Growing up in South Africa in the 1950s this was exactly my view of America. My father was a surgeon, had served during the war and now left for work early, came home late, could be called out at any time, was involved on committees and lectured and examined at the University of the Witwatersrand. My mother never worked, my father believed it would signal that he couldn’t afford to support her (!). And my picture of America came from the magazines my mother subscribed to- Ladies Home Journal, McCalls and Good Housekeeping, and there were the housewives with their modern kitchen equipment and patterns for mother and daughter dresses. By the time I reached high school the Nelson Mandela trials were happening in SA and the Little Rock school segregation events had happened in the USA and reality forced its way in.
Brilliant, thank you! It would be interesting to compare experiences to those in the Soviet Union. Also V generation for my parents, strangely similar in some ways but also very different indeed.
Soviet example is one I would like to know more about. I went to Soviet Union a couple of times during the glasnost era and met a lot of theatre artists around my age, there were more similarities between us then I might have thought.
Part 1: Everyone worked, but perhaps, for somewhat different reasons.
For a start, being out of work was illegal. Not having a job was a criminal offence.
No-one ever heard of unemployment benefits, other than old-age pension.
For a working-age man having a job (any job) was compulsory.
Once you registered for your first job, you were issued with a “Work Book”, which followed you throughout your working life. All your jobs, whether you were a Bolshoi performer or a factory worker were listed, according to dates, positions and locations. Any gaps, it was presumed that you were inside.
Part 2: Women worked, too. They had to, because there were not enough men left.
In the block of flats where I grew up in the 60s & 70s, out of 200 flats only one woman didn’t have a job and everyone thought her weird.
Estimated 20mln people perished in the war, plus probably same again during Stalin’s repressions. Most of them men.
My mum was born in 1937, possibly the worst repression year in the history of the Soviet Union. People were picked up in black cars during the night, never to be seen again.
My grandmother never married (I think the guy, whoever he was just wasn’t interested or married to someone else). Consequently, my mum was without a dad. This never came up at school, as nobody had a dad.
Oddly enough, there were positives as well. Equal pay was set in stone, as the salary went with the job, not with who was doing it and kinder-gardens were free.
Brilliant piece Micahel. As a fellow 'child of victory' but in the UK, whose father went into business after the war and then married in 1947 (I turned up in 1950) it was much the same in the UK. My childhood was full of freedom and adventures with friends. Golden years indeed and especially compared with today's insecurity, when often even two wages are not enough to feed and clothe a family and benefits are so inadequate, to say the least.
Graphic writing. Netflix current French flick 'Inhuman Resources' emphasizes your quote "deaths of despair" in unresolved long-term unemployment. My father was employed 40 years in the same job and mother, with pregnancy and four children, stopped work for 25 years managing to get back to work where she had been - but those were the golden years you described so well. My children today, while employed, have no pensions or guarantees beyond their last day of work. Contract employment - a newer employment factor arising with the new realities of work today.
Another excellent piece. I have previously shared bits of my employment story. At least my job was eliminated because my bosses wanted to offer the the space of the archives and museums to the college administration in return for a different library position and a future favor neither of which happened. For many other after me there did seem to be a campus-wide effort to rid themselves of employees at all levels who had hit 50. In academe having hit 55 my full time prospects were over. I followed up on who got hired at every job I interviewed for and saw the the minimum required experience was almost always in play with the person hired around 27.
Your comment about your mother working hit home, too. My mother did, too. Many of the mothers of school chums did too. This was not really represented in the TV that I saw growing up. I have always had the opinion that those who talk about two kids, split level house in the burbs with a mother who did not work outside of the home are conflating Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best with the own childhood memories.
Growing up in South Africa in the 1950s this was exactly my view of America. My father was a surgeon, had served during the war and now left for work early, came home late, could be called out at any time, was involved on committees and lectured and examined at the University of the Witwatersrand. My mother never worked, my father believed it would signal that he couldn’t afford to support her (!). And my picture of America came from the magazines my mother subscribed to- Ladies Home Journal, McCalls and Good Housekeeping, and there were the housewives with their modern kitchen equipment and patterns for mother and daughter dresses. By the time I reached high school the Nelson Mandela trials were happening in SA and the Little Rock school segregation events had happened in the USA and reality forced its way in.
Thank you that was fascinating.
Brilliant, thank you! It would be interesting to compare experiences to those in the Soviet Union. Also V generation for my parents, strangely similar in some ways but also very different indeed.
Soviet example is one I would like to know more about. I went to Soviet Union a couple of times during the glasnost era and met a lot of theatre artists around my age, there were more similarities between us then I might have thought.
How long have you got? :) Let me write something up...
Part 1: Everyone worked, but perhaps, for somewhat different reasons.
For a start, being out of work was illegal. Not having a job was a criminal offence.
No-one ever heard of unemployment benefits, other than old-age pension.
For a working-age man having a job (any job) was compulsory.
Once you registered for your first job, you were issued with a “Work Book”, which followed you throughout your working life. All your jobs, whether you were a Bolshoi performer or a factory worker were listed, according to dates, positions and locations. Any gaps, it was presumed that you were inside.
Part 2: Women worked, too. They had to, because there were not enough men left.
In the block of flats where I grew up in the 60s & 70s, out of 200 flats only one woman didn’t have a job and everyone thought her weird.
Estimated 20mln people perished in the war, plus probably same again during Stalin’s repressions. Most of them men.
My mum was born in 1937, possibly the worst repression year in the history of the Soviet Union. People were picked up in black cars during the night, never to be seen again.
My grandmother never married (I think the guy, whoever he was just wasn’t interested or married to someone else). Consequently, my mum was without a dad. This never came up at school, as nobody had a dad.
Oddly enough, there were positives as well. Equal pay was set in stone, as the salary went with the job, not with who was doing it and kinder-gardens were free.
Both of these posts are fascinating. Thanks
Brilliant piece Micahel. As a fellow 'child of victory' but in the UK, whose father went into business after the war and then married in 1947 (I turned up in 1950) it was much the same in the UK. My childhood was full of freedom and adventures with friends. Golden years indeed and especially compared with today's insecurity, when often even two wages are not enough to feed and clothe a family and benefits are so inadequate, to say the least.
Graphic writing. Netflix current French flick 'Inhuman Resources' emphasizes your quote "deaths of despair" in unresolved long-term unemployment. My father was employed 40 years in the same job and mother, with pregnancy and four children, stopped work for 25 years managing to get back to work where she had been - but those were the golden years you described so well. My children today, while employed, have no pensions or guarantees beyond their last day of work. Contract employment - a newer employment factor arising with the new realities of work today.
I worry for my own daughter but it is her world to make and win.
Another excellent piece. I have previously shared bits of my employment story. At least my job was eliminated because my bosses wanted to offer the the space of the archives and museums to the college administration in return for a different library position and a future favor neither of which happened. For many other after me there did seem to be a campus-wide effort to rid themselves of employees at all levels who had hit 50. In academe having hit 55 my full time prospects were over. I followed up on who got hired at every job I interviewed for and saw the the minimum required experience was almost always in play with the person hired around 27.
Your comment about your mother working hit home, too. My mother did, too. Many of the mothers of school chums did too. This was not really represented in the TV that I saw growing up. I have always had the opinion that those who talk about two kids, split level house in the burbs with a mother who did not work outside of the home are conflating Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best with the own childhood memories.
The White PIcket fence fallacy.