60 years ago, women knew their place

Morag

Show Time wrote: »

Giving them the vote was when it all went downhill.

Not really, that says 1955 housewife, women in ireland got the right to vote in 1922.

28064212

paddyandy wrote: »

We are nearer the IDEAL are we ?????? 500 sucides a year now when it was almost unknown then .

I can only hope you're joking. It was almost unknown because no-one would admit to having a suicide in their family (it was illegal for a start). Doctors, families, nurses, priests all covered up suicides. If it was known that you had committed suicide, you couldn't be buried on consecrated ground.

dr.bollocko

Hmm.

An old email forward about housewives in the fifties sitting in AH for a day and this hasn't turned into a major crapstorm yet?

Hmm.

Give it an hour I suppose.

The King of Moo

paddyandy wrote: »

We are nearer the IDEAL are we ?????? 500 sucides a year now when it was almost unknown then .

I never said we were nearer an ideal now. Because I don't think the 1950s were ideal doesn't mean I think things are great now, but things are much better than then.

Yes, suicides have risen, but I sincerely doubt that that's because things are simply worse now. Experts are still debating the increase. One reason would be that it's less taboo now because it's more openly discussed.
Even more important in this country, I believe, is that most people are no longer terrified of going to hell and being buried in unconsecrated ground if they kill themselves. It probably happened more often back then than we realise as it would often have been hushed up to avoid shame.
There's also evidence that suicide, broadly, increases along with the material wealth of society, as focus is shifted away from mere survival to a form of society more conducive to introspection.

But overall, of course things are much better than they were in the 1950s.

Look at social improvements: we don't lock single mothers away and take their babies, it's not illegal to be gay and homosexuals aren't demonised, generally. We still don't allow abortion but you can get a divorce if you want.
Archbishops don't dictate to the government on matters of which they know nothing. The local priest is not unquestioningly a pillar of the community.

Look at our quality of life: there's far less poverty and much greater unemployment, much less of which involves hard physical labour. We have much more social mobility. We have more free time and a much greater range of leisure pursuits with which to fill that free time. We can travel to other countries more cheaply and conveniently.

Look at medical advances: diseases which would have killed in the past are now easily treatable.

Those are just the things that came to me off the top of my head.
Apart from the lower rates of reported suicides and the lack of social mobility (which you think was a good thing, evidently, though I disagree), can you tell me any other ways the 1950s was better than now?

paddyandy

28064212 wrote: »

I can only hope you're joking. It was almost unknown because no-one would admit to having a suicide in their family (it was illegal for a start). Doctors, families, nurses, priests all covered up suicides. If it was known that you had committed suicide, you couldn't be buried on consecrated ground.

I don't make jokes in bad taste . Ireland was a 'Glasshouse' no secrets then . Suicides were rare because (outside of institutions) the abuses did'nt exist and were very rare if they did .
As a schoolboy we knew the limits and the penalties very well .Taboos were in place .

az2wp0sye65487

Think I was born in the wrong decade. That all sounds very appealing to me.

I'd love to come home after a hard days work to a clean house, a roaring fire in the winter / nice cool drink and a relax in summer, and dinner almost ready. Who wouldn't?

fishy fishy

paddyandy wrote: »

We are nearer the IDEAL are we ?????? 500 sucides a year now when it was almost unknown then .

are you serious? do you really things the "bad" things didn't go on then. They did, they were just swept under the carpet (catholic church abuse) and women were thrown into the religious system of the magdalen laundries.

There was just as much going on then, if not more - the difference is nobody spoke about it.

The King of Moo

Miranda Zealous Gumdrop wrote: »

Think I was born in the wrong decade. That all sounds very appealing to me.

I'd love to come home after a hard days work to a clean house, a roaring fire in the winter / nice cool drink and a relax in summer, and dinner almost ready. Who wouldn't?

What if your wife wanted the same things when she came home from work?

28064212

paddyandy wrote: »

I don't make jokes in bad taste . Ireland was a 'Glasshouse' no secrets then . Suicides were rare because (outside of institutions) the abuses did'nt exist and were very rare if they did .
As a schoolboy we knew the limits and the penalties very well .Taboos were in place .

Wow, hard to tell if you're incredibly naiive or just trolling

Sauve

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hmm.

An old email forward about housewives in the fifties sitting in AH for a day and this hasn't turned into a major crapstorm yet?

Hmm.

Give it an hour I suppose.

Now look what you did.

paddyandy

We celebrate our evils now and call them freedom .

paddyandy

28064212 wrote: »

Wow, hard to tell if you're incredibly naiive or just trolling

That is because you are not wise .

az2wp0sye65487

The King of Moo wrote: »

What if your wife wanted the same things when she came home from work?

She wouldn't have to work. By 'work' I mean going out to a paid job every day. She would obviously have her housework to do.

The King of Moo

paddyandy wrote: »

We celebrate our evils now and call them freedom .

Such a grand statement needs examples to back it up.

Originally Posted by steviecakes
She wouldn't have to work. By 'work' I mean going out to a paid job every day. She would obviously have her housework to do.

What if she wanted or, worse, needed to get a job?

paddyandy

Brevity is the soul of wit .......and i don't have the time to waste .

az2wp0sye65487

The King of Moo wrote: »

What if she wanted or, worse, needed to get a job?

I'm talking about in an ideal world where one income would be enough. We've had this conversation. She would be more than happy to be the housewife

i follow these rules to the hilt with no problems at all , if only the labotomy scars werent irrated by my headscarf i would be grand .

smash

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hmm.

An old email forward about housewives in the fifties sitting in AH for a day and this hasn't turned into a major crapstorm yet?

Hmm.

Give it an hour I suppose.

Most of the female posters were told by their husbands not to reply.

Riamfada

It was 1955 so he probably spent a few years in his life getting the **** shot at him by germans for 6 years. He deserves a little R&R from his missus.

The King of Moo

Miranda Zealous Gumdrop wrote: »

I'm talking about in an ideal world where one income would be enough. We've had this conversation. She would be more than happy to be the housewife

Fair enough, I'm glad it's an ideal world you're talking about.

Personally I can see the appeal too, but I'd hate for it to be all one way. It'd feel too much like having a servant instead of a wife, and I'd feel uncomfortable with such an arrangement pretty quickly.

Also, I'm a pretty good cook, so I'd prefer to cook dinner most of the time and let her do the washing up .

paddyandy wrote: »

Brevity is the soul of wit .......and i don't have the time to waste .

How convenient.

In fact, it's worthy of me breaking out one of these guys:

:rolleyes:

AeoNGriM

dark crystal wrote: »

I came across this hilarious article purportedly from 'Houskeeping Monthly' in 1955 on how to be the perfect wife:

http://j-walk.com/other/goodwife/images/goodwifeguide.gif

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
• Be happy to see him.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.

Crazy stuff!



Now, there's nothing at all wrong with a woman choosing to work at home should she choose to do so, but the complete lack of any respect for the woman's feelings at all in this article is hard to comprehend in this day and age.


Also, if I were that husband, I'd be pretty annoyed at having an autobot in place of the girl I fell in love with!



Mad to see how much gender roles have changed in the last 60 years.

Definitely a quality the perfect wife posesses

:pac:

krudler

paddyandy wrote: »

60 years ago everybody knew their place .Life was simple then .

you mean people were afraid to speak their minds and express themselves.

Jaxxy

That all sounds dreadfully boring tbh.

biko

Ah, the old "personal slave" mail.
Handy to have one alright.

hondasam

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Hmm.

An old email forward about housewives in the fifties sitting in AH for a day and this hasn't turned into a major crapstorm yet?

Hmm.

Give it an hour I suppose.

All us women are to busy working our way through that very long list before the man of the house arrives home.
At least the house is clean.

Feeona

A lot of this sounds patronising.....TO MEN! :eek: oh my god did she just say that?

• Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed. Me hungry, want food in my belly.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Distracted by shiny things.
• His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. Not interested in his job, has no personal purpose in life apart from bringing home cash for the family.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables. Ok nothing patronising here. Everyone likes coming into a clean house.
• After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. Husband is unable to comfort himself.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet. Can't concentrate on more than one thing at a time WITH ALL THAT GODDAMN NOISE GOIN' ON!
• Be happy to see him. Because no-one else is.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. Because you're the only one who does it.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems. Because he can't fix them.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work. Can't handle his job.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Nice thing to do for anyone
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. Loud noises scare him.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. Questioning him knocks his self esteem.
• A good wife always knows her place. By pushing down all her wants and needs at the behest of her stressed-out, downtrodden, insecure husband.

:rolleyes:


Talk about creating an environment of dependency!

hondasam

Feeona wrote: »

A lot of this sounds patronising.....TO MEN! :eek: oh my god did she just say that?

• Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed. Me hungry, want food in my belly.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Distracted by shiny things.
• His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. Not interested in his job, has no personal purpose in life apart from bringing home cash for the family.
• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables. Ok nothing patronising here. Everyone likes coming into a clean house.
• After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. Husband is unable to comfort himself.
• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet. Can't concentrate on more than one thing at a time WITH ALL THAT GODDAMN NOISE GOIN' ON!
• Be happy to see him. Because no-one else is.
• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. Because you're the only one who does it.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don't greet him with complaints and problems. Because he can't fix them.
• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work. Can't handle his job.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Nice thing to do for anyone
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. Loud noises scare him.
• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. Questioning him knocks his self esteem.
• A good wife always knows her place. By pushing down all her wants and needs at the behest of her stressed-out, downtrodden, insecure husband.

:rolleyes:


Talk about creating an environment of dependency!

I think it was funny. What man is like that now and what woman would put up with it.

dark crystal

hondasam wrote: »

What man is like that now and what woman would put up with it.

The men who buy their brides from exotic places like Thailand and the Philippines.

Many women from those countries are brought up to be dutiful and subservient wives. Western women may be more liberated now, but in other countries it's still the norm to wait hand and foot on your hubbie.

hondasam

dark crystal wrote: »

The men who buy their brides from exotic places like Thailand and the Philippines.

Many women from those countries are brought up to be dutiful and subservient wives. Western women may be more liberated now, but in other countries it's still the norm to wait hand and foot on your hubbie.

Maybe just maybe some women are happy to do that.

biko

Unfortunately there are still countries around the world where that still prevails.
Women in many places are in fact owned by their father and then by their husbands, just another possession.

kfallon

dark crystal wrote: »

The men who buy their brides from exotic places like Thailand and the Philippines.

Na they buy them for the unique delights of a woman with a willy :pac:

KittyeeTrix

Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

:eek::D
I particularly like these ones...... Jaysus, I'd never have managed to stay married back in those times!!!!

stupidusername

It's not as in the past in this country as some seem to believe. There was always the impression in my house that the men got fed first, like to make sure they got enough. Whenever I'm cooking for my boyfriend I still make sure he has more than me, even though it seems I eat more than he does.

shopaholic01

A lot of housewives in the 50's and 60' were on valium to cope with the boredom. Easy to act like that when you're drugged into oblivion.

Nothingbetter2d

shopaholic01 wrote: »

A lot of housewives in the 50's and 60' were on valium to cope with the boredom. Easy to act like that when you're drugged into oblivion.

i must remember that

shopaholic01

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

i must remember that

Rohypnol messes with the memory though .............;)

paddyandy

I don't understand the reasoning that states that women are more liberated to-day yet the amount of time they spend getting ready or preparing for something with tooing and frowing around shops all week over this or that .Their lives are cluttered from one end of the week to the other and it's NOT freedom but obligations of a myriad kind .Women spend ages in front of the mirror every day .I want to know what they are liberated from .Their greatgrandmothers did'nt have anything like the demands and the type of demands are different . They worked hard years ago but the life was simpler and safer too .Usually .They go around half naked and in cold weather too .Freedom ??????

shopaholic01

paddyandy wrote: »

I don't understand the reasoning that states that women are more liberated to-day yet the amount of time they spend getting ready or preparing for something with tooing and frowing around shops all week over this or that .Their lives are cluttered from one end of the week to the other and it's NOT freedom but obligations of a myriad kind .Women spend ages in front of the mirror every day .I want to know what they are liberated from .Their greatgrandmothers did'nt have anything like the demands and the type of demands are different . They worked hard years ago but the life was simpler and safer too .Usually .They go around half naked and in cold weather too .Freedom ??????

But we do it because we want to, so there's freedom of choice if nothing else.
See your point though, never thought of it like that before.

al28283

60 years ago people had some very strange ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3S24ofEQj4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy-zVlB4mvA

ashes79

Isn't that an American article though? In 1955 my dad was born. He was the 3rd of 5 children born to a family where both parents worked in pretty manual jobs and they took in unmarried working girls as lodgers to make ends meet. I'm fairly sure that after my grand mother spending the morning working in a laundry and then cleaning the house without all the time saving stuff we have now my granddad may have died a bit younger if he expected to be treated like that article suggests lol

Itwasntme.

Reminds me of this-->http://twitpic.com/12k9z6- nearly made me pee my pants laughing.

Doc Ruby

al28283 wrote: »

60 years ago people had some very strange ideas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3S24ofEQj4

Jimmy Barnes, he stuck out his thumb
Thought he was getting a ride
But not up his bum

I love these vintage warning videos, it defies belief that they were ever aired.

DEFTLEFTHAND

My late grandmother was a keen golfer but although our local club allowed her to play in the evenings they wouldn't hear of her or any other women becoming members. Ironically one the suits who opposed women members was her father a co founder of the club. She just seemed to accept it at the time and was happy to get to play at all. Eventually in the late 70s after her father's death the rule was put to vote at the AGM and women finally became members, she went on to be the first lady captain. Is was nice for her that in her time attitudes changed.

Doc Ruby

dark crystal wrote: »

The men who buy their brides from exotic places like Thailand and the Philippines.

Many women from those countries are brought up to be dutiful and subservient wives. Western women may be more liberated now, but in other countries it's still the norm to wait hand and foot on your hubbie.

*snorts tae out*

You haven't met many Filipinas I take it.

kate.m

I remember finding something very similar to that in my granny's house when I was younger.

It was a really small booklet printed by the church but had the exact same stuff in it.

I showed it to my brother (don't ask me why) and the kitchen and sandwich jokes started :pac:

paddyandy

Duty is not a common word in daily usage in the western world it makes us uneasy .
Authorities have duties but no one else has it seems .