1960's and 1970's
The 1960's: An Overview
The 1960s were characterized by
change. It was in this decade that the civil rights movement was in full swing
and Martin Luther King Junior gave his “I have a dream” speech. President John
F. Kennedy was assassinated. Militarily the US fought the Vietnam War and also
had to face the Cuban Missile Crisis. One of the most remembered events of the
Sixties was Woodstock. Finally in 1969 man walked on the moon.
Ideas about women were changing, “[i]n the United States of the mid-1960s, a counter ideology was beginning to emerge that challenged women’s so-called traditional domestic role in society” (1). The ideas that women were meant to stay in the home were still present in society but they were also being challenged. Women were entering the work force and arguing for equal pay. There was a rise in education for women in the 60s, “[a]t 20 leading universities in 1960, women were concentrated in home economics, with a few clustered groups in genetics and anatomy; but representation was negligible or nonexistent in physics, geology, engineering, and some biological sciences” (2). So although more women were going to get higher education women’s participation in the sciences was not very high, but improvements were slowly being made.
One of the most famous feminist pieces in literature was published in 1963. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was the start of a revolution for the women’s movement. She describes the problems of domesticity for women. Friedan discusses the decreasing age of marriage for women as well as the decreasing number of women attending college. Her main point was that although women were taught to value marriage and home life above all, many women did not feel contentment or fulfillment in the domestic sphere (3). This article recognizes that there is a problem restricting women to home life. The 1960’s was the beginning of a change for women; they were realizing that they did not have to be restricted to the home. Betty Friedan’s, Television and the Feminine Mystique was published in 1964 and examined women in television. She looked at female heroines and roles outside the home. In television women could only play comedic roles because their lives were too boring to be put into dramas or action. Friedan argues that the images of women on television are, "creating millions of unnecessarily martyred house-wives, for whom there may never be a thrill of challenge greater than the dirty kitchen sink” (4). Again, the idea that women do not always belong in the domestic sphere is being realized. Thus a major attitude shift had begun in the sixties.
Ideas about women were changing, “[i]n the United States of the mid-1960s, a counter ideology was beginning to emerge that challenged women’s so-called traditional domestic role in society” (1). The ideas that women were meant to stay in the home were still present in society but they were also being challenged. Women were entering the work force and arguing for equal pay. There was a rise in education for women in the 60s, “[a]t 20 leading universities in 1960, women were concentrated in home economics, with a few clustered groups in genetics and anatomy; but representation was negligible or nonexistent in physics, geology, engineering, and some biological sciences” (2). So although more women were going to get higher education women’s participation in the sciences was not very high, but improvements were slowly being made.
One of the most famous feminist pieces in literature was published in 1963. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was the start of a revolution for the women’s movement. She describes the problems of domesticity for women. Friedan discusses the decreasing age of marriage for women as well as the decreasing number of women attending college. Her main point was that although women were taught to value marriage and home life above all, many women did not feel contentment or fulfillment in the domestic sphere (3). This article recognizes that there is a problem restricting women to home life. The 1960’s was the beginning of a change for women; they were realizing that they did not have to be restricted to the home. Betty Friedan’s, Television and the Feminine Mystique was published in 1964 and examined women in television. She looked at female heroines and roles outside the home. In television women could only play comedic roles because their lives were too boring to be put into dramas or action. Friedan argues that the images of women on television are, "creating millions of unnecessarily martyred house-wives, for whom there may never be a thrill of challenge greater than the dirty kitchen sink” (4). Again, the idea that women do not always belong in the domestic sphere is being realized. Thus a major attitude shift had begun in the sixties.
The 1970's: An Overview
The 1970s was an era fondly remembered for disco and bell bottom pants. A major part of this decade was the cold war. Relations between the US, the Soviet Union and China were tense. The energy crisis was also affecting the average citizen.
In the 1970s a new sexual revolution for women was beginning. The book, Sex and the New Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown was a best seller. The idea of women’s sexuality being on equal terms with men’s was new and exciting. This book promoted marriage, but also, “over-turned traditional gender roles and morality by encouraging women to find independence through their working and sexual lives” (5). Brown went on to write many other books as well as changing Cosmopolitan magazine to be more like what one would see today.
In education, the trend from the sixties continued. More women were entering the scientific field. A remarkable change occurred in the field of engineering which had previously been extremely male dominated, “the number of women getting an engineering education went up dramatically during the 1970s” (6). Although this increase in women engineers is great progress for women in the field of science, “other indicators, such as ACT test scores, did not show comparable improvement, suggesting that a few of the best and brightest women were doing very well in math and science but, on average, pre-college young women were being left behind” (7). It was found in a study that women were dropping out of sciences at major decision points in their education, and that women’s interests in science declined throughout their educational career (8). Despite the gains for women in science there was still a long road ahead towards making science accessible to all women.
The number of women in the work force was increasing as well. Women participated in a whole host of jobs, scientific and non-scientific alike. In contrast to previous decades women wanted to join the workforce: indications that women will strive to make the necessary occupational adjustments may be even more significant than public law or employer attitudes. Women’s attachment to the labor force seems strong as the 1970’s open. The lengthening work life of women; the increasing percent of women working full time, and year round; rising labor force participation rates for mothers of young children even in the face of inadequate child-care facilities; and the significant contribution working women are making to the family income…all testify to the strength of this attachment. Work is becoming an ongoing way of life for a growing proportion on women in the United States (9).
This passage shows that women are determined to enter the workforce and the idea that women are domestic creatures is fading away. The expansion of women in the labor force is positive because women can find fulfillment outside of the home however, “[b]eing a woman, then, reduces one’s salary despite equal performance” (10). In the 70s women were able to break the mold of the housewife, but they were still being treated unequally compared to men. This inequity between men and women in the workforce can still be seen even today. Overall the 1960s and 1970s were decades of major gains for women. Women were able to change their domestic image and begin to get education, and jobs even in traditionally male-dominated fields such as science. Yet, amidst these positive changes for women, there was still a great deal of progress that needed to be made.
In the 1970s a new sexual revolution for women was beginning. The book, Sex and the New Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown was a best seller. The idea of women’s sexuality being on equal terms with men’s was new and exciting. This book promoted marriage, but also, “over-turned traditional gender roles and morality by encouraging women to find independence through their working and sexual lives” (5). Brown went on to write many other books as well as changing Cosmopolitan magazine to be more like what one would see today.
In education, the trend from the sixties continued. More women were entering the scientific field. A remarkable change occurred in the field of engineering which had previously been extremely male dominated, “the number of women getting an engineering education went up dramatically during the 1970s” (6). Although this increase in women engineers is great progress for women in the field of science, “other indicators, such as ACT test scores, did not show comparable improvement, suggesting that a few of the best and brightest women were doing very well in math and science but, on average, pre-college young women were being left behind” (7). It was found in a study that women were dropping out of sciences at major decision points in their education, and that women’s interests in science declined throughout their educational career (8). Despite the gains for women in science there was still a long road ahead towards making science accessible to all women.
The number of women in the work force was increasing as well. Women participated in a whole host of jobs, scientific and non-scientific alike. In contrast to previous decades women wanted to join the workforce: indications that women will strive to make the necessary occupational adjustments may be even more significant than public law or employer attitudes. Women’s attachment to the labor force seems strong as the 1970’s open. The lengthening work life of women; the increasing percent of women working full time, and year round; rising labor force participation rates for mothers of young children even in the face of inadequate child-care facilities; and the significant contribution working women are making to the family income…all testify to the strength of this attachment. Work is becoming an ongoing way of life for a growing proportion on women in the United States (9).
This passage shows that women are determined to enter the workforce and the idea that women are domestic creatures is fading away. The expansion of women in the labor force is positive because women can find fulfillment outside of the home however, “[b]eing a woman, then, reduces one’s salary despite equal performance” (10). In the 70s women were able to break the mold of the housewife, but they were still being treated unequally compared to men. This inequity between men and women in the workforce can still be seen even today. Overall the 1960s and 1970s were decades of major gains for women. Women were able to change their domestic image and begin to get education, and jobs even in traditionally male-dominated fields such as science. Yet, amidst these positive changes for women, there was still a great deal of progress that needed to be made.
Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
In 1961 Audrey Hepburn starred in the famous classic movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This movie has been very popular over the years and is still watched and widely known today. In the movie Hepburn plays a young beautiful lady named, Holly Golightly. Holly is struggling financially and she often gets money from gentlemen who take her to dinner. She desperately wants to get enough money to buy some land so she and her brother Fred can raise horses. Fred is in the army, and was going to return to the US in a few months. Holly then meets her new neighbor, a writer named Paul Varjack. Paul and Holly become friends. Throughout the movie the audience finds out that Holly has had a more complicated life than one would guess.
Holly and Fred were orphaned at a young age and moved around and the audience can assume that they were most likely abused. Holly and Fred end up living with Doc Golightly in Texas; Holly marries Doc at the young age of fourteen, but soon after she runs away to New York. She does not know who she is, and is terrified of being put in a “cage”. Throughout the film, Holly and Paul fall in love, but Holly is scared to admit this. She finds out that a rich man is interested in her and decides she must marry him. The significance of the title is that Tiffany’s is the only place that Holly feels calm. It is an idyllic place where “nothing bad could ever happen”. The movie has a happy and dramatic ending where Holly and Paul kiss in the rain.
This movie has multiple characteristics of women. On one hand Holly is portrayed as ditzy. She’s scatter brained and she is constantly forgetting her key to the apartment. She talks a lot and never seems to make complete sense. She’s very forward and almost pushy at times. In the film she is a gold digger. She needs money and will use her looks and charm to get it. However, contrastingly she is also a strong female character. She has had adversity in her life, and claims to be a “wild thing”. She does what she likes and does not care what other people think. This is what Holly represents. She is young and free in New York City and lives spontaneously. Also Holly is the opposite of the “perfect housewife” image women were often seen as in past decades. She lives in a messy apartment and is a terrible cook. Although Holly is represented as dim-witted, financially motivated, and wanting marriage as the ultimate goal, she is also strong, independent, and not a domestic creature. In the 1960s it could be said that, “representations of women in the mass media have involved ‘a complex struggle between feminism and anti-feminism that has reflected reinforced, and exaggerated out culture’s ambivalence about women’s roles’”(11). This movie combines both old and new ideas of women and exemplifies the changing ideas about women in this decade.
Finally, there are a lot of masculine undertones as well. All men in the movie are portrayed as highly sexual. The men only want women and are easily distracted by them. There are also a lines said by men that communicate the message that women belong to men. These thoughts show that men are still believed to be superior to women. Just as they were superior in careers, they were also dominant in matters of romance. Nevertheless, new ideas like, The Feminine Mystique, and many others were influencing the notions of what women could be. And we can see in this film the beginnings of those changes.
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
Almost
exactly 10 years later in 1971, The Andromeda Strain came
out. In America, a satellite crash-landed in a small town in the southwest and
inside it was a strange disease from outer space. The disease killed almost
everyone in the town, only two survived, a man and a baby. The government
gathers a group of top scientists to come and examine the disease to find out
what it is and how to stop it. The scientists are transported to a remote
location called, “wildfire”. Wildfire is an underground laboratory specifically
made to learn about extraterrestrial material. There are four scientists that
were brought to the secret laboratory. Three of the scientists are men and only
one is a woman. The woman’s name is Dr. Ruth Levitt. Dr. Levitt is portrayed as
sarcastic and serious. She complains, makes many sarcastic comments, and never
smiles. The team undergoes serious sanitation and descends underground to
examine the satellite. Inside the laboratory, there are many computers and
scientific technology. After many experiments and observations they find the
alien particles causing death.
The particles are spread by air and they cause all the blood in the boy to clot in a matter of minutes. They are small green microorganisms; these alien life forms can grow quickly and anywhere. This alien life form is called the Andromeda strain and it converts energy to matter. There is great care to keep Andromeda from escaping, but inevitably it is released into the facility and a self-destruct sequence is initiated. The scientists must race against the clock to stop the detonation because the energy released from the bomb would cause Andromeda to grow out of control. The scientists succeed and the population is saved.
The particles are spread by air and they cause all the blood in the boy to clot in a matter of minutes. They are small green microorganisms; these alien life forms can grow quickly and anywhere. This alien life form is called the Andromeda strain and it converts energy to matter. There is great care to keep Andromeda from escaping, but inevitably it is released into the facility and a self-destruct sequence is initiated. The scientists must race against the clock to stop the detonation because the energy released from the bomb would cause Andromeda to grow out of control. The scientists succeed and the population is saved.
Continuing the trend seen in the 1960’s, this movie has a strong female lead character. The surge of women in the workplace and the increase of women in science were affecting the role of women in popular culture, “sci-fi films in the early 1970s did strive for social relevance” (12). Ruth is depicted as a smart and capable scientist. She was the first one of the team to suggest that the particle could be biological and also the one to make some major discoveries about how Andromeda grew and its structure. Her scientific opinions were respected. She is the image of women in science and this representation is contrary to what has been seen in the past. Dr. Levitt has no love interests and no romance happens at all in this movie. She is a scientist first and a woman second. She holds her own when compared with the men and will not be intimidated. She also is dressed like a man. She has short hair, glasses, and no makeup. They do not make her look feminine at all. She is treated like a male scientist and her ideas are valued.
This movie is a step forward because it has a prominent female character doing science, and the previous ideas of domesticity and low intelligence are not present. Dr. Ruth Levitt and, “her rebellious wisdom [invoke] a fading 1960s counterculture” (13). This movie represents the ideas that began in the 60s and proliferated in the 70s. Women were trying to show their presence in the sciences and this movie is a good depiction of these ideas.
This movie is a step forward because it has a prominent female character doing science, and the previous ideas of domesticity and low intelligence are not present. Dr. Ruth Levitt and, “her rebellious wisdom [invoke] a fading 1960s counterculture” (13). This movie represents the ideas that began in the 60s and proliferated in the 70s. Women were trying to show their presence in the sciences and this movie is a good depiction of these ideas.
References:
1. Anne McLeer, "Practical Perfection? The Nanny Negotiates Gender, Class, and Family Contradictions in 1960s Popular Culture." NWSA Journal 12, no. 2 (2002): 80-101.
2. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, “Sustaining Gains:Reflections on Women in Science and Technology in 20th-Century United States”. NWSA Journal 16, no.1 (2004):12
3. Betty Friedan, “The Feminine Mystique.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1960-1969,486. Detroit:Gale, 2004.
4. Betty Friedan, “Television and the Feminine Mystique.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1960-1969,486. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
5.Helen Gurley Brown, “Sex and the New Single Girl.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1970-1979, 487. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
6. Kohlstedt, 14
7. Ibid, 14
8. Ibid, 14
9. Janice Neipert Hedges, “Women workers and manpower demands in the 1970’s.” Monthly Labor Review, 93, no. 6 (1970): 28
10. Shirley Harkess, “Women’s Occupational Experiences in the 1970s: Sociology and Economics.” Signs 10, no. 3(1985): 502
11. McLeer, 97
12. J.M. Tyree, “Information Managers: The Andromeda Strain and The Man Who Fell to Earth.” Film Quarterly, 65, no. 4(2012):43
13. Ibid, 44
14. Breakfast at Tiffany's. USA: Jurow-Shepard, 1961. Film
15. The Andromeda Strain. USA: Universal Pictures, 1971. Film
1. Anne McLeer, "Practical Perfection? The Nanny Negotiates Gender, Class, and Family Contradictions in 1960s Popular Culture." NWSA Journal 12, no. 2 (2002): 80-101.
2. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, “Sustaining Gains:Reflections on Women in Science and Technology in 20th-Century United States”. NWSA Journal 16, no.1 (2004):12
3. Betty Friedan, “The Feminine Mystique.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1960-1969,486. Detroit:Gale, 2004.
4. Betty Friedan, “Television and the Feminine Mystique.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1960-1969,486. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
5.Helen Gurley Brown, “Sex and the New Single Girl.” In American Decades Primary Sources 1970-1979, 487. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
6. Kohlstedt, 14
7. Ibid, 14
8. Ibid, 14
9. Janice Neipert Hedges, “Women workers and manpower demands in the 1970’s.” Monthly Labor Review, 93, no. 6 (1970): 28
10. Shirley Harkess, “Women’s Occupational Experiences in the 1970s: Sociology and Economics.” Signs 10, no. 3(1985): 502
11. McLeer, 97
12. J.M. Tyree, “Information Managers: The Andromeda Strain and The Man Who Fell to Earth.” Film Quarterly, 65, no. 4(2012):43
13. Ibid, 44
14. Breakfast at Tiffany's. USA: Jurow-Shepard, 1961. Film
15. The Andromeda Strain. USA: Universal Pictures, 1971. Film