I’m inclined to agree with Revenant Threshold. But in the spirit of trying to be helpful…we have added a few years to the average life expectancy since 1957.
You could probably fill up a retaliatory email with medical advances alone.
Oh, and cars, notwithstanding the sad stage of artistic design, are a helluva lot safer now. Power, anti-lock, disc brakes; airbags; seatbelts; crumple zones. A year ago I got into a near-head-on at 65 mph in a new Toyota and walked away. Had I been in that gorgeous 57 Chevy, I likely would not have fared as well.
In 1957, a student raped in class would be accused of lying or provoking the attack. In 2007, she would be encouraged to press charges.
In 1957, an unwed pregnant woman would either have to have a wedding or be sent away and give up her baby for adoption. In 2007, she can terminate her pregnancy or keep the child if that is her choice.
That doesn’t distinguish between married and unmarried pregnancy. In my view, there’s a huge difference between an unmarried 18-year-old being pregnant and a married 18-year-old being pregnant – more of a difference in 1957, in fact, than today.
I don’t agree with this. While attitudes towards rape (and proving rape) were much different then, a student raped in school wouldn’t have to deal with much “she was asking for it” in the same way that she would if the issue was date-rape. So if we can extend what you’re saying to rape in general, then I agree; rape in school was however not, in my view, an event likely to be trivialized in that era.
We obviously disagree on the positive value of her being able to terminate the pregnancy. Since this is not a thread about abortion, I’ll just say that it’s not obvious to all readers that this represents a positive change from the 1957 state of affairs.
Yes, there are govt. figures which address that. I ran across them several years, but cannot find them back. IIRC, the unwed figures of the late 50’s were higher than today.
There was a paddle hanging on the wall of our principal’s office when I was in elementary school, circa 1967-1975. I have no personal knowledge that it was used.
In 1957, women could not get a credit card in their own name. Not sure about a bank loan, but I do know there were jobs where their husband’s permission had to be sought.
Women could not get a bank loan without a male co-signer. This lead to some women bringing in their senile fathers and grandfathers to co-sign. Apparently the only requirement was that the co-signer have a penis!
In 1957 fully grown up females were called “girls.” The only fully grown up males called “boys” were the “coloreds.”
Yep. Sadly enough.
In 1957 (or at least in 1967) women who drove to pick their husbands up at the commuter train station slid from behind the wheel into the front passenger seat so that the man could drive home. Ah, memories from my childhood (except my mom did not do this, which is why I noticed the other women doing it. It seemed weird to me. It still does).
In 1957, a baby born a mere 5 weeks early was almost certain to die. In 2007, a baby born 5 weeks early is almost certain to live.
Sorry, that’s probably not very exciting to most people. But when I look at poor Patrick Kennedy’sbirth weight in 1963, and think of my own 1 lb 5 ounce baby and look at her running around 3 years later, I’m incredibly grateful for medical advances in preemie care.
How about her ability to have a life after getting pregnant? In the 1950s, a woman’s independent life was pretty much over after getting pregnant: She either quit school and/or work and got married to become a housewife, or she was pretty much a non-entity in the world and relegated to shit work. (“Maternity leave? You got knocked up, you deal with it… slut.” Maybe not in so many words, though.)
Speaking of the Kennedy’s in 1957 cancer was a death sentence. It was considered so shameful to have that people didn’t say “cancer.” Erma Bombeck recalls people saying “He’s very VERY sick.” The second “VERY” implied cancer.
Bombeck interviewed Ted Kennedy Jr for her book “I Want To Grow Up, I Want to Grown Hair, I Want to Go to Boise” for the chapter “Is There Life After Cancer?” In 2007, there is!
In 1957, if a baby was born with Down’s syndrome or a similar disability the parents were encouraged to place them in an institution for their entire life and otherwise “forget” about them.
