Women of the 50s

Although the number of women at work did continue to rise after the war, female workers and career-women were viewed with suspicion by many. The traditional idea that a woman’s role was a homemaker raising her family was very influential in1950s USA. The average age at which women were married was 20 – the youngest for 60 years. Newspaper and magazine articles encouraged women to return to the home. Popular TV shows such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'Father Knows Best' carried this message into homes. It claimed that most of society’s problems – alcoholism, teenage hooliganism and even war – were because of women following careers instead of being housewives and mothers.