60's

It is commonly agreed that hindsight yields a different view of events and as I look back to the 60’s that is definitely the case. While many things motivated change there were three that I think led the way. First was the war in Viet Nam, second the mistreatment of blacks and finally the lack of equality for women. I’d like to zero in on the third known as the women’s movement led by women called feminist. I suppose there are many ways to define feminism but I see it as a woman who feels that she doesn’t need a husband to have satisfying life. Understand that I grew up in the 40’s and 50’s and at that time a woman’s place was in the home. Girls graduated from high school and immediately set out to find a husband. Being a home maker was the dream of most young women and it was a cultural thing. Look at the TV shows in the 50’s and you will find Beaver and Father Knows Best. Mom stayed at home and took care of the family. When I went off to college in the 50’s there were four men for every woman and the joke was that they were their just to find a husband. There was a popular song at that time that describes how we felt about women. It was title, “The Girl That I Marry”. The girl that I marry will have to be As soft and as pink as a nursery The girl I call my own Will wear satin and laces and smell of cologne Her nails will be polished And in her hair she'll wear a gardenia And I'll be there Instead of flittin', I'll be sittin' Next to her I'm cheerful like a kitten A doll I can carry, The girl that I marry must be With the onset of the 60’s women came into their own and they made a serious miscalculation. Instead of wanting to be equal to men they chose to be like men. This led to what was called free love as women tried to prove that they were just as interested in multiple sexual partners as men. Young mothers purchased toy kitchen sets for their boys and Ken the doll partner to Barbie was introduced. These feminist believed that the differences between boys and girls was due to the environment. In the old argument between nature and nurture, nurture won out. These cultural changes were reinforced by the social changes caused by the Great Society where things like equal pay for equal work were introduced.