RetroLisa
------ | __ | 1950s Everyday Life
part 1 | | |
|
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
|
RetroLisa
| ___________________________________________________________________ | __ | _____________________________ | _______ | Family & Relationships
family values
World War II altered our society and forced us to reexamine our values and attitudes. As a result, lifestyle trends that were firmly established before the war took a dramatic turn when the war was over. The marriage rate, which had been relatively stable, suddenly spiked in 1946 and 1947. The rising divorce rate and declining birth rate both reversed themselves. There were more people starting families than ever before. In 1951, this phenomenon was nicknamed the baby boom.
In 1952, the birth rate reached levels that hadn't been seen since the 1920s. Three decades of population growth ensured that the actual number of babies born in the 1950s was greater than at any point in our history. 1957 was the peak year for births during the baby boom era.
In the ideal family of the 1950s, dad brought home the paycheck, mom did the cooking and cleaning, and the kids were respectful and well-behaved.
In reality, life in the 1950s wasn't quite as good
as Father Knows Best would like us to believe...
Traditional Family Values
| |
"Do you think Bob will like these new frozen dinners?"
Pearls and oven mitts?
...it must be a 1950s housewife! |
marriage
For a long time, the average age at which young people first got married hovered around 24 for men and 21 for women. By the 1950s, this figure had fallen to 22 for men and 20 for women.
There were several reasons for this phenomenon. During the war years, young couples were faced with a climate of uncertainty. They dispensed with long courtships and tied the knot sooner, often on impulse. The optimism of the postwar years created a desire to "get back to normal," and one of the best ways to accomplish this was to get married and start a family. In the past, couples often postponed marriage and children during poor economic times. The booming economy of the 1950s provided no such barrier.
Women who took wartime jobs experienced a sense of freedom they had never known before. After the war, women were pressured to return to their domestic roles. Depictions of married life became overly sweet and sentimental, and being someone's bride was once again the goal of most women.
Together, these factors sent couples down the aisle in increasing numbers, and at younger ages.
| |
Gee, we're walking down
the aisle again!
--A&P supermarkets, 1950
|
_________________________________________________
|
|
|
RetroLisa
| ________________________________________________ | ___ | ______________________________________________ | ________ | Reading Material
magazines
comic books & funnies
- Peanuts
- Alley Oop
- Priscilla's Pop
- Bugs Bunny
- Dick Tracy
- Buck Rogers
- Freckles & His Friends
- Captain Easy
- Superman
books
| |
*16 magazine was the first teen publication to feature articles about rock music and rock musicians. The magazine made its debut in 1957 with a photo of Elvis Presley on the cover.
*Norman Rockwell illustrated the cover of the Saturday Evening Post from 1916 to the 1960s.
*The first issue of Playboy hit the newsstands in 1953, featuring nude photos of Marilyn Monroe. She had originally posed for the photos in 1949 while struggling to establish her career as an actress.
50s Bestsellers
Norman Rockwell Museum Of Vermont
Boomer's Teen Magazine Advice & Tips
for the kids
Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) began writing children's books in the 1930s. After spending the war years in Hollywood working on military training films, he returned to writing for kids, and produced some of the most beloved children's books of all time.
|
__________________________________________
|
|
|
RetroLisa
| ___________________________________________________________________ | __ | _____________________________ | _______ | Generations
teenagers
In the past, there were no teenagers. If you weren't a child, you were an adult. In the 1900s, educators began to view the teen years as a separate stage in life. By the 1920s, young people had developed a lifestyle all their own. The concept caught on in a big way during the 1950s. For the first time in history, young people between the ages of 12 and 20 had their own culture, and this trend was very disturbing to their parents.
teen trends
- going steady
- cruising
- sock-hops
- getting pinned
- wearing your boyfriend's class ring
- that crazy rock & roll music
- hanging out at the malt shop
- having a crush on the latest teen idol
Want to win that special guy?
Not sure how to act on a date?
...let one of these publications help!
Boy Dates Girl: Dating Tips From 1955
Are You In The Know?
Fifteen years old, with time on his hands and trouble on his mind!
Young men who wore leather jackets, listened to rock & roll music and idolized actors like James Dean were portrayed as hoodlums by the media. | |
In the old days, social events like dating and dancing had only one purpose....to find a spouse. For teenagers in the 1950s, dating didn't mean courting and dancing was done for fun.
Teenagers, telephones and Coca-Cola....the perfect combination! |
| _______________________________________________________ | __ | _____________________ | _ | _________________ | _______ | 
children
In the 1950s, modern society became increasingly child-centered. Before the war, adults did not go out of their way to coddle children. Thanks to the baby boom, there were more children in the 1950s than ever before, and the sheer size of this group brought a change of attitude.
The institution of childhood became sacred, to be prolonged and protected at all costs. Childcare professionals focused on positive child-rearing theories and child psychology. Parents who had grown up during the Depression devoted themselves to giving their children everything they had been denied. Many businesses and public areas made their operations child-friendly. It was the best possible time to be a kid.
| |
most popular
baby names
of 1955
girls
Mary
Deborah
Debra
Linda
Patricia
Susan
Maria
Barbara
Karen
Nancy
| |
boys
Michael
James
David
Robert
John
William
Richard
Mark
Thomas
Charles
Steven
|
_________________________________________________
|
|
|
RetroLisa
| ___________________________________________________________________ | __ | _____________________________ | _______ | Health
all the ice cream you can eat!
Doctors believed that tonsils were nothing more than useless body parts that caused trouble and made you sick. In the 1950s, having them removed was practically a rite of passage for kids.
This 1958 book followed the adventures of a boy who has his tonsils out. It was one of my favorites as a kid....I had it completely memorized even before I could read!
Tonsillectomy
Was Polio Epidemic Related To Tonsil Removal?
| |
|
_________________________________________________
|
|
|
