In 1952, NCFR was instrumental in organizing a Midwest Ad Hoc Conference on the proposed U.S. Family Department of Welfare. The conference was to facilitate inter-professional consideration of family welfare and the implications of a proposed federal welfare department.
In last week's film, we watched "Molly Grows Up" a film about menarche. This week's video is a boys' film that may also be useful in the classroom to demonstrate sexuality education in historical perspective. "As Boys Grow" is a film from 1957 explaining the wonders of puberty to boys.
In this 1953 short film, a young lady named Molly prepares for and experiences menarche. This film shows how times have changed -and also how some things will never change. Throughout time, the onset of menstruation is a girl's biological rite of passage. Good education helps to ensure that the experience is positive and not scary.
In this film from 1962, the American Woman is the focus as the center of family life and, in particular, the manager of family resources. This film is considerably more updated than our other Zippy short film choices from the 50s, and yet it is dated in the final days of Camelot - the last gasp of pillbox hats and fedoras. This film was produced just one year before the publication of Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" and Bob Dylan's release of "the Times they are a-Changin'." It's an important snapshot in time.
In this 1950 short film, "Joan Spencer" learns the importance of office etiquette and career building. Many of the principles endure today. However, it's interesting to see how the workplace has changed in 60 years. For example, if you pause the film at 2:12, you can see a job application from the era which asks for height, weight, marital status, number of children, and other questions that are discriminatory and illegal today. Yet some advice is timeless - enjoy your work and enjoy your coworkers. And enjoy this film!
This spring we're going to have another book club meeting. We are reading and will discuss Stephanie Coontz's new book A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s.
First Lady did much to further the opportunities of women and people of color. In the U.S. archives in Washington, Mrs. Roosevelt's letter to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is on display. That organization did not want African American world-renowed singer Marian Anderson to sing at one of their events on racial grounds. In protest, Eleanor offered her resignation of membership. Marian Anderson sang.
