Happiness, Womanhood, and Sexualized Media: An Analysis of 1950s and 1960s Popular Culture

America during the 1950s and 1960s was grounded in and centered on the conception of the nuclear family. The suburbanization of white middle class families after World War II yielded unique conditions for both media outlets and the U.S. government to push explicit messages on gender roles to preserve the sanctity of the nuclear family. The widespread affluence of millions of suburban, white middle class families served as a marker of success for the U.S. in the international community, which was a matter of national security during the Cold War. The preservation of the nuclear family, however, was highly dependent on women in their traditional roles as wives and mothers. Women across the nation were responsible for raising the next generation of Americans, approximately 76 million baby boomers from 1946 to 1964. 1American greatness was to be determined in the choices and actions of these baby boomers and therefore many messages on gender roles were strictly dictated to ensure that the nuclear family and capitalism would be upheld for generations to come.