Year 8 English
Representation of Women
POST-WAR PERIOD – 1950s
Brainstorm some possible keywords before you begin searching for information.
Some suggestions include:
1950’s
women 1950’s
fashion 1950’s
women social conditions 1950’s
names of specific novels, plays, poems, characters and/ or famous art works of the time
We recommend you search using the “All Fields” option in the Library Catalogue as well as using the resources below.
1.
1950s Advertising: Happier with a Hoover
2.
1950s Advertising: It’s a man’s world
3.
1950s Housewife
4.
1950s Advertising: Don’t worry darling
5.
John Bull Magazine cover 1957
7.
1950s Advertising: Lancaster Cloth
Media
- Comic book characters
- 1950s female comic book characters – online extracts from:
The DC Comics encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe. (2004). London: Dorling Kindersley.
Marvel encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the characters of the Marvel universe. (2006). London: Dorling Kindersley.
- Magazines
- Television shows & Films
- I love Lucy (See website and video section below for information)
- Marilyn Monroe
Prose – Text examples
The following titles are available in the Library.
F BLY 
Bylton, E. (2015). Five fall into adventure. Hodder Children’s Books.
First published: 1950.
Blyton, E. (2015). Five on a hike together. Hodder Children’s Books.
First published: 1951.
Blyton, E. (2016). Five have a wonderful time. Hodder Children’s Books.
First published: 1952.
The first book in the series was publish in 1942.
Visit Enid Blyton.net for information about the series.
F CAM
Campbell, J., & Stevens, M. (2003). The secret of the mansion. Random House.
First published: 1948 (First book in the series)
Campbell, J. (2003). The gatehouse mystery. Random House.
First published: 1950.
Visit Trixie Beldon.com for information about the series.
Other titles
The lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
Published 1950
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Published in 1952
Print Resources
This is a small selection of print resources recommended by your Teacher Librarians. They will help you to investigate the historical and social background of women from the second half of the 20th Century as well as representations of women from that time period.
You can locate these books using the shelf Call No indicated.
You will also find more resources by searching the Library Catalogue.
305.40904 MAC
Macdonald, F. (2001). Women in a changing world 1945-2000. Belitha Press.
305.40904 GOU
Gourley, C. (2008). Gidgets and women warriors : perceptions of women in the 1950s and 1960s. Twenty-First Century Books.
“As the 1950s began, advertisements, magazine articles, and even government booklets encouraged women to express their femininity and even their patriotism by getting married and having babies” (Blurb).
This book explores how the popular media portrayed women and whether the images were accurate or misleading. Highly recommended.
*Note: The focus is on women in America.
973.921 COR
Corrigan, J. The 1950s decade in photos : “the American decade”. Enslow Publishing.
994.05 BER
Bereson, I. (2000). Australia in the 1950s. Echidna Books.
For more print resources click here
Provides comprehensive contextual coverage of the changing role of women for each decade.
Barbie originated in 1959. You may find Chapter 3 helpful to learn about the history of Barbie and the the 1950s.
Start at p.169: “Changing roles of women.”
eBooks
Coster, P.(2011). A new deal for women : the expanding roles of women, 1838-1960. AccessIt Database.
Chapters 4 and 5 will be particularly helpful.
Powell, P., & Peel, L. (1988). ’50s & ’60s style. New Burlington Press.
Coming soon.
eResources
Websites
Here are some websites that your Teacher Librarians have evaluated for your use. If you search the free internet yourself be sure to evaluate the website. Refer to Thinking Critically about Web Information.
Note: Be mindful that much of what is on the free internet for this topic is content created by students, including university level, and you don’t know what marks they received. Remember you want to find material that is suited to your age and comes from an authoritative source. We have check these ones for you.
AdAge. (2014, September 2). A look back at portrayals of women in advertising. http://adage.com/article/news/a-back-portrayals-women-advertising/294756/
Khan Academy. (n.d.). Women in the 1950s. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1950s-america/a/women-in-the-1950s
Mattel. (n.d.). Barbie: history. http://www.barbiemedia.com/about-barbie/history.html
Videos
*Note: The focus in this video is on women in Britain.
BBC. (2012, July 24). History file, 20th Century World: Women in advertising during the 1950s. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00xb9jt
*Note: The focus in this video is on women in Britain.
Young, A. (n.d.). TV Housewives: Does I Love Lucy have a Feminist Strain? Critical Commons. http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ashleysy/clips/tv-housewives-does-i-love-lucy-a-feminist-strain