Items related to The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Synopsis
Harvey, a frequent Village Voice contributor, independent publicist, radio programmer, and active feminist, provides dramatic and revealing first-person stories from women growing up in the '50s--a time when lifestyle choices were narrow and second-class citizenship was all that was available for women.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Brett Harvey is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the Village Voice, Mother Jones, Mirabella, Ms., Cosmopolitan, and the New York Times Book Review
From Kirkus Reviews
Freelance journalist Harvey (The Village Voice, etc.) half- successfully orchestrates a number of women's ``coming of age'' memories of the 50's, highlighting the restrictions and penalties these mostly middle-class, bright, urban, East Coast women endured. Drawing on interviews with 92 women aged 58-68, Harvey reconstructs the sexual values that shaped women's lives--the bizarre contradiction between their seductive appearance (red lipstick, pointy bras) and the repressive morality that made marriage the condition for sex, and the bearing of children and living in isolating, child-oriented suburban developments the norm. She discusses the brutality of childbirth dominated by male physicians; the naivet‚ of young mothers (one was advised to nurse while listening to Beethoven and smoking a cigarette); birth control; and the priority placed on ``perfect'' children through whom mothers acquired their value. Lamenting that no man ever had to choose between having a family and a career, she examines the working lives of those who successfully entered male-dominated professions; those who cultivated low-level jobs ``to fall back on''; the experience of lesbians (especially the freedom they enjoyed in the military); the deterrent effect of the civil-rights movement and anti-Communist activities on women's liberation; and the displacement of women in radical politics. With the election of JFK in 1960, the introduction of the Pill, and the Redbook survey examining ``Why Young Mothers Feel Trapped''--to which 24,000 women replied--the women's movement, Harvey points out, gained direction: Women like those interviewed by Harvey went to school and to work, divorced their husbands, and protested against the war in Vietnam. Harvey is a talented writer with an eye for detail and anecdote, but her study is narrow, often stereotyped, and lacks the diversity, surprise, and range of oral history at its best. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPerennial
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 0060924616
- ISBN 13 9780060924614
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages256
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Stock Image
The Fifties A Womens Oral Hist
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00079648685
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.45. Seller Inventory # G0060924616I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.45. Seller Inventory # G0060924616I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.45. Seller Inventory # G0060924616I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Fifties : A Women's Oral History
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers, 1994
ISBN 10: 0060924616
ISBN 13: 9780060924614
Used
Softcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 227073-6
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: HPB-Diamond, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_402805560
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: Priceless Books, Urbana, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: VG-. 228pp. Wear wraps. Seller Inventory # 205560
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
Fifties: A Women's Oral History
Seller: BYTOWN BOOKERY, Vars, ON, Canada
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Trade Paperback. Very Good with solid binding, some notes and underlining through the book. "Women finally speak up about an era in our history when their voices were mostly silent--these revealing first-person accounts of life in the fifties are the dramatic stories of women toeing the line or breaking the rules at a time when the consequences were enormous. ; 8 X 5 X 0.70 inches; 230 pages. Seller Inventory # 17943
Quantity: 1 available