Womens Culture Senior Paper

Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
The Progression of Women

1866 – 1950
Be a woman! On a duty!
Raise the world from all that’s low;
Place high in the social heaven
Virtue’s fair and radiant bow;
Lend thy influence to each effort;
Be not fashion’s gilded lady,
Be a brave, whole souled, true woman!
- Edward Brooks.1
Olivet College Archives: Yearbook 1890-1892
Women Attending Olivet College
100
59
51 50
Women
50
0
1890 1891 1892
Years 2
During the 1800s, women were considered second-class citizens. Women were expected
to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family. 3 After marriage women could not
1
Women’s Depart, Olivet College, 1897. Olivet College Archives.
2
Olivet College Archives, Yearbooks, 1955-1957
3
https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/rightsforwomen/introduction.html
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own their own property, keep their own wages or sign a contract. 4 Women were not encouraged
to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. 5 This statement was untrue when it
came to Olivet College. The college was founded in 1844 at this time women began attending
Olivet.
Women at Olivet College had a set of regulations and rules that had to abide by while
attending the college. They had to uphold to the standards that were required for women. The
men had rules they also how to abide by. The men and women in the 1800’s had a strict way of
life on and off campus unlike how society lives today.
The rules and regulations are to be followed by both men and women. The women had
several more rules then the men did why attending Olivet College. In 1866 every student at
Olivet College was required to quietly observe the Lord’s Prayer and any unnecessary travel is
forbidden. Young women and men are never allowed to call at each others rooms except in case
of severe illness, and then only by special permission. Young women could only receive calls on
Thursday evening and they could only be on the phone for one hour. When a young man wanted
to call they needed to send their names to the Principal or the matron with whom the young
woman boards. If any violation takes place, the college laws faculty shall proceed according to
their discretion according to the nature and circumstances of the offense.
Shipherd Hall is the center of the Women’s Department of Olivet College. It is the home
of the female students, teachers, principal and the Matron. Shipherd Hall houses the offices of
the principal and the matron, the dinning room, two parlors, the women’s society room and there
is enough room for eighty students. Each one of the rooms is gracefully furnished, decorated
4
5
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Senior Seminar
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with pictures and other items. The college gives the girls bedding and the student provides towels
and napkins for the table. Each student takes entire care of her own room. She is expected to
keep it in excellent order. Neatness in her room and about her person is required of each student.
The habit of neatness is considered very important. 6 The parlors of Shipherd Hall are cheerful
and homelike. 7 Every evening the students living in the hall are to meet for prayer Shipherd Hall
is a Christian home.8 Students boarding in the hall have the advantage of contact with daily life
of teachers, women of culture and experience. 9 The principal will present talks on social from in
the hall. While living in student life students are able to take part in social experiences at
receptions and class parties. Every young woman in the college and preparatory departments is
expected to conform to the usages of well-bred society. 10
There are two different women’s societies that meet in Shipherd Hall. The Soronian
Society, a literary organization with forty members and they met every Wednesday. The Young
Women’s Christian Association met every Sabbath evening at 6:15 pm in the parlor in Shipherd
Hall. The YWCA was one of the strongest influences for women to do something good at Olivet
College. 11They did excellent work, and they were ready to help any girl who desires a growth in
Christian character. 12 Members of the YWCA would meet new students when they arrived on
the train to welcome them to Olivet.
Female students are to visit the principal’s office to register and receive advising about
their location for the term. When a female student lived in the village she must meet with the
6
7
8
Women’s Depart, Olivet College, 1897. Olivet College Archives
9
10
11
12
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Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
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principal to change the boarding place. It was advised for the women to stay in the hall because
of the larger culture and the college life it had to offer If a female is to grow ill and want to leave
the hall she must receive the principal’s permission to live elsewhere.13
Olivet College is well prepared to do scholarly work. Its preparatory school ranks with
the best high schools of the state. The faculty of the preparatory school consists of college-bred
men and women of experience. 14 They had professors who attended Yale University, Oberlin
and Johns Hopkins University. The professor of German and French was a native German. She
also spoke French and English as fluently as she did German. She studied in Cologne, Germany
at the University of Geneva, Switzerland and in Belgium. 15
Appendix B refers to the courses that were offered at Olivet College during 1860-1861.
Many easier courses then men while attending colleges. Courses such as home making classes
that involved teaching them how to be good houses wives. Men did not think women were
capable of taking advance classes. Olivet College offered courses such as Caesar’s
Commentaries, Higher Algebra, Geometry and Anatomy and Physiology. 16
13
14
15
16
Catalogue of Olivet College for 1860-1861, Ladies Courses.
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Senior Seminar
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17
17
Appendix B: 2 pages, Catalogue of Olivet College for 1860-1861, Ladies Courses.
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Senior Seminar
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18Culture in 1922
When men are searching for their future wife charm is an important trait. Charm,
that attraction which is individual possessor exerts, is often a magic key which unlocks
pocketbooks as well as hearts, which wins the smiles of fickle fortune, and makes hopes
come true which those less gifted never see realized. 19
Every woman has qualities of charm both physical and mental. Her greatest natural
charm can come from her hair, face, figure, eyes or a combination of any of these. Unless
you physical awaken interest, sympathy and liking on the part of others as soon as they
come in contact with you, you may never have the opportunity to exercise these hidden
charms of mind and soul, which is the final essence of the attraction one human being, has
for another. 20 Beauty of her soul will be seen through the clothes she wears
Courtship takes place with gifts of flowers, candy and romance from the person that
admired her. The really courtship did not take place until the male singled out one female.
It is then when the suitor has been accepted, when the lover’s prayer has been granted, that
his gifts gain a more intimate and personal favor; it is then that the courtesies of love
18
19
Lane, Harriet. The Book of Culture,. New York: Social Culture Publications, 1922. Print.
20
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assume a more distinct value and importance.21 The approval of the young lady is not the
most important thing he has to win the approval of her parents. A man should not ignore
how the parents feel about him. He must receive the consent of the girl’s parents before the
engagement will begin.
The bride is not aloud to accept three things from her husband to be without
violating good form. She may not accept articles of apparel, a house, furniture or a
motorcar. Her fiancé may give her jewels or a scarf but a fur coat is a serious wrongdoing of
the courtesy rule. A scarf can be thought of as an ornament and a coat is considered
clothing. With regard to the engagement ring, finest and most considerate courtesy
demands that the suitor consult the girl’s taste and not his own in its selection. 22
Both partners should follow these rules during their engagement: The relatives of
the groom-to- be must all call on the prospective bride when they are informed of the
engagement and the girl should return their visits as soon as possible.23 If a recent death
takes place in either family, the engagement should not be made public until the morning
period is over. The brides-to-be’s parents must make the announcement. It is a violation of
courtship for a member of the male’s family to spread the news of the engagement at a
dinner that was given by the girl’s parents. The announcement of the engagement will take
place at an afternoon tea at the bride’s home.
In Baltimore and Philadelphia a chaperon is a social courtesy with which the couple
may dispense when going to theatre parties and dances.24 It is must to have a chaperon in
21
22
23
24
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Senior Seminar
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Boston and New York. Engaged couples are not to take a trip that will last over night. They
are not to dine alone in a restaurant but they can have afternoon tea. In general, a courtship
should and does bring out in every man the finest flower of his courtesy and consideration.
25 During the courtship he desires to show everyone his best. Too many lovers, alas, allow
courtship to lapse after marriage, instead of continuing it as a life long habit.26

120
109
100
80 77
Women
60
42
40
20
1921 1922 1923
Years 27
Book of Manners
Olivet College 1924
The college girl believes that fairness to herself, to her fellow students and to those
who have made a college education possible for her, demands that she shall maintain the
highest standards of scholarship, and that she shall willingly and loyally co-operate with
25
26
27
Olivet College Archives, Yearbooks, 1920-1923
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faculty and students in all efforts to attain high ideals of college work. 28 She must attend
and be on time to all her regular classes. When it comes to her work she must be honest
and faithful. She has a responsibility to her own duties. She must have a schedule from her
own private work. It is her duty to be courteous and friendly towards all of her instructors.
The college girl is a part of her college to the extent to which she upholds its best traditions,
loyally supports the enterprises of common college interest, and enters heartily into the
spirit of college gatherings, whether they are sports, entertainments, social affairs or
religious exercises. 29
Females at Olivet College should be successful in college life, both social and
scholastic but she also must maintain her health. She needs at least eight hours of sleep per
day. She will take part in unhurried bathing daily paying close attention to brushing her
teeth. No women should complete any physical maintence out side of her room such us
powering, manicuring or hair- dressing. None of these matters should take place in public
Taking part in exercise daily is also a way to contribute to personal health demands. A
young lady needs to use self-control and common senses when eating and drinking. She is
to eat three meals a day with nothing in
between except for fruit in limited quantities. Clothing must be clean, comfortable and fit
the climate that is present that day. Clothing should not be focused on the fads of the day.
Hats and wraps are to be removed indoors.
Women should take part in good table manners this means remaining quiet and
inconspicuous. Though out dinner the hostess is the guide and the table waits for her to
28
Book of Manners, 1924, Olivet College Archives
29
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lead. Her napkin is to be spread across her lap half-opened. She is to sit- straight, with her
feet closed in front of the chair. There is to be no hands or elbows on the table. When the
food is severed it is to be accepted without an examination. There is to be no negative
comments made only ones praising the food. Women should only serve themselves
moderate quantities and only what they could eat. Silverware must be used in order,
beginning at the outside. She should not handle unused silver or leave a spoon in a cup. It
soup is severed; it is to be eaten by dipping the spoon away from herself. She should eat the
soup from the side of spoon toward her.
While eating dinner women should only cut meat a mouthful at a time. If potatoes
are served unmashed, do not mash them with your fork, but cut off small pieces with your
fork. Bread is broken into small pieces, not buttered in the whole slice or roll. 30 After she
was finished with the meal, her knife and fork should be left parallel at the back of plate;
the fork tine should be up. When salads are served a knife should never touch it. Pickles,
cheese and olives can be eaten with her fingers. Glasses cannot be touch near the top,
Goblets should be held near the stem. If there is a group of people she should
not begin to eat until everyone is served. She contributes to the pleasure of the occasion by
taking part agreeably in the general conversation, dividing her attention between her
immediate neighbors 31
The college girl has some responsibility for setting a standard for public behavior,
not only for her college sisters, but also for all young women. 32 She must avoid making
herself noticeable in any way on the street or in other public places. Accordingly she does
30
31
32
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not loiter on street corners, or in shops and drug stores, or on the steps or in front of
college buildings or her lodgings. 33 She should not bring attention to herself with loud
laughing, talking or any animated actions. Young women and her friends should not take
over the sidewalk.
Rules for the Conduct of Women Students

September 1926
Olivet College
The women of Olivet College in 1926 were given a list of behavioral rules. These
rules reached a level we do not see in today’s society. They were to present themselves as
ladies and not become too involved with the opposite sex. Olivet College pride themselves
on this level of respect that women need to have for themselves by giving these rules of
conduct to all female students.
Part one of the conduct states that freshmen, sophomore and all special students
who may not have completed their first years of college must be in their building where
they live no later then 8 p.m. There were exceptions to this rule Monday and Tuesday
nights these students may remain out until 9 p.m. Saturday they had the privilege to stay
out until 10 p.m. There was also an exception that allowed freshmen and sophomore to use
the library after 8 p.m. They would need written permission from the Dean of Women or
the matron of their home. Once they arrive in the library the permission must be shown to
the librarian and returned to the matron when she returned home. The rules became lax
when it cam to juniors and seniors. They needed to arrive in their rooming house no later
33
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then 10 p.m. They may remain out later if they received permission from the Dean of
Women. Any female student can receive special permission from the Dean of Women. It
must be in writing and the Matron of the residence must be shown the written permission
before they can attend a late function.34
Men callers could not be entertained on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. The
parlors that are in all the women’s residences are exclusively for female students on these
days. No women are allowed to entertain men in their room unless they have permission
from the Matron of the house and the female’s family. If a female student would like to visit
a man at his place of residence she must have a chaperone. The Dean of Women must select
this chaperone. 35
A female student may want to remain away from the college over night. She must
receive permission from the Dean of Women. This permission slip must be
given to the Matron of the house where she lives and to the Matron of the house in which
she would be staying. This permissions slip must be returned to the Dean of Women after
the day of the over night. Along with permission for over nights if a female student would
like to leave Olivet for any other town or resort she must obtain permission. This rule will
apply to over night trips, day shopping, theater and concerts. The permission slip must be
shown to the students Matron before she is able to leave town.36
It was believed that men were the breadwinners that supported the family and the
women were the moral guardians of the home. When the children were learning right from
wrong there was a long list of do and don’t for girls. Young girls were to wear corsets and
34
Rules for the Conduct of Women Students, 1926. Olivet College Archives.
35
Rules for the Conduct of Women Students, 1926. Olivet College Archives
36
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not the new invention, the brassier. They did not wear silk stockings, bathing suits that
revealed their leg, high heels, makeup or fragrances. Young ladies now smoke or drink
alcohol. When searching for a future husband a lady appeared to be powerless, innocent
and needed to be rescued by their prince charming.37
Women that attended Olivet College may have had to live by several rules while on
campus. When it came to their time off campus they did not have to follow the rules they
were given. Like many women in the 1920s they were finding a way to rebellion from the
way of life that their mothers and grandmothers live by. They were seeing the newfound
freedom; women were receiving the right to vote and moving away from their families to
attend college. They were using their freedom, which led to the Flappers Rebellion.
The Flapper Rebellion
38
Flappers in the 1920s began to challenge what was right and wrong. Their skirts
rose inches off the ground. They smoked cigarettes and former good girls were getting
drunk. The well-regulated dances began to change; the chaperone could not see what was
going on. They were found in dark rooms and cars doing unspeakable things such as
37
38
https://kelliannbrown.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/1927-string-of-pearls1.jpg
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necking and petting. The Flapper Rebellion was destroying the old moral codes. The
popular song they lived by explained it all:
In the morning, in the evening,
Ain’t we got fun?
Not much money, oh but honey,
Ain’t we got fun? 39
The average flapper was a young lady between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.
Every flapper shared the similar characteristics and her clothing defined who she was.
Their dresses were low cut and revealed their throat and neck. Their
skirts rose just and inch from her knee. The flappers would wear silk stockings that were
rolled at the top and twisted below the knee. Their dresses did not hold a shape but fit
more like a sack that did not have a waist. Whereas the dresses of an earlier generation had
required as much as 20 yards (18 m) of fabric, the flapper’s dress took 7 yards (6m). 40
Under their dresses they wore a single piece of lingerie, which took place of the corset.
Women were now able to move freely allowing them to dance the night away. Flapper also
changed the way they wore their hair. They were now wearing the bob, a short haircut.
Much like the clothes their wore the bob was also revealing showing their necks and their
ears.
39
Gourley, Catherine. Flappers and the New American Woman: Perceptions of Women from 1918 through the
1920s. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print.
40
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Women began to dress this way to come down off the pedestal.41 They were tried of
the mysterious feminine charm. They wanted to find love but they wanted to find love
being who they really were not someone that society said they should be. In this post-war
period, many women were not ready to get married and start a family right away. Some
people blamed the World War I for triggering this rebellion in the young women. They
claimed it had upset the balance of the sexes and, in particular, confused women about
their role in society and where they truly belonged in the in the workplace or at home.42
Women receive a taste of independence, both economically and mentally when their
husbands went off to war. Some refused to go back into hiding in their homes. 43
There was also blame placed for the Flapper Rebellion on the Nineteenth
Amendment. Giving women the right to vote placed the idea in their head that they needed
to have more independence. They believed they were now equal to men in all parts of life.
Flappers believed in equality but they did not march with picket signs at unfair workplaces.
The Flappers rebellion was all about having fun in a social situation. They wanted freedom
to have fun before they had to grow up, get married and raise children.44
When the number of automobiles increased allowing the common person to buy
them it became a symbol of freedom, excitement and progress for women. The car allowed
women to have the freedom to go where she wished. Young women could now leave their
parents home and go for a drive. Both men and women had privacy to go down shady lane
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44
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to sneak a quick kiss. Silent movies also gave women more freedom to cuddle in the dark
with a young man. The movies also showed an image of the new flapper. Young ladies that
attended the movies took notice of the actress’s behavior and appearance. The actresses of
the silent movies lived liked the Flappers but by the end of the movie she had usually
settled down and gotten married.
Flappers certainly did what their mothers and especially grandmothers had never
one: rode in cars, kissed young men to whom they were not engaged, chewed gum, smoked,
drank liquor, and used slang words such as horsefeathers (meaning “darn”) and “It’s the
cat’s meow!” (meaning “wonderful”). 45The Nineteenth Amendment, movies, automobiles
and World War I may of all have an influence on The Flapper’s Rebellion. 46The most
important thing was that these young ladies were gaining control of their lives.47 They
were making up their own rules of what was acceptable and what was not.48 If they did not
want to have children they were not going to.49 They were not going to be held back from
any profession they wanted to enter.50 The flapper rebellion was a step forward for women
in the United States.
One of the main issues in the early 1920s was why women work and what they
would do with their money. During World War, men had to leave their jobs such as
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48
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50
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factories, office work and farms to fight for our country. This gave women the chance to
enter the work force. They took on multiple jobs such as answering phones, spinning
fabrics and working in offices. When the war ended the soldiers returned home and many
women had to give up their jobs. Only some of them left, one in every four women in the
United States worked outside of the home. The war opened doors of opportunity for
women in the labor force. Their opportunities were still limited and women needed to hold
feminine jobs. They worked as secretaries, cooks, nurses and housemaids. Women in
professions such as dentist, physicians and law were limited.
The U.S. Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 giving women the
right to vote. During the same year the Congress created a Women’s Bureau in the
Department of Labor. This new government agency job was to write policies and set
standards that promoted the welfares for women in the work place. The bureau worked on
improving working conditions and recommend changes to help women. Women’s hopes
soared. “At last, after centuries of disabilities and discrimination,” said labor leader
Margaret Drier Robins, “women are coming the labor and festival of life on equal terms
with men.” 51 The new American woman believed that they had equal job opportunities and
equal pay unfortunately they were completely wrong.
After numerous investigations, “the Women’s Bureau announced in a bold headline
in call capital letters: “WOMEN RECEIVE MUCH LOWER PAY THAN MEN.” 52 The bureau
explained that the wages between men and women were greater than 50 percent. Women
51
52
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in New York States factors earned $17.50 a week and men in the same factory made $31.50
a week. There was a different in wages in all place of employment such as offices, factories
and department store the Women’s Bureau reported. 53
The Nineteenth Amendment allowed women to vote but it did not force employers
to treat or pay women the same as they did men.54 It was complicated for the researchers
of the Women’s Bureau to figure out why women were paid less then men.55 Some
employers believed that men and women had different skills that were required for
different tasks.56 There were other reasons for unequal pay the Women’s Bureau found
such as the pin money theory. This theory stated the women’s wages were supplemental or
secondary to the wages earned by the men of the household. Employers believed that
women bought frivolous items with the extra money. The bureau found these facts to me
false 90 percent of women used their money to put food on the table. They found it
necessary for the family’s survival. The women that remained in the work place were from
lower-class households where women’s income was needed. The pin money theory was
proven a myth. 57
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The Women’s Bureau was only a fact-finding agency and they had no authority to
enforce recommendations they found.58 With no authority the Bureau’s findings did not
help the women and their wages remained the same throughout the 1920s and 1930s and
several decades later. The Bureau proved that most employers viewed women’s jobs as
temporary because of the pin money theory. 59 Popular media continued to reflect the pin
money myth through short stories published in women’s magazines such as Good
Housekeeping and in advice books written specifically for young women. 60 In 1924 Good
Housekeeping wrote an article titled “ Your Daughter and Her Job”, the writers stated that
young women who remained in their fathers’ homes and helped with chorus around the
house such as baking and sewing would be better prepared for the future.61 These young
ladies were following normal biological and social instincts, which would end in marriage
and having a family. If they did not follow these rules they would fail at being a good
mother and wife. The article also stated that is was not fair to plant ideas in a girls mind
that have a business career offers happy escape from monotonous domestic tasks. Holding
a job was only a temporary stop in life until they found their husbands.
Olivet College 1950s
While researching in the Olivet College archives there is a lot of information to be
found on the rules and regulations of women in 1920s. When it comes to the 1950s the
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59
60
61
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rules for women in the handbook is limited. The rules that were given to women were not
as strict. The handbooks from the 1950s are much like the ones we see today. Even though
suffrage has been in place by the 1950s the handbooks still refer to men in most of the
rules unless they only pertain to women.
In the 1951 Olivet College handbook much of the beginning focus on being a
Christian. The college is marked by devotion to Christian ideals and institutions and a
Christian program of social and individual living. This devotion is its special reason for
being and going on. 62 Given that personal character is of the essence and that the idea of
Christ designates the life was desire, everything possible is done in the Olivet family to
develop the broadest and soundest manhood and womanhood. Olivet College stands for
Christian standards of conduct and has at heart the complete education and highest
development of all young people entrusted to its care. 63
Men and women students of Olivet College must live in the housing
accommodations made available to them by the College. 64 Men were to live in Blair and
Shiperd residence halls, or, with approval of the Dean of Men, may live in their respective
fraternities. 65 Women students are to reside in Dole Hall, or, with the approval of the Dean
of Women, in one of the sorority houses on campus.66 Married students are able to live off
campus.67 Any student under twenty-one years of age who is to be married during the
school year must have the written consent of both parents or of the guardians of both
62
Olivet College Student Handbook, 1951, Olivet College Archives
63
64
65
66
67
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parties concerned and must consult the Dean of the College in advance. 68 Any student over
twenty-one years of age must notify the Dean of the College in advance of a marriage. 69
Men may be on the first floor and recreation rooms of the women’s dorm 12:00 p.m. to 1:30
p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday thru Thursday. On from Friday from 12:00
p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; on Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30
p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 70
Women and men were expected to dress suitable when attending school functions,
in the classroom, social rooms and any other social gathering that may take place. Men are
to wear coats and ties to evening meals and to Sunday dinner
and supper. 71 Women are expected to wear dresses or skirts with blouses or sweaters to
the evening meal and to Sunday dinner and supper. 72
Women students of the College must be in their dorm rooms by 9:30 p.m. Sunday
thru Thursday. 73 On Friday women can remain out until 11:00 p.m. and midnight on
Saturday. 74 Special permission could be granted from the Dean of Women with a written
request from a parent or guardian. These requests do not take precedence over class work.
75 Men on campus are to observe hours that enable them to perform the scholarly work
expect of them by the College. 76
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Unlike 1951, the handbook for 1957 was different there was not as many rules
pertaining to women. The handbook did not refer to just men but it referred to men and
women as students. The beginning of the 1957 handbook starts: Like any other community,
Olivet College has rules that every student upholds. Students agree to them when they
register at Olivet. The traditions and principles of the college, accepted by each student in
his or her act of voluntary registration, require conduct in harmony with the standards of
good society. 77
Students who decide to marry during when the college is in session must indicate
their plans in advance to the Dean of Men and the Dean of Women. Failure to give proper
notification or a secret marriage, shall result in cancellation of
registration at the college.78 The handbook in 1951 had a larger amount of rules when it
came to students and marriage at Olivet College then the handbook in 1957.
Dole Hall is not only the women’s living center; it also serves as a central meeting
place, commons, recreation area and dinning room. 79 Male students needed to remember
that Dole Hall is the women’s residence hall. They need to observe the regulations of the
hall with consideration and respect. 80 There are hours for men in Dole Hall and no man
should be in the front part of the hall before noon without special permission. 81 Monday
through Friday they are not to be in Dole Hall between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
77
78
79
80
81
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Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
82 They may visit the building in the evening Sunday through Thursday until 10:00 p.m. and
on Friday and Saturday until 12:00 p.m. 83
Blair Hall is the men’s living center that has commons and a recreation room. This
building is not open for women visitors unless it is announced. Residents must receive
permission to bring women visitors into the building at any other time. 84 Any student
entertaining an overnight guest in any of the college living centers most notify the Dean of
Men or the Dean of Women. 85 When a building at the college is
occupied by a man and a woman student, it is expected that the door will be open and the
light will remain on. 86
Teens in the 1950s
100
62
51
49
Women
50
0
1955 1956 1957
Years
82
83
84
85
86
87
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Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
In 1956 studies estimated that 13 million American teenagers had an average
income of about $10.55 a week. 88 They worked after school and the weekends or they
received allowances from their parnets. Teenage girls now had money and the first thing
they started buying was records. Girls spent hours in their bedrooms playing their 45s on
their record players.89 Shampoos, facial creams, perfumes and bathing suits were also on
the teenagers shopping list.90 Teen girls were also buying teen fan magazines such as
American Girl or Seventeen with stories about Ricky Nelson or Troy Donahue.91 The typical
American teenage girl was white and middle class that would be shown thru out these
magazines.92
On a Friday night, these teen girls would go to the Young Women’s Christian
Association. Girls that could drive would pile into a car and head to the local drive-in
restaurants. You would also find women working as carhops on roller skates at these drive-
ins. They would deliver hamburgers, french fries and milk shakes right to the customer’s
cars. When teenagers would go on dates the boys would usually pay. The drive-in movie
was a popular place for them to visit. These drive-in movies
allowed for make out sessions for the teenager, which lead too much further sexual
activities
Femininity 1950s
88
Gourley, Catherine. Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s. Minneapolis,
MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print.
89
90
91
92
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Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
Society felt that girls in the 1950s were to be feminine but aren’t all women
feminine in their own way? The article in Parents magazine title “ wives aren’t born they
are made” states that a women has to learn to be feminine. If a girl was not feminine she
will not be able to attract a boy, which will never allow her to marry or have children.
Without femininity her husband may have an affair with a woman who is more feminine
then she is. Femininity was a girl’s key to happiness and acceptance. This message was
conveyed thru 100s of movies, books and magazine articles during the 1950’s. 93
Femininity can be shown thru the three A’s. The first A was how a girl looked for
example she would wear a well-ironed housedress with an apron. The second A of
femininity was how a girl behaved such as does she take control of the conversation. The
final A of femininity is her ambition she needs to have a strong desire to accomplish her
goal. A women’s great accomplishment in the 1950s to fit into society was to become a
mother and a wife. A young boy may have dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. A
young girl may have the same dream but she has to be a caregiver to her children and do
her engineering in her own home. Childcare professional believed it was a good idea for
mothers to teach their daughters homemaking skills starting a young ages. They would be
helping their daughters achieve their feminine ambition.94
Marriage and having children was an important aspect in a woman’s life in the
1950’s. Raising the children and making the marriage work fell on the women’s shoulders.
Male marriage counselors stated that there were a few things a woman could do to keep
93
94
26
Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
her marriage strong. She could take an interest in her appearance but she should also show
interest in her husband’s appearance. She should compliment him on how his appearance
looks. Wives should also appreciate their husband in a simple ways such as having his
dinner ready when he returned home from work. 95
Clifford R. Adams was the marriage counselor who stated these facts in his article
tilted, Making Marriage Work, which appeared in ever issue of Ladies’ Home Journal in the
1950s. Each month a different problem would occur such as a husband being attracted to
another women. The counselor said there was nothing a man had to do to keep the joy in
their marriage. Adams would always write that it was the wives fault and they needed to fix
their marriage. “ Some husbands don’t get to chance to express themselves, he wrote,
because “the wife is too talkative.” 96 The husband cane feel inferior it is the wife’s duty was
to build her husbands self-esteem by making him feel important and intelligent. 97
Novels also suggested that women were guilty of not doing enough to make their
marriage work. The story “Bitter Herb” by Nelia Gardner White the headline read, “ She
was his wife and partner, but he couldn’t live without the other woman.”98 The other
women gets enjoy the man/husband while the wife is at home changing diapers, cooking
the meals and cleaning the home.99 The other woman normally was a single career women
and she was always feminine. She dressed stylishly, wore bright lipstick and amazing
95
96
97
98
MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print
99
27
Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
perfume. 100She wore the latest fashions from Christian Dior such as an cinched waist and
full skirt that emphasized a woman’s hips. 101The other women looked like they were
straight out of a fashion magazine. 102The wives were instructed to stock up on lipstick, nail
polish perfume and to wear dresses. 103A feminine woman was to never wear pants. She
took the time to do all these things so that her husband would be sure to rush home after
work everyday. Wives were to keep their homes clean, their children fed and take care of
their husband all way looking and smelling good. 104
In 1959 Vice President Richard Nixon traveled to the Soviet Union to meet with the
nation’s leader of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev. The first thought when people
heard about these two meeting it was about atomic bombs instead they were arguing about
what was taking place in the kitchen. The argument compared the American way of life
versus how the Soviets live. Nixon believed that the Soviet Union had the same attitude
toward women as the United States did. “ Wheat we want is to make easier the life of our
house,” Nixon stated. 105 U.S. manufactures began producing appliances that made chorus
easier for the women. Nixon believed that successful men have attractive wives and those
wives provided comfortable clean homes in the suburban.
100
101
102
103
104
105
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Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
“ Don’t you have a machine that puts food in the mouth and pushes it down?” asked
the Soviet leader.106 His statement was implying that Americans were lazy and soft.
Khrushchev’s boasted that Soviet women were not expected to be fulltime housewives and
they were to go to the work place just like men. In the United States, Nixon said, men and
women have the right to choose how and where they will live. 107 Americans save their
money and buy huge houses. Khrushchev countered, “All you have to do to get a house is to
be born in the Soviet Union”.108 They never reached an agreement labeling their debate the
Kitchen Debate. There debate was never over kitchens, appliances or women it was about
their differences in their political thinking.
Civil Rights
The civil rights movement focused on eliminating discrimination against minorities.
Women were not minorities in the United States but they were still facing the same issues
that minorities were facing. When I woman was looking for a job she had to search the
classified ads in her local newspaper. The newspapers
separate the job openings into two categories one for men and one for females. A male
want ad would have electrician, truck and Television repairman. The women’s want ads
would offer waitress, secretary, salesclerk and nurse’s aid jobs. This made women feel like
all the good jobs were offered for men and dead-end jobs were left for the women. 109
106
107
108
109
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Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
Esther Peterson worked as a labor activist for many years. She fought for safer
conditions and better wages in the work place for women. She focused on the women who
work in factories. She was appointed the assistant secretary of labor and director of the
Women’s Bureau by President Kennedy. She started to work on a new project the
Presidential Commission on the Status of Women for President Kennedy. Esther believed in
place herself in other people’s shoes. While working as a labor activist she would visit
workplaces and homes of women who worked. 110
Esther visited the Bendix factory where she found a husky woman lifting a box from
a conveyor belt onto another one but there was a man standing next to her. Esther asked
why the man was not doing it and she told Esther she was stronger than the man. Esther
found out that this stronger employee was making 15 cents an hour less than the male
employee. This gave her the ammunition to start fighting but she knew she had to get her
facts straight. Women deserved to make the same amount of money their fellow male
employees. 111
There were eleven men and fifteen women who served on the commission with
Esther Peterson and Eleanor Roosevelt was the chairperson. Eleanor taught us
you could do things; she helped lead the way, said Peterson.112 Women stopped just licking
the stamps and started being the decision-maker. The commission spent two years of
studying and eleven hundred pages of notes and correspondence to publish a report called
110
111 Gourley, Catherine. Gidgets and Women Warriors: Perceptions of Women in the 1950s and 1960s. Minneapolis,

112
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Rebecca Deweese
Senior Seminar
Senior Paper
12/1/15
American Women. The report stated women earned less money than men doing the same
job but it was not just a few pennies difference. A male employee could earn one dollar
more an hour than a women doing the same job who may ear fifty-nine to sixty-four cents.
113 Women were also given less life and health insurance and fewer retirement benefits
then male employees were given. Labor practices would not allow women to work
overtime to earn extra money. Women were fired for being married or pregnant. As a
result of this report, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act of 1963.114 It became against the
law to pay women less than men for doing the same job. Enforcing the law thru out the
years has become an issue that has not been solved. 115
113
114
115
31

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Rebecca Deweese

The Progression of Women

Olivet College Archives: Yearbook 1890-1892

Women Attending Olivet College

life on and off campus unlike how society lives today.

their discretion according to the nature and circumstances of the offense.

expected to conform to the usages of well-bred society. 10

the train to welcome them to Olivet.

at the University of Geneva, Switzerland and in Belgium. 15

Commentaries, Higher Algebra, Geometry and Anatomy and Physiology. 16

come true which those less gifted never see realized. 19

engagement will begin.

place at an afternoon tea at the bride’s home.

courtship to lapse after marriage, instead of continuing it as a life long habit.26

Olivet College Archives: Yearbook 1920-1923

to eat three meals a day with nothing in

Hats and wraps are to be removed indoors.

food is severed it is to be accepted without an examination. There is to be no negative

soup from the side of spoon toward her.

over the sidewalk.

Rules for the Conduct of Women Students

conduct to all female students.

before they can attend a late function.34

Men callers could not be entertained on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. The

shown to the students Matron before she is able to leave town.36

and needed to be rescued by their prince charming.37

The Flapper Rebellion

popular song they lived by explained it all:

In the morning, in the evening,

Ain’t we got fun?

Not much money, oh but honey,

Ain’t we got fun? 39

settled down and gotten married.

cat’s meow!” (meaning “wonderful”). 45The Nineteenth Amendment, movies, automobiles

in the United States.

professions such as dentist, physicians and law were limited.

equal pay unfortunately they were completely wrong.

After numerous investigations, “the Women’s Bureau announced in a bold headline

and department store the Women’s Bureau reported. 53

Olivet College 1950s

While researching in the Olivet College archives there is a lot of information to be

rules unless they only pertain to women.

development of all young people entrusted to its care. 63

to wear coats and ties to evening meals and to Sunday dinner

the evening meal and to Sunday dinner and supper. 72

expect of them by the College. 76

notification or a secret marriage, shall result in cancellation of

on Friday and Saturday until 12:00 p.m. 83

Men or the Dean of Women. 85 When a building at the college is

light will remain on. 86

Olivet College Archives: Yearbook 1955-195787

Teens in the 1950s

Women Attending Olivet College

was a popular place for them to visit. These drive-in movies

helping their daughters achieve their feminine ambition.94

dinner ready when he returned home from work. 95

their husband all way looking and smelling good. 104

wives provided comfortable clean homes in the suburban.

their differences in their political thinking.

The civil rights movement focused on eliminating discrimination against minorities.

classified ads in her local newspaper. The newspapers

workplaces and homes of women who worked. 110

MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print.