I received that same e-mail from a friend.
If I were a woman in this era, this particular article wouldn't have encouraged me. The wording is a bit too blatant. "You have no right to question him". Yeah. that would bother me.
Now, for those of you who say that such stereotypes of the 1950s are innacurate and not worth circulating... yeah. You need to realize that your families are not necessarily the norm.
Or maybe the life of my grandmothers was just a bit beyond normal. GrandmaI was married to a man who was emotionally and physically abusive, yet he was respected by his peers. She never appeared outside of her home with visible bruises. She was a good little wife. She did her best to create a loving home environment for their children, never spoke up to her husband, idolized him completely, never considered divorce. She loved him too much, he just had "a few little flaws" that she was willing to work through. My mother didn't know that her mother had a personality or opinions until Grandpa died. GrandmaI was just a slave, even in the eyes of her children.
Here's something of interest that was published May 2000 by a mainstream Mormon church publication (James E. Faust, “Womanhood: The Highest Place of Honor,” Ensign, May 2000, page 95):
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Unfortunately, we see some very poor role models of womanhood in today’s society. We see women boxers and wrestlers as we flip through the television channels trying to find something uplifting. I believe the women of our time need to be strong, but not in that sense. In my opinion, these activities demean the nobility of womanhood.
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What, pray tell, is this crap about the nobility of womanhood? Why is there something wrong with women boxers and wrestlers?
Here's another memorable quote from the same article:
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I wonder if you sisters fully understand the greatness of your gifts and talents and how all of you can achieve the “highest place of honor” in the Church and in the world. One of your unique, precious, and sublime gifts is your femininity, with its natural grace, goodness, and divinity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty.
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Ummmm so only women have the capacity to love, be gentle, be dignified, be sensitive, creative... ? I've met plenty of men with these great characteristics.
So really... my entire point here is that there are parts of our society that still wholeheartedly accept gender stereotypes and attempt to mold young folks' personalities around them. There is no reason to assume that the gender issues of the 1950's are no more than a myth. They're still out there. Going strong.
And dang it - I don't understand why.