Kit Johnston
Women of Color in U.S.
WNST 101/AMCS 100
Fall 2014
Paper Assignment: Prompt #2
Sixty years ago, the ideal American family consisted of one mother and one father,
married for life, with children. The notion of family during that time was limited; the
mother typically stayed home to cook, clean, and care for the children, while the father held
a job to provide for the family. This family structure encouraged gender roles, which were
heavily normalized back then. However, the notion of family held sixty years ago greatly
contrasts from the modern notion of family. An increase in women achieving a higher
education has led to more modern-day women holding a job, rather than staying home
caring for children. The average family size has decreased as more women today are
focused on working. Today, more same-sex couples are starting families of their own as
same-sex marriage is becoming more acceptable than it was in the past. The likelihood of
divorce has increased in the last century, making single parent families more common than
they were sixty years ago. The present day realities of family life drastically contrast from
the traditional notions that dominated America sixty years ago. Unlike in the 1950s, today
there is no notion of a “typical” American family.
Women of the 1950s felt great pressure to focus their aspirations on marriage,
rather than education or a career of their own. The U.S. marriage rate was at an all time
high in the 1950s, as getting married right out of high school or while in college was
considered ordinary. Female students were encouraged to take special courses that
prepared them for life as a housewife. It was less common for women to attain a college
degree; many women left college early to achieve marriage and become a housewife.
Women who graduated from college often attained a degree in home economics, which
basically prepared them for living at home and family life. A clearly defined structure of
family life centered American society during the 1950s. Nuclear families were popularized
in 1950s TV shows, which often depicted a family consisting of a happily married
heterosexual couple with two or three children. The wife often took on the role of being a
standard housewife, while the husband followed his career aspirations to provide for the
family. With the absence of technological distractions, families in the 1950s spent a lot more
time together than families do today. This nuclear family structure was predictable and
orderly with a gender-based division of labor. The modern day structure of family life,
