Thursday, August 9, 2007

"Will I ever find a liberated man?"


It wasn't just Ms. Magazine and other "lib" magazines that discussed the women's movement. Mainstream publications such as McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, and Redbook all sought to cater to the growing population of liberated consumers.

These magazines attempted to maintain the status-quo as much as was possible while at the same time catering to the concerns of feminists. Often times the women featured in such mainstream articles decided that the home really was the best place for them, and that's were they'd stay.

Of course, as mentioned before, the movement was not monolithic, and many feminists did opt to remain or become housewives. Still, these magazines often served as platforms for opportunistic advertisements seeking to capitalize on the movement.

"You've Come a Long Way, Baby," Virginia Slims told their female audience. After their long days battling those mean old men, they deserved a refreshing, mild cigarette to calm their nerves and help them keep their trim figures! Dewar's Scotch informed women that alcohol consumption was a sign of independence. The list goes on.

And while it's no surprise that corporations saw women's weaknesses and took advantage of them, it's nonetheless disappointing to think about. Glad nothing like that goes on today.

2 comments:

Prof. Hersch said...

Mark,

Nice analysis of consumer feminism. I assume your last sentence is sarcastic!

2

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