Women position in western and communist nations in the 1950s.

One is not born, but rather becomes woman. No biological, physiological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine. But what was really position of woman in 1950s – 1960s. I overlook different women positions in western and communist nations.

During wartime western nations women had been out in the work force to fill the jjobs of the men who were off to war. These jobs were important to the country and wartime, and women were valued for their contribution. After the war men came back home. The jobs that women had been holding during wartime were either given back to the men returning or were no longer required. It returned back to a man’s world. Husbands started to work and were the head of the family. Typical, or most respected, professions for women were tteacher, secretary and nurse. But still, it was expected for the woman to put family first. Often women would have to quit her job in time of family callings or pregnancy – thus it could be difficult to advance to hhigher level in a career. However, she also did not have the pressure of being the provider for the family. The woman was a housewife, had all responsibilities inside home: shopping for food and necessities, cooking, cleaning, ironing the clothing of husband and children and, of course raising children. She did not have her own money and depended upon the husband and his salary. The western women job of the 1950s was to be and look perfect housewife.

It was totally different situation in the USSR. The Soviet public went through a „sexual revolution. Initially this became evident in the work force. In the history of the world, never has there been such a large influx of women into the work fforce. The Soviet economy was boosted by the injection of over 10million women into the work force, contributing 39% to the overall work force. Special programs were created, through which women could be recruited to help realize the Soviet Union’s industrialisation goals. During Stalin’s reign, the conditions for women improved only slightly . Women had to continue working a „double shift“ – in their official job and in the home. The dominance of men in the work force remained unchanged, ddue

to the fact that men rarely became unemployed during Soviet times; there was always work and they did not have to compete for work with women. This was not the case in other European nations. Stalin’s program for the Soviet Union experienced a catastrophic shortfall of workers. Also, Stalin’s industrialization program resulted in the development of large-scale industry which was directly associated with enhancing the military strength of the Soviet Union. Women were very proud of the fact that they worked. On the other hand, women did the most unappealing and least prestigious jobs. Medical treatment was free in Soviet Union, the state did not pay well and the job was extraordinarily hard, so almost all the doctors were women. Women were consigned to medicine and education, but the really important jobs, like those in science and engineering were less accessible to them. . Soviet women were often seen working with heavy equipment, like ploughs and farrows, in the fields of the collective farms, or carrying bricks on building sites, digging trenches and breaking ice with heavy ice-picks in the streets of the Soviet towns. As a matter of

interest, it’s worth mentioning that the wife of the half illiterate Chairman oof the Supreme Soviet of the USSR K. Kalinin, who herself was a belligerent communist, was sent to a work camp by Stalin, however, having been a very influential activist, she secured herself a very easy job there, which was picking lice from the garments of other prisoners. On the other hand, there have been positive developments for women as a result of the planned economy. Despite the devastating destruction of the Second World War, the Soviet economy was rapidly reconstructed, increasing five times since 1945. In the 1950s and early 1960s the economy grew by 10-11 percent a year, two or three times faster than most capitalist countries. This allowed steady improvements in living standards for women, including retirement at 55 (60 for men), no discrimination against working mothers in terms of employment or rates of pay, and the right of pregnant women to transfer to lighter work with fully paid maternity leave for 56 days before and 56 days after the birth of a child.

On the one hand, family life in western and communist nations were different. Western woman’s job of the 1950s was to strive to be and look the perfect housewife. Women were judged nnot only on how well her home looked, but also on how well she looked. Her topic of conversation should be cute, and topics about home, family, hobbies. Showing too much of ones intellectual smarts was not always an attractive quality. Women were big consumers of cosmetics, bought magazines to see and read the latest and mostly she had some time so that she could enjoy this at her leisure. Also she provided emotional support, organized social occasions and church attendance, taught domestic skills to her daughter; taught proper etiquettes, cleanliness, and morals to the children. She accompanied her husband and children to their events. She joined social committees and clubs. Other, very important thing is that contraceptive pill was developed and became commercially available to women in many western countries. The rapid adoption of the pill was partly related to the increased emphasis on sexual pleasure in mirage. But the pill was almost unavailable for the single women. The societal pressure for single and pregnant woman was so strong that some resorted to illegal abortion. It was difficult for a girl to overcome a bad girl reputation. One remedy was marriage.

In Soviet Union abortion was legalized 1955, but the

contraceptive pill was not available for women. Family life was harder for women in USSR than in western countries. Women had to work and look after the family. Also, military development priorities, resulted in the limited construction of Laundromats, cafes and kindergartens; all of which were essential in assisting women perform their home keeping duties – yet another hardship that the working woman had to endure under Stalin’s reign. The dominant male’s role was a telling characteristic of the social mmovement. Wives of engineers and other specialised professionals, under their own free will had to administer the companies where their husbands worked and