our improvements in formally taboo areas like mental health and women's health and domestic abuse is that people are open about their problems. Honesty is not a bad thing at all; people who need help should seek help, not be encouraged to keep things to themselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hate on the 1950s, I do not have a secret agenda against this decade, I just feel that it is important for people to be informed about our culture, what we shouldn't take for granted (but we do) and what we need to continue to work on progressing. As the old adage goes, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Or until you've magically been transported to the 1950s.
Until next time,
Katie
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