Though the book focuses on femininity and gender division, it explores these topics as a window to the larger issue of a society dealing with the fact that it could be instantaneously annihilated. This fear was used to fuel rampant consumerism, much of it directed at the housewife -- the proper way to stock a bomb shelter, how to cook with makeshift tools, and other emergency measures were common parts of contemporary advertising -- but reflective of society's worries and businesses capitalization on fear. Sex, too, was seen as a magnificent selling point, not for the first or last time in history. Not just the sex appeal of the human form -- generally scantily-clad females selling things to men -- but also in the area of domestic life. Problems with marriage and sex were seen as problems at the very core of society, something which affected men and women equally (though perhaps women bore the brunt of the blame in these situations....
It was their job to keep their married men satisfied, so they wouldn't be tempted by the deviations available, and keep them strong in the fight against Communism (May, 97). Early on, May refers to the Kelly Longitudinal Study, a survey conducted in the 1950s to which almost one in six respondents admitted to having been to some sort of professional counseling regarding marital or emotional problems (May, 27). This was a high time for therapy, and a low time for divorce. Whether or not the two are directly related is unimportant; what both figures illustrate is the fact that marriage and the family was seen as the foundation of society when fear for the very existence of society was at an all-time high. Though this issue had a more direct impact on the lives and opportunities available to women, Homeward Bound explores the ills of a society that can produce such limitations, rather than focusing simply on the feminine effects.
Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. By Elaine Tyler May (New York: Basic Books, 1988). vii + 284 pp. Reviewed by in her book, Elaine Tyler May begins by describing a Life magazine feature involving a couple in 1959 who spent their honeymoon in a bomb shelter. This is the attention-grabbing start of a work that seeks to explore, in depth, the various components involved in domestic
Many expatriates are able to find large communities of their own nationalities far flung from their homes, and this in another significant factor in the choice of expatriates to stay away from home (United Nations, 2006). When people of any origin begin to build their own community in a new place, it is harder for them to move away from that which has become safe and familiar. Perhaps, of all people,
The crisis facing Soviet society as the union disintegrated came from several sources, but the economic problems, the growing crime rate, the inter-ethnic violence, and the political struggles all derived from the deep crisis rising questions about the legitimacy of Soviet political institutions and the identity of the Soviet people. Gorbachev brought about many changes in Soviet politics and society. The development of this national policy came as the
foreign immigrant groups California share similar struggles quest American citizens Following the development of western countries in the nineteenth century, there emerged a prolonged immigration of Asian communities into the American society. Iran had a shock in their culture. Individual personality such as language proficiency, learning level, and job skill influences their ability to adapt. Immigration is a key life challenge, although well thought-out to be stressful, particularly for women
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