Persepone wrote:The cookbooks, magazines of the day, etc. would have you believe that real people actually did those things--and some of them actually did try to do some of those things (c.f. the laundry on the line contest), but the bottom line is that, like Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving illustrations, that was not the reality.
The reason for that spate of post-war "stay home housewife" stuff was that after the war and well into the 1960s, the government was on an aggressive campaign to try and get women to return to being "just housewives" after their widespread participation in the workplace during World War II. The economists felt that the women neeed to get out of the workforce to make room for soldiers returning from WWII and the Korean War.
My godmother (and other friends of my parents) wrote for some of the magazines of that day (and also wrote a series of books) and contributed to those cookbooks, etc. but the reality was that you were likely to get Cheez Whiz squirted on Ritz Crackers or something for dinner... The reality is that while some of they stuff they did was "different" (e.g., you ironed everything because if you did not it was unwearable--no cotton that you COULD wash and wear, for example... You cooked a lot of stuff from "scratch" because there were few mixes and those that existed were pretty awful, etc. But their kids whined, there were dust bunnies under the bed, etc. The primary difference was that the women felt a lot more GUILTY about these realities because of the barrage of articles, cookbooks, etc. that told them they weren't womanly enough if they could not be the perfect "wifey." It was a load of crap then and it's still a load of crap.
If your kids/grandchildren read certain magazines of today (Martha Stewart Living comes to mind), they may well have similar thoughts about today's women. Who do YOU know who lives like that??? Who do you know who would WANT to live that way?
Daria - well, my next door neighbors live this way - both sides! A few neighbors homes on my street are like my own - lived in, dust, etc. I wish I could swap one family for another. First the long term neighbors who moved in 6 months after we did, share lots of 15 years of history with us. Watching our street develop (1988 subdivision), etc. And I get along great with them - they have never, ever complained. But their house is immaculate. Wife vacuums every day and I'm serious. She was going thru withdrawals once, when her vacuum gave out. We all teased her, asking if an intervention was needed. LOL She and her husband work very hard on that house, but they're both the DIY type (what we are when we are so inclined). The other family has a wife whose only chore is preparing dinner (he does the dishes) and maybe laundry. She has a weekly maid, for 6 hours a week. A husband who rushes around to his wife's every need, he gets so worked up trying to simulate how she was raised - in a wealthy family, with a "staff" (I'm picturing gardeners, maids, chauffers, etc.). He actually has high blood pressure from it we suspect (hear he's on daily meds for a chronic condition). They are not the DIY type, they hire every household chore out but cutting the lawn. Yep, they hire a landscaping crew to pull weeds, just for one example. Ugh. They've complained to us about various nit-picky things (so yes I want to swap this family for a messy one!). In fact, we joke this family should do a Wife Swap segment on ABC. The wife would be in for a rude awakening - their house is immaculate too, but the wife, who's a stay at home mom of 3, doesn't do the work herself.
So yes I know 2 households that run this way and I'm smack dab between them - it's not fair I always say. I don't want slobs living next door to me but people who can handle a little dust would be nice!
Mary
