How did society in the 1950s treat women with unconventional jobs?

	How did society in the 1950s treat women with unconventional jobs? Such a writer or poet? espically if they were not married? i.e. sylvia plath yeah, sylvia plath put her head in an oven because she knew she would never be satisfied with her 'perfect' life and the only way to deal with it was to kill her self. there is no escaping the pressures of society. Asked By: lins - 6/1/2008

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There were plenty of succesful women writers in the fifties, it would not have been considered an unusual occupation for a woman. Succesful and critically admired women writers included, Iris Murdoch, Doris Lessing, Mary McCarthy, Carson McCullers, Rose Macaulay, Patricia Highsmith,Pearl Buck (who won a Pulitzer prize and a Nobel prize for literature for her novel The Good Earth in 1931, and was still going strong in the 50s) etc. And of course, there were many highly succesful women novelsts in the detective genre, most famously Agatha christie, who was the world's best-selling author at that time and for long afterwards. There was nothing at all unusal about being a succesful woman writer in the 50s. There was probably prejudice against women in careers like law and medicine, but some women still managed to have succesful careers in those fields anyway. The trend in the fifties was for most women to be married and raise families, but there were single career women, and certainly writing has always been considered an occupation that a woman can do. Even in the period when the insistence on a purely domestic role for women at its highest ever, the early 19th century, there were plenty of women writers, many of them highly succesful, and most of them publishing under their own names, not male pseduonyms. Nathaniel Hawthorne, for example, was bitterly resentful because a novel called 'The Lamplighter' by a woman novelist called Maria cummings sold four times as many copies in its first month of publication as his novel 'The Scarlet Letter' sold in his entire lifetime. And the most influential novel published in the 19th century, and possibly the most influential novel of all time, was Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. The English poet Elizabeth Barrett was already very famous before she married Robert Browning, and during her lifetime her poetry continued to be more highly regarded than his. As for 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' being ignored, since when has it ever been ignored? It was highly succesful on its release, it became an instant hit. It was made into a highly succesful feature film not long after it was published, with Gregory Peck, how on earth is that being 'ignored'.? Answered By: Louise C - 6/1/2008

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You have to remember that during the Second World War, thousands of women held "unconventional" jobs. When men came back from war, it was expected that women would get married and stay home and give those jobs "back" to the men. Just to make sure they did just that, they were fired or let go due to "veteran's preference." (You must remember that many women who served were not considered veterans until 30 years after the war.) As for literary figures, it's difficult to find references to the 50's. (Harper Lee and James Tiptree published in the 60s). Women have been using male nom de plumes for centuries...Isak Dinesan, George Eliot, George Sands, etc. It was really a matter of survival (selling your book) than it was trying to remain out of the spotlight. Any time women (especially those who aren't married) do anything society thinks should be restricted to men, their morality, choromsomes, politics and sanity are called into question. Women generally get to be told everything from, "your uterus will atrophy," "your mind will decay," "people with think you're a tramp/lesbian (and I love reconciling those two), to "no man will want you (!?)." We still do this with people who make us uncomfortable, we shun, ridicule and revile. We're still playing these games...with women and with other disenfranchised groups...making up silly rules that those in charge don't have to follow. Like the T-shirt says, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." Still fighting the good fight. Answered By: TLS - 6/2/2008

They were considered usleess unless they were married before to a rich man Answered By: ~YAYA~ - 6/1/2008

Beatniks Answered By: raz - 6/1/2008

Like outcasts and strange as in those days women were expected to rely on a man for income, if i women had a high class job she was considered undesirable and not sort after by men Source(s): did an assignement on the topic at school Answered By: rebecca k - 6/1/2008

Many were labeled as "lesbians", Communists, mindless bimbos, or mentally unstable. Sad, huh? Answered By: Wild Honey - 6/1/2008

A female physician would only have female and some children as patients. Also there were many women would not trust a female doctor to do the job right, because that's how the women in those days were brainwashed/indoctrinated. Men would largely stay away from professional females, because they were doing "a man's job". It seems that not much has changed these days. Look at the flack Hillary is getting. Answered By: HSB - 6/1/2008

Well, in American society, I don't think they were treated well. There is one famous female writer in the 50s that I know of. Betty Friedan wrote 'The Feminine Mystique' which questioned the contentment of women as housewives. In the decade before, they were industrial workers (popularized by posters of 'Rosie the Riveter') to maintain production during World War II, but when the men came back from the War, they were assumed to just go back home, so it was hard for women to get jobs in the first place. If they did, they weren't paid much or given much respect. Answered By: attacknath - 6/1/2008

Men presumed it was their role to decide the role of women. Female writers gave themselves male names in order to get there works published ie. George Elliot - One of the finest writers of literature in her day. Harper Lee was virtually ignored in her day simply becasue she was female, and yet she is one of the greatest writer's ever! The feminist movement didn't come about for nothing - Women were 'forced' to fight for equality! There is absolutely no good or logical reason for inequality between the sexes. Answered By: clvr1001 - 6/1/2008

Like a professional writer? Pick a woman journalist from that era and follow her career path. Here's but one: "Marguerite Higgins (1920-1966) covered World War II, Korea and Vietnam and in the process advanced the cause of equal access for female war correspondents. In 1951 she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting". Source(s): http://www.usps.com/news/2002/philatelic/sr02_063.htm Answered By: Shhhh! - 6/1/2008

As freaks -- sometimes as men; sometimes as whores. Your question brings to mind a bit on the Dick Van Dyke DVD special thingies. Creator Carl Reiner was on Sid Ceasar's Your Show of Shows, and he said he patterned some aspect of the Sally Rogers character on two women writers on that show. He said that over time, they were treated as guys, including people referring the whole group of writers as 'fellas.' They were often sexually hrassed; and in general, were treated as freaks. They were pitied for not being married, which was considered every female's dream. Answered By: tehabwa - 6/1/2008

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