I don’t think it would be a shock to anyone to point out that traditionalists often romanticize, even idolize, 1950s American culture. Why?
I think the allure lies in nostalgia, even nostalgia for a time we’ve never experienced. It’s easy to romanticize an era which we think embodies our values and lifestyle dreams. In reality, there were definitely good things about the ’50s we could bring back. And of course, there were a number of dangerous societal trends that gained traction in this decade, too. Let’s explore a few and see why we tend to idolize the ’50s, and whether we should reframe our perspective.
’50s Trends to Bring Back
A celebration of the male and female dichotomy. After the end of WWII, the young male population returned to their home country and home lives. This long-awaited masculine return resulted, of course, in the baby boom: the generation we know now as “boomers.” It also had ripple effects through pretty much all of daily life.
Women were able to leave the workforce and return to a home-centered lifestyle, to raise children, to cook and clean and socialize. Men returned to a workforce bolstered by government programs, to fatherhood and breadwinning, to building businesses and the economy. Married couples got to live out masculinity and femininity in their day-to-day lives since the war was over and massive national poverty had ended. Compare this to today, when the dichotomy of male and female is not just overlooked but downright villainized.
A booming economy of affordability and comfort. Adjusted for inflation, the average 1950s house cost about $90,000 in today’s U.S. dollar, a living standard well within reach and sustainability for most suburban families. Many young couples were able to marry, start a family, and buy a house relatively quickly due to the low cost of housing—the average house cost only three years of pre-tax income for the average family.
With the blossoming economy came many comforts previously difficult to access. Beauty parlors hosted women regularly, and many women spent an average of two hours at a salon every week. Movie theaters, soda shops, roller rinks, dance halls, and sports events were regular activities for students and young adults. Colleges, too, were affordable to attend. As my paternal grandfather once said, “the 1950s was the best time to be alive.” Pay was good, living was cheap, and dozens of daily comforts opened their doors to the average citizen.
A classic aesthetic. One of the first things almost any traditionalist is drawn to is a classy, objectively beautiful aesthetic. And the decade of the ’50s had it in spades.
Likely this aesthetic has its roots in the celebration of male versus female. How many traditionalists say things like “back when men looked like men and women dressed like women”? Fashion choices reverted from war-ration creativity to flamboyantly fun clothes for daily wear, even for stay-at-home mothers and school children.
The wildly popular fashions were amplified on the silver screen, of course. Enter the golden age of Hollywood, which revolved around beautiful cinematography and color film, stunning actresses like Audrey Hepburn, and newfangled music stars like Elvis Presley. Films and music in this time set the standard for the future, and many hits from back then are still audience favorites today.
’50s Trends to Leave in the Past
Rampant materialism and commercialism. Arguably, the rise of materialism was a response to the back-to-back crises of the Great Depression and WWII in previous decades, when basic necessities were scarce and luxuries unthinkable. Due to the booming economy, the ’50s saw a skyrocketing focus on consumerism and materialism.
Companies capitalized on commercialism by marketing heavily in popular aesthetics, as well as targeting their ads toward stay-at-home mothers who did the majority of shopping for households. Society in general began setting a high value on image, appearances, and the latest trendy products of the day.
Whereas previous decades may have promoted more solidarity and support through the trials of need and war, this consumerism of the ’50s sowed seeds of comparison and “keeping up with the Joneses.”
The daily division of the nuclear family. During the average daily hours, a father was at work and away from home, all the children were in public school separated from each other based on age, and a mother was home alone or out and about with a social calendar.
In previous decades, of course, men were often primary breadwinners; but in this era began the idea of the daily commute, thus removing men from coming home to eat meals with their families. Women in previous decades often worked jobs based from home, but in this decade, many didn’t have to earn an income at all. Their free time often turned into social calendars, charity work, and women’s events… few of which would include their children or husbands. Other women chose to retain their jobs from the previous decade’s wartime, further removing all family members from the home.
Public schools exploded in both enrollment and physical size, to accommodate the baby boomers’ growing up. Another major influence in the public school system was 1954’s Brown vs Board Of Education, which resulted in the federal desegregation of schools. While, of course, desegregation was a positive, it was also a shock to an unprepared school system: This contributed to increased class sizes, school needs, job demands for teachers, and increasing need for school busing commutes.
One result of these bigger classes, changing social dynamics, and a larger teacher-student ratio was the explosion of teen culture. This unique young adult clique began to wield enormous power via peer pressure to levels hitherto unforeseen in American childhoods.
An emotionally promiscuous dating scene. With the rise of teen culture came an unprecedented lack of supervision in the dating world. Possibly in an effort to just let kids be kids, the prevailing attitude around dating became “just have fun!” Generally, most of society agreed on keeping sexual chastity, but at the same time, media and society encouraged young people to date around at younger and younger ages and to worry about committing to a spouse later.
Interestingly, despite condemning sexual promiscuity, society developed a sort of emotional hookup culture. It actually was quite common to have multiple boyfriends or girlfriends, to secretly date someone else’s “steady,” and to engage in plenty of “parking” and “necking.” I personally can see how this may have set the stage for the sexual revolution of the ’60s and ’70s.
It’s also worth noting that by the 1950s, Margaret Sanger had founded abortion birth control mogul Planned Parenthood, and in the ’50s, Hugh Hefner began Playboy magazine. Both companies attacked fundamental gender roles and societal standards even while these roles and standards were prized in fashion, social circles, and commercial marketing.
In the end, we can ask ourselves a number of questions: Was beautiful fashion worth the skyrocketing media reliance? Does a booming economy justify materialism? We might consider many answers. Overall, though, I think it’s safe to say one thing: No historical era was perfect.
Traditionalists shouldn’t look at the past with rosy lenses and wish themselves back in time. Every generation had strengths and weaknesses, good ideas and bad mistakes. Why? Humanity is still human, and we always have been and always will be. Let’s not do our current generation the disservice of claiming previous ones were so much better.
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Image credit: Pexels
