1950s: A Decade of Conformity

        When we look back at either our own individual lives or at our society’s history, we often remember the glory days of an idealistic happy past.  This myth of the idyllic, glorified days of old certainly stands true when we nostalgically look back on America’s recent history.  For example, remembering the 1950’s often conjures up thoughts of a simple, satisfying life where everyone happily lived the American Dream.  However, in the 1950’s, this “American Dream” was a very conformist idea of the perfect middle class American family living in a suburban home where Dad works a nine-to-five job and Mom takes care of the house and the children.  This ideal was portrayed in many 1950’s television shows including Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, and The Donna Reed Show which infiltrated living rooms reminding Americans of their expected roles in this conformist decade.  

     The 1950’s boasted rigid societal standards where men were expected to be the bread-winning father and women were expected to be the homemaking mother.  While gender roles were clearly defined, these were not the only standards expected within this traditional-minded society.  African Americans were expected to adhere to the segregated rules throughout America. Further, especially in the Deep South, African Americans were expected to stay within their established subordinate place in a white supremacist culture.  Although it is true that Americans were generally contented, winning a World War against a clear enemy, and reeling in post-war prosperity becoming a society focused on materialistic things and consumerist ways, not everyone felt compelled to honor the traditional standards and some would even try to break free from the conventional roles.  However, those who defied the long-established roles were usually deemed defiant and condemned for their efforts.  The older generation, in particular, did not appreciate rebellious youth who attempted to go outside these traditional roles and often condemned those youth for attempting to make any changes in the social status.  Therefore, because not all Americans easily fit into their expected roles, whether it be gender, racial, or generational, those who were brave enough to defy those roles in the 1950’s were usually condemned for their non-conformist ways.

      These next few posts will be dedicated to those who attempted to live outside the defined conformist rules and were, thus, were condemned for defying the established norm.