This takes LARP to a whole new level.

[distracts]

Your post reminded me that there is a blogger I have followed for quite some time who has really gotten into 1800s period costumes the past couple of years. She sews all of her own clothing and embroiders, dyes fabric, you name it. But as far as I know, she doesn’t have a social network outside of her old blog and now Instagram. She has mentioned in the past that she was picked on in grade school, and I think for her the period acting is a way to connect with a community of people that she feels won’t see her as weird. (She goes to a lot of old timey events where other people who are into the same thing congregate.) I have also noticed that she has some really noticeable mood swings usually related to whether she gets likes for her posts or if people at these events were complimentary to her or not. It’s unfortunate that social media has affected some people this way—it’s not just fun for them, their self-worth ends up dependent on what strangers on the Internet think of their lifestyle. Looks like same thing is happening with the woman this thread is about.

Well, I suspect that’s not just limited to social media... there were always people in school and college whose self-worth depended on being popular and having everyone like them. It’s just now it’s easier to see because people will be out there talking about how they’re sad because they didn’t get likes, while in school the kid went home and cried to their parents about not getting invited to so-and-so’s party, or whatever. There are many people who need external validation to feel ok with themselves and some of them are not the type who are able to attract and keep real life friends.

 

[monarch64]

@distracts yes, you’re right. I guess it just seems amplified now that social media has become so pervasive.

 

[Tekate]

My mom was a 1950s housewife, an opioid addict and a raging alcoholic. the 1950s were a bad time for women.. no to going back.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

The evolution of women from the ninety fifties to 2019 poses some interesting questions. When Rosie the Riveter took over a mans job during the war, she was both proud and had money for her and her children's survival. Women moved to the suburbs, went unappreciated for the contributions they made to the family, and divorce was now allowed by law. Women went into the work force and began to educate and train themselves to compete in a what was a mans world. Women wanted the choice of child rearing or working. They fought to be able to do both without the society guilting them. Early on the working mother had a lot of opposition. Over-time acceptance has set in. All well and good. The important word of course is, choice. This was true for a fleeting moment in history--perhaps 2 or 3 decades, when, from what I see staying at home is no longer a choice. Women must work to maintain the family and the expenses that brings. Now, I see the opposite sentiment if SAHM complains about money in any way, people say why doesn't she go and get a job? I am making a case for the fact that women are not free. Society has become more expensive to live in than the 1950's. Just think most lower middle, middle middle, and upper middle class folk all got along on one salary. I am not saying everyone has no choice. Just most people. Last time I read anything on this subject, most people don't like their jobs. But they all need two incomes now.

Now, I wish to list more good things about the fifties. WE had food delivery at no charge from the grocery store. We had UPS delivery free, from any department store. No one had to tally up to see if we spent enough for free shipping. We didn't need amazon. You could leave a note on your door to please leave the package with your neighbor, He did it as part of UPS service.
And best of all, our schools in Brooklyn NY were great. We were diverse in the 1950s because many of us had immigrant parents. My God, we even had kids from the "projects" bused to our school, including black students. But, here a kicker. The projects were middle income projects. We had no bullies--not one.

Women sometimes took a part-time job when their children were in high school. My mother did. She was an uneducated women who never went past the 7th grade. She worked at A&S, a department store in Brooklyn and made 5.00 per hour. Figure out what that wage is worth today. It was a good wage then. Nothing comparable now.

Women have to work now. As I said before, there are cons, of course. But I wouldn't laugh too hard at it. I don't see women free now. Way too much to be, and to do.

Annette