- Paperback: 424 pages
- Publisher: Temple University Press (May 26 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1566391717
- ISBN-13: 978-1566391719
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.4 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #851,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Women's history is being rewritten, deconstructed and reconfigured daily. Existing scholarship has tended to reinforce the perception that the women's movement retreated in the years between WW II and the '60s. Not June Cleaver , reconsiders the roles of women as mothers, workers, activists, unionists and pacifists and read together these fine essays signify a systematic devaluation of women that eventually manifested itself in the coming of age of the women's movement. Of particular interest are the chapters, ``Is Family Devotion Now Subversive?'' by Deborah A. Gerson and ``I Wanted the Whole World to See'' by Ruth Feldstein. The former chronicles the efforts of the Families Committee of Smith Act Victims in defying McCarthyism, while the latter recounts the trial of Emmett Till, focusing on how motherhood was defined along class and racial lines. Other chapters recognize the contributions of Chinese and Mexican-American women to the union movement; recount the sexual demonization of lesbians; and reveal how mothers became the surprise ``weapon'' of the Civil Defense protest movement. Meyerowitz has pulled together a collection that smartly argues that for women the 15 years following WW II were not a time for reflection and analysis, rather a period of re-massing and struggle.
Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
"Not June Cleaver reconsiders the roles of women as mothers, workers, activists, unionists and pacifists and read together these fine essays signify a systematic devaluation of women that eventually manifested itself in the coming of age of the women's movement."
—Publishers Weekly
—Publishers Weekly
"An astonishingly successful effort to rewrite the history of American women in the postwar era... [that] challenges well-established interpretations of postwar gender ideology, shows how gender politics were integral to Cold War politics, and complicates and deepens our understanding of postwar women...—working and middle-class, Chicana, white, black, and Asian...and essential text for historians of the Cold War and postwar gender politics"
—George Chauncey, University of Chicago
—George Chauncey, University of Chicago
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing reading,
By
Ce commentaire est de: Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 (Paperback)
Like many gen-x progressives, I had absorbed the popular portrayal of the 'feminine mystique' without realizing there were still progressives fighting the good fight in post-war America. Not until working on a graduate level independent study did I realize how easily the mass media had distorted and hidden a facinating history of feminism and progressivism--at a time supposedly anthetical to both. Without diminishing the hardships that did exist (restrictions on abortion, contraceptives, pregnancy discrimination, racial discrimination, homophobic bar raids) she shows how these groups responsed with ingenuity and independence. As an added plus, the book confirms dissent was much larger than the mass media or public officials cared to actually admit back to the general public. This false reassurance temporarily fit into the cold-war's emphasis on bland conformity, but it silenced many people's experiences until now. Progressive actions must have been impossible in the era of McCarthyism's suppression of political and cultural dissent, but perseverance made the women's victories all the more rewarding. Furthermore, many of the same women profiled in Meyerowitz's book used the time to lay critical groundwork essential for the 'revolutionary' 1960's and 1970's. Feminism did not simply reconstitute itself after an 'abscence' following suffrage victory, but was marginalized by an unspoken arrangement between the media and politics. Buy two copies of this book. One for yourself---and one to give your least favirote far right politican a much needed wakeup call.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not June Cleaver,
By katiek (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 (Paperback)
This is a great compliation of essays about women during the 1950s who did not fit the idealized "feminine mystique" of the housewife. Joanne Meyerowitz's essay responding to Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" is particularly interesting and reavealing. Meyerowitz conducted thourough research and came to the conclusion that the media, while celebrating domesticity, simultaniously applauded women who acheived in politics, careers, volunteer work and other areas outside the home. The book includes sections on Chinese American women and their arrival after the second world war, the brutal murder of Emmett Till, women labor activists, nurses, and education. It is comprehensive and highly historical, but easy and interesting for non-reasearchers to read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not June Cleaver,
By katiek - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 (Paperback)
This is a great compliation of essays about women during the 1950s who did not fit the idealized "feminine mystique" of the housewife. Joanne Meyerowitz's essay responding to Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" is particularly interesting and reavealing. Meyerowitz conducted thourough research and came to the conclusion that the media, while celebrating domesticity, simultaniously applauded women who acheived in politics, careers, volunteer work and other areas outside the home. The book includes sections on Chinese American women and their arrival after the second world war, the brutal murder of Emmett Till, women labor activists, nurses, and education. It is comprehensive and highly historical, but easy and interesting for non-reasearchers to read.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing reading,
By Robin Orlowski "political activist" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 (Paperback)
Like many gen-x progressives, I had absorbed the popular portrayal of the 'feminine mystique' without realizing there were still progressives fighting the good fight in post-war America. Not until working on a graduate level independent study did I realize how easily the mass media had distorted and hidden a facinating history of feminism and progressivism--at a time supposedly anthetical to both. Without diminishing the hardships that did exist (restrictions on abortion, contraceptives, pregnancy discrimination, racial discrimination, homophobic bar raids) she shows how these groups responsed with ingenuity and independence. As an added plus, the book confirms dissent was much larger than the mass media or public officials cared to actually admit back to the general public. This false reassurance temporarily fit into the cold-war's emphasis on bland conformity, but it silenced many people's experiences until now. Progressive actions must have been impossible in the era of McCarthyism's suppression of political and cultural dissent, but perseverance made the women's victories all the more rewarding. Furthermore, many of the same women profiled in Meyerowitz's book used the time to lay critical groundwork essential for the 'revolutionary' 1960's and 1970's. Feminism did not simply reconstitute itself after an 'abscence' following suffrage victory, but was marginalized by an unspoken arrangement between the media and politics. Buy two copies of this book. One for yourself---and one to give your least favirote far right politican a much needed wakeup call. |
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