Have you Googled "1950s housewife?" She's been making a bit of a comeback. You'll find articles written about her in print; women attempting to be her blogging about it (er, like me?); fashion designers using her as their muse; and starlets wearing their most convincing 50s hairdo gracing the Silver Screen.
Certainly for many, the 1950s can be remembered as an idyllic period in American history. Perhaps, my near-constant state of all-consuming messiness is what draws me toward the crisp, clean, 1950s-lifestyle construct. I realize in reality the 1950s was as troubled a decade as any other. The racism, sexism and communism hysteria is enough to call out the 50s as a total dud. Thankfully, we have the romanticized, glamorized version of that era recorded and routinely re-aired on late-night television to keep us starry eyed. It's elements of this popular, retro lifestyle that I've chosen to weave into my own daily life.
I want to be the housewife and the homemaker. I've lived the feminist's life, and I'm thankful for those opportunities. I'm college educated. I own my own house. I worked to support myself. However, that way of life wore me down. It gutted me and left me hurting and broken. Emotionally fragile and extremely sensitive from childhood abuse, I need and want an existence safe within the confines of home and husband. I want my idealistic, idyllic 1950s life.
1950s America: Historians use the word “boom” to describe a lot of things about the
1950s: the booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called “baby boom.” After World War II ended, many Americans were eager to have children because they were confident that the future held nothing but peace and prosperity.
In many ways, they were right. Between 1945 and 1960, the gross national product more than doubled, growing from $200 billion to more than $500 billion. Rates of unemployment and inflation were low, and wages were high. Middle-class people had more money to spend than ever–and, because the variety and availability of consumer goods expanded along with the economy, they also had more things to buy.
Certainly for many, the 1950s can be remembered as an idyllic period in American history. Perhaps, my near-constant state of all-consuming messiness is what draws me toward the crisp, clean, 1950s-lifestyle construct. I realize in reality the 1950s was as troubled a decade as any other. The racism, sexism and communism hysteria is enough to call out the 50s as a total dud. Thankfully, we have the romanticized, glamorized version of that era recorded and routinely re-aired on late-night television to keep us starry eyed. It's elements of this popular, retro lifestyle that I've chosen to weave into my own daily life.
I want to be the housewife and the homemaker. I've lived the feminist's life, and I'm thankful for those opportunities. I'm college educated. I own my own house. I worked to support myself. However, that way of life wore me down. It gutted me and left me hurting and broken. Emotionally fragile and extremely sensitive from childhood abuse, I need and want an existence safe within the confines of home and husband. I want my idealistic, idyllic 1950s life.
The baby boom and the suburban boom went hand in hand. Almost as soon as World War II ended, developers began to buy land on the outskirts of cities and use mass production
techniques to build modest, inexpensive tract houses there. These houses were perfect for young families–they had informal “family rooms,” open floor plans and backyards.
For women, advice books and magazine articles (“Don’t Be Afraid to Marry Young,” “Cooking To Me Is Poetry,” “Femininity Begins At Home”) encouraged women to leave the workforce and embrace their roles as wives and mothers. -- Source: HISTORY The 1950s
Biblically-based Lifestyle: It's fairly easy to squeeze Biblical concepts about homemaking and marriage into the romanticized version of the 1950s household. It's likely possible to do that with any lifestyle by picking and choosing verses from Bible the way we too often do. But so many Bible verses do tie quite neatly into the 1950s lifestyle. This is handy, since I'm a Christian.
In my life, I'm not entirely sure which is coming first; living a Biblically-based life or recreating a 1950s lifestyle. I don't think I'm committed enough to the Bible to argue my truth is the first. Though, God works in mysterious ways. For a list of scriptures relating to Psalm 31, the virtuous woman and homemaking, visit 10 virtues of the Psalm 31 woman. It's a good place to start.
Alternative Lifestyle: Ironically (to some, maybe), while the 1950s lifestyle fits nicely with scripture, it also lends itself to conveniently blend certain elements of BDSM, such as power exchange and domestic discipline, into daily living. Just innocently throwing that out there. Wink, wink.
(c) 2015 Fitting The Folded Sheets
For women, advice books and magazine articles (“Don’t Be Afraid to Marry Young,” “Cooking To Me Is Poetry,” “Femininity Begins At Home”) encouraged women to leave the workforce and embrace their roles as wives and mothers. -- Source: HISTORY The 1950s
Biblically-based Lifestyle: It's fairly easy to squeeze Biblical concepts about homemaking and marriage into the romanticized version of the 1950s household. It's likely possible to do that with any lifestyle by picking and choosing verses from Bible the way we too often do. But so many Bible verses do tie quite neatly into the 1950s lifestyle. This is handy, since I'm a Christian.
In my life, I'm not entirely sure which is coming first; living a Biblically-based life or recreating a 1950s lifestyle. I don't think I'm committed enough to the Bible to argue my truth is the first. Though, God works in mysterious ways. For a list of scriptures relating to Psalm 31, the virtuous woman and homemaking, visit 10 virtues of the Psalm 31 woman. It's a good place to start.
Alternative Lifestyle: Ironically (to some, maybe), while the 1950s lifestyle fits nicely with scripture, it also lends itself to conveniently blend certain elements of BDSM, such as power exchange and domestic discipline, into daily living. Just innocently throwing that out there. Wink, wink.
(c) 2015 Fitting The Folded Sheets
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