Men

“Women are always saying, “We can do anything that men can do." But Men should be saying, “We can do anything that women can do.”  (Gloria Steinem)

Being of the generation of flower power and women’s rights movement that changed the rigid rules on almost everything that was acceptable prior to the 1970’s, we sometimes forget that even 50 years ago, women were repressed and not considered equals in marriage and the work place.

Young women today take for granted that they’re able to be what they want, wear what they want, go where they want, and say what they want without interference from men or real judgment from mainstream society.  Women who lived through the mid-20th century know that things weren’t always that way.  Have a look back at surprising things women couldn’t do in the 1960s:

1.   Experience equality in the workplace: Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women produced a report in 1963 that revealed, among other things, that women earned 59 cents for every dollar that men earned and were kept out of the more lucrative professional positions. When the 1964 Civil Rights Act was going through Congress, an amendment made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender as well as race.

When the amendment was not taken seriously regarding women in the workplace, the National Organization of Women (NOW) was founded to enforce full equality for women in truly equal partnership with men.  NOW challenged several of the now-invalid Pan Am Airline's rules.

 They included the following: stewardesses had to meet a certain height requirement, maintain a set weight, resign if they got married, maintain soft hands and face mandatory retirement at age 32. That all ended when Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited such instances of discrimination. 

2.   Get a credit card: In the 1960s, a bank could refuse to issue a credit card to an unmarried woman; even if she was married, her husband was required to cosign. As recently as the 1970s, credit cards in many cases were issued with only a husband's signature. It was not until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 that it became illegal to refuse a credit card to a woman based on her gender.

 

3.   Get an Ivy League education: Yale and Princeton didn't accept female students until 1969. Harvard didn't admit women until 1977 (when it merged with the all-female Radcliffe College). With the exception of the University of Pennsylvania, which began accepting women on a case-by-case basis in 1876, and Cornell, which admitted its first female student in 1870 (also offering admission under special circumstances), women couldn't attend Ivy League schools until 1969 at the earliest. Brown (which merged with women's college Pembroke), Dartmouth and Columbia did not offer admission to women until 1971, 1972 and 1981, respectively.

 

Other case-specific instances allowed some women to take certain classes at Ivy League institutions (such as Barnard women taking classes at Columbia), but by and large, women in the 1960s who harbored Ivy League dreams had to put them on hold.

4.   Go on the birth control pill: Issues like reproductive freedom and a woman's right to decide when and whether to have children were only just beginning to be openly discussed in the 1960s. In 1957, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved of the birth control pill but only for "severe menstrual distress." In 1960, the pill was approved for use as a contraceptive. Even so, the pill was illegal in some states and could be prescribed only to married women for purposes of family planning, and not all pharmacies stocked it.

Some of those opposed said oral contraceptives were immoral, promoted prostitution and were equivalent to abortion. It wasn't until several years later that birth control was approved for use by all women, regardless of marital status. In short, birth control meant a woman could complete her education, enter the work force and plan her own life.

5.   Serve on a jury: It varied by state (Utah deemed women fit for jury duty way back in 1879), but the main reason women were kept out of jury pools was that they were considered the center of the home, which was their primary responsibility as caregivers.

They were also thought to be too fragile to hear the grisly details of crimes and too sympathetic by nature to be able to remain objective about those accused of offenses. In 1961, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Florida law that exempted women from serving on juries. It wasn't until 1973 that women could serve on juries in all 50 states.

6.   Talk openly about sex: Helen Gurley Brown's "Sex and the Single Girl" presented the notion that it was OK -- even enjoyable -- for a woman to live on her own, have her own money, have sexual relationships before marriage or even -- wait for it -- never marry at all.

It wasn't until publication of Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" that women's dissatisfaction with life and frustration over lack of opportunities came to light. "A woman today has been made to feel freakish and alone and guilty if, simply, she wants to be more than her husband's wife," said Friedan.

“The Pill” by Loretta Lynn

Bottom of Form

You wined me and dined me when I was your girl
Promised if I'd be your wife
You'd show me the world
But all I've seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor bill
I'm tearing down your brooder house
'Cause now I've got the pill

All these years I've stayed at home
While you had all your fun
And every year that's gone by
Another baby's come
There`s gonna be some changes
Made right here on Nursery Hill
You`ve set this chicken your last time
'Cause now I've got the pill

This old maternity dress I've got
Is going in the garbage
The clothes I'm wearing from now on
Won`t take up so much yardage
Miniskirts hot pants and a few little fancy frills
Yeah, I`m making up for all those years since I've got the pill

I'm tired of all your crowing
How you and your hens play
While holding a couple in my arms
Another's on the way

This chicken`s done tore up her nest
And I'm ready to make a deal
And you can`t afford to turn it down
'Cause you know I've got the pill

This incubator is overused
Because you've kept it filled
The feeling good comes easy
Now since I've got the pill

It's getting dark
It`s roosting time
Tonight's too good to be real
Oh, Daddy don't you worry none
'Cause Mama's got the pill[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “5 things women couldn't do in the 1960s” By Katie McLaughlin

·        “6 Things You Won't Believe Women Couldn't Do In 1960” By Suzannah Weiss

·        “Food and Drug Administration” From Wikipedia

·        “Things Women Weren’t Allowed To Do In The 50’s and 60’s” by Susan Z