Oh please, I grew up with those 1950s and 1960s TV shows. Patronizing? Where? I knew those people were actors but I could relate to them 100%. There was zero genius in recognizing the contributions of women. The feminist genius lay in what was common in TV commercials of the 1950s and 1960s: You are not cool and you will not attract the ladies if you don’t use this hair gel, drive this car or wear these clothes. In other words, they sowed the seeds of discontent in women by saying you should get out of the house and get a career, and you should distrust that man because he can dump you at any time and leave you with the kids. What? Divorced or abandoned women did not have families and relatives to help them?
As a Catholic growing up in the 1960s, there were strict rules about dating and both young men and young women were expected to follow them.
No sexual intercourse until married.
You treated the opposite sex with respect.
I opened doors for my date, brought her flowers, sent her cards, took her to a play and did other wholesome things together.
Then there might be going steady, and if that went well, a period of engagement where the couple talked about kids, finances, a house and transportation. And then, up to and including right before the wedding ceremony, you could still change your mind.
Divorce helped to destroy the normal intergenerational bonds that we had during the 1950s and 1960s. You had grandma, grandpa, mom and dad, uncles, aunts and in-laws from both sides. And before they got married, the couple would meet each other’s family.
One of my closest friends went to his wife to be’s father and asked if he could marry his daughter. Now, that girl’s father had been twenty-one at one time himself. He knew exactly what it was like and his daughter was beautiful. So he asked the practical questions:
“How are you going to support my daughter? Have you talked about children? Where will you live?” The father knew all about the emotions and hormones, and didn’t want his daughter to marry someone who wasn’t ready or who was lazy. Being married meant a lifetime commitment, and we believed that 100%. And what a support network we had. Today? Casual sex and casual pregnancy followed by casual abortion. This is better?
Feminist Betty Friedan compared the family to “a comfortable concentration camp.”
Peace,
Ed
