Found a description of a 1950's housewife!!

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HOPEFUL_IN_UK said:
I think that’s a fake - it’s not really from some 1950’s Home Ec textbook or woman’s magazine or whatever. I think there are a few things from Fascinating Womanhood or similar sources, and then somebody went and embellished with a post-modern idea of what people in the 50’s would have thought.

Having the house clean and urging your husband to relax when he gets home is a sensible suggestion. Never questioning behaviour like staying out all night is not.
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I’m fairly certain it’s genuine actually. I think one of my History teachers might have shown us the same list at one point, and they bring it up in T.V. shows from time to time.

Don’t know, all of them seem quite sensible to me 🤷. Unfortunately Home Ec lessons aren’t what they used to be, pity standards have declined so much in a relatively short time :p.
 
HOPEFUL_IN_UK said:
I think that’s a fake - it’s not really from some 1950’s Home Ec textbook or woman’s magazine or whatever. I think there are a few things from Fascinating Womanhood or similar sources, and then somebody went and embellished with a post-modern idea of what people in the 50’s would have thought.

Having the house clean and urging your husband to relax when he gets home is a sensible suggestion. Never questioning behaviour like staying out all night is not.
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Actually, it is REAL. I saw an original copy in a book last year.

One of the teachers I used to work with retired after many, many years of teaching. She was cleaning out her shelves and storage area and was donating (or throwing) a lot of stuff. One book she had saved was a cook book that had this list in it from the 50s.
 
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS ONE.
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS ONE TOO (NO RIBBON)
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS TOO
  • 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.
I AGREE B/C I HATE CLUTTER AND DH IS A CLUTTER BUG
  • 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.
LIGHT A FIRE…NOT GOING TO HAPPEN…THAT’S A MAN’S JOB!!! I’LL TURN ON THE TV FOR HIM THOUGH :rolleyes:
  • Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
GOOD LUCK…NOT GOIN’ TO HAPPEN; PLUS MY HUBBY LOVES HEARING HIS BABY MAKE LOTS OF NOISE
  • Be happy to see him.
I AGREE
  • Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
I AGREE
  • 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.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
  • Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.
I AGREE…I’LL WAIT UNTIL HE’S CHANGED HIS CLOTHES 😃
  • 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.
WHATEVER!!! MY HUBBY WOULDN’T DO THIS TO ME ANYWAY.
  • 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.
MAYBE IF HE HAS THE FLU.
  • Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
MAYBE IF HE WAS MY GRANDFATHER!!
  • 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.
LOL…
  • A good wife always knows her place.
A WIFE IS THE NECK THAT TURNS THE HEAD!!!
 
Lil_Cat said:
From a Home Economics class in the 1950’s…
  • 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.
Sooooooo…
What’s the general concensus about this? Should women be doing this? Why or why not? Guys, I would like your opinion too 🙂
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This list sounds a bit condescending. “you have no right to question him,” and “a good wife always knows her place,” would create a very lopsided marriage, in my opinion. I’m glad I wasn’t born in the 1950’s.
 
Well, at least I like '50s music… Not so sure about everything on that list, though.
 
Some things on the list are good, but back in the 1950’s many women didn’t go to college, work outside the home, etc…now, we have women as doctors, lawyers, stay at home moms, accountants, sales people, etc…there is no cookie cutter mold for women like there was back then. In some ways, that change has been good, in some not so good. But, it also depends on the marriage. I stayed home when my kids were preschool age, and so thankful we did that. For a number of reasons. I remember always cooking, and keeping the house clean. Now that hubby and I both work, it shouldn’t be my sole responsibility to keep the house clean, and dinner on the table. Thankfully, my husband is not out of the 1900’s…oops…1950’s…and he sees nothing wrong with doing chores, and cooking. I would not be able to handle a guy who had an ego problem with me working outside the home, and expected me to be the ‘little’ woman at home. Nope.

If a woman or man is staying at home with the kids these days, it would stand to reason that the house be kept by the person who staying at home. That is a very noble job, but I don’t like some of the things on that list. The 1950’s woman is almost portrayed as a husband’s maid and servant…and not his wife. We are to serve one another as we are given graces by God to do. That list makes it sound like a woman should tolerate anything and everything, because her man is the ‘master’ of the house. That just seems a little one sided to me.
 
Serap said:
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS ONE.
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS ONE TOO (NO RIBBON)
  • 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.
I AGREE WITH THIS TOO
  • 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.
I AGREE B/C I HATE CLUTTER AND DH IS A CLUTTER BUG
  • 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.
LIGHT A FIRE…NOT GOING TO HAPPEN…THAT’S A MAN’S JOB!!! I’LL TURN ON THE TV FOR HIM THOUGH :rolleyes:
  • Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
GOOD LUCK…NOT GOIN’ TO HAPPEN; PLUS MY HUBBY LOVES HEARING HIS BABY MAKE LOTS OF NOISE
  • Be happy to see him.
I AGREE
  • Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
I AGREE
  • 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.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
  • Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.
I AGREE…I’LL WAIT UNTIL HE’S CHANGED HIS CLOTHES 😃
  • 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.
WHATEVER!!! MY HUBBY WOULDN’T DO THIS TO ME ANYWAY.
  • 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.
MAYBE IF HE HAS THE FLU.
  • Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
MAYBE IF HE WAS MY GRANDFATHER!!
  • 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.
LOL…
  • A good wife always knows her place.
A WIFE IS THE NECK THAT TURNS THE HEAD!!!
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I love your wife, Bama…she sounds so cool! 😃

I would love to be on the receiving end of that list too…who wouldn’t?😉
 
Well, most of the stuff on the list isn’t necessary bad, in fact some of them are good tips… but the over-all attitude of the list reeks of master-slave relationship, rather than two equals, a man and a woman, working their way through life together. We can break down the list and pick out the good from the bad, but the bottom line is that list was trying to teach women to be like slaves to their husbands, rather than a helpmate who does her share of the work, like he does his. All that stuff about him being more important than she is is completely bullhockey, of course, but that’s exactly what this book was trying to impress, it seems, on young woman: You are not important. Your husband is the important one.

I am SO glad times have changed, not because I don’t want to make supper for my husband, but because I am seen as his equal rather than his slave.
 
pumpkinbeast said:
Well, most of the stuff on the list isn’t necessary bad, in fact some of them are good tips… but the over-all attitude of the list reeks of master-slave relationship, rather than two equals, a man and a woman, working their way through life together. We can break down the list and pick out the good from the bad, but the bottom line is that list was trying to teach women to be like slaves to their husbands, rather than a helpmate who does her share of the work, like he does his. All that stuff about him being more important than she is is completely bullhockey, of course, but that’s exactly what this book was trying to impress, it seems, on young woman: You are not important. Your husband is the important one.

I am SO glad times have changed, not because I don’t want to make supper for my husband, but because I am seen as his equal rather than his slave.
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perfectly said. I agree.👍
 
Thank you so much for posting this! I saw something very similar to this quite a few years back and couldn’t find it again! I believe my MIL has this printed out and tucked away for handy reference somewhere lol. She seems really happy with her life though! Whatever floats your boat I guess 🤷
 
Hmmm? :hmmm:I wonder what the divorce rate was like in the 50’s?

(I better duck for cover)
 
And I’m a stay-at-Home Dad!!:eek:
BamaRider said:
I printed this out and stuck it on Debbie’s bathroom mirror.

If y’all don’t see a post by me within 24 hrs of the time stamp on this post, send someone to check on me. If you see a suicide note, don’t y’all believe it.
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Dude you thought you had a dilema about dinner last week!! Geesh the dinner poll will be long this week 😉
Do you have a microwave in that doghouse?😃

Paul
 
I grew up in the 50’s and I don’t know anyone who would have done this back then…don’t believe everything you read
 
Fortunately, my mom and all the other moms in the neighborhood were 1950s housewives. They needed no book to tell them what to do. Husbands/fathers worked and moms stayed home to help raise their kids. Their kids. Yes, she did the housework, and, if necessary, did other work around the house. My Dad did his part also. So, instead of being stressed out by each parent working two jobs, one of them was able to go at a more relaxed pace. When one of the kids got sick, she was home to care for him or her.

Things started going downhill when both parents had to work, kids ended up in daycare or spent hours at home unsupervised.

God bless,
Ed
 
edwest2 said:
Fortunately, my mom and all the other moms in the neighborhood were 1950s housewives. They needed no book to tell them what to do. Husbands/fathers worked and moms stayed home to help raise their kids. Their kids. Yes, she did the housework, and, if necessary, did other work around the house. My Dad did his part also. So, instead of being stressed out by each parent working two jobs, one of them was able to go at a more relaxed pace. When one of the kids got sick, she was home to care for him or her.

Things started going downhill when both parents had to work, kids ended up in daycare or spent hours at home unsupervised.

God bless,
Ed
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that could be true for some households…but, I have never been stressed out and our household out of control–granted I was home for the first few years when the kids were preschool age, but now with them in middle and high school, I don’t find myself all stressed out. I mean, life has normal stressors, etc…but nothing that is not manageable. That’s just my take. This also might be due to my husband having his days off during the week…I dunno. I don’t think that two parents working while raising kids, is going to have the same effects on all families. Some might be adversely affected while others function just fine, and are more organized even. I think the divorce rate did more to ruin the family unit, than moms working outside the home.

Just my two cents. 🙂
 
buffalo said:
Hmmm? :hmmm:I wonder what the divorce rate was like in the 50’s?

(I better duck for cover)
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As well better you should…😃

the divorce rate in the 50’s was quite low…if you read the one the statements in OP’s post…you will note that a good wife does not “question” and she makes things “comfortable” for him. So if he wants to stay out all night with boys or have a little fun with his secretary…the wife should keep silent, put on a potroast, dab a little blush on…and smile all the way to the Valium cabinet (aka “mothers little helper”):hypno:

We’ve come a long way baby…I’m glad.😃

My DH does all the cooking…he likes it. We both work outside the home…so there is none of this “ribbon in the hair” and “makeup” ****ola. When the kids were little…I tended to their homework…reminded him of teacher conferences…which he didn’t like to go to…“too bad, so sad”…you’re the dad. Was it stressful…no, because both of us had a hand in it. When the kids were sick, he stayed home and took them to the doctor because he had family sick leave…so he got paid whether he was there or not. Where I worked, no show, no pay. I handle all the finances. Interestingly enough…ABC news noted that nowdays…it is the wife who handles the money. Kinda my way of making him feel “comfortable”. 😃

Now that we are empty nesters…we are wild and frisky. He still cooks and I am looking into “baking”. Me in the kitchen…a new concept. I know how to use a hammer and paint roller. Battery operated drills are great. Every six months…we have a “get-a-way”. If one of us is running late, we’ll call or text. I take the cars for servicing, he handles the grass cutting, while I prune the roses. He knows where I am and I know where he is. I’m not the sit at home and wonder what the “real world” is like and what he is doing.

At 50 and 51…chapter 2 is going swimingly. The child bearing and rearing is done.

I looked at the ad on Snopes…that shirtwaist dress looks awfully uncomfortable. Glad the fashions of the 50’s are over :eek: some of the ugliest outfits to scrub a white Westinghouse fridge in. I’m not the Aunt Bee, Edith Bunker type grandma either. I can’t believe women in their late 40’s and early 50’s dressed like that and let their hair go all gray. My house isn’t decorated like Frank and Maries (Evrybody loves Raymond) either. OTOH, I’m not into putting more plastic in me than a Honda. Not happening.

I’d like to call the 50’s the Stepford decade. 😛 Not for me.
 
That is a distorted view. Having actually been there, one of the key elements was greater stability. This was caused by regularly going to Mass and being involved in the community. I hope not too many believe the stupid Rolling Stones song about ‘mother’s little helper.’ We had a family doctor (everyone we knew did) who would not prescribe anything he didn’t think was necessary and insisted on following up with him after a short time to make sure any drugs weren’t doing more harm than good.

Only in the late 1960s when a small group of radical perverts, supported by the media, told everyone to have sex with anyone did things begin to change. It was cool! It was OK! Mom, dad, priests, nuns, didn’t know anything. Besides, the goal was to sell more birth control pills. A stable Catholic family would get in the way of that goal.

God bless,
Ed
 
Lil_Cat said:
From a Home Economics class in the 1950’s…
  • 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.
Sooooooo…
What’s the general concensus about this? Should women be doing this? Why or why not? Guys, I would like your opinion too 🙂
Click to expand...
Works for me.
 
edwest2 said:
That is a distorted view. Having actually been there, one of the key elements was greater stability. This was caused by regularly going to Mass and being involved in the community. I hope not too many believe the stupid Rolling Stones song about ‘mother’s little helper.’ We had a family doctor (everyone we knew did) who would not prescribe anything he didn’t think was necessary and insisted on following up with him after a short time to make sure any drugs weren’t doing more harm than good.

Only in the late 1960s when a small group of radical perverts, supported by the media, told everyone to have sex with anyone did things begin to change. It was cool! It was OK! Mom, dad, priests, nuns, didn’t know anything. Besides, the goal was to sell more birth control pills. A stable Catholic family would get in the way of that goal.

God bless,
Ed
Click to expand...
On my block in the mid 60’s you could count on one hand who was on Valium. It wasn’t my mother. She was the radical of the housewives. Most the neighborhood ladies “waited” for their husbands to do “something”…like paint the house, clean out the attic, the garage, paint a room, change a light bulb, change a tire. My mother did all of that. My dad was appreciative…but played the “macho Italian man”…letting others think he was the driving force behind her efforts. She was a SAHM. She saw to it that dad took us to Mass, and we went to catechism. If she had a question she would call the rectory.

In our comfortable Stepford neighborhood we weren’t allowed to play in some yards…because “mom” had a “headache”. That was “cue” for…she took a valuim and is down for the count and doesn’t want a bunch of kids in the yard. My mother had hard and fast rules. If kids were in the yard getting along…fine…play …if fights broke out…it’s over…go home. My mom knew the game. I often wished she had fullfilled her dream and worked outside the home.

There were alot of unhappy housewives during that period 1950-1970. My mother didn’t sit and wait for daddy to come home and do the stuff he needed to do…she was his “help mate”. After working all week in “blue collar” job (BIG difference than sitting up in a suit in an A/C office all day)…she jumped in and helped him. She learned to do things. The neighbor ladies would marvel how she could use a table saw and electric drill and didn’t need to consult my dad about the wallpaper for the bathroom.

She didn’t get her license until '65 because she believed like most housewives…I don’t need it. We had a auto trans car. In MA at the time there were to license procedures. If you got an auto trans license you could only drive auto trans vehicles. Dad got the brilliant idea (without saying a word) to drive up in the driveway with a standard Chevrolet new car. Mom couldn’t drive it. Undaunted, she called her dad who was in town at the time and asked him to teach her to drive a standard. Meantime she said nothing to my dad. After dinner one night she announced she was going to join a bowling league on Monday nights. He said, “you don’t have the right license so you can’t drive it”. She flopped her new license down in front of him and said, “Now go buy a Mac truck, and I’ll drive that”.

You’ve come a long way baby! Love ya ma!
 
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