I’m irritated by the look-alike secretaries, too. It’s like they’re pieces of furniture. They can be moved around, used, disposed of. (The anonymous people milling around in the background during Lost irritated me, too.) Every so often one secretary is brought forward to embody some point plot or underlying theme. I wonder if they are supposed to look alike, to seem
interchangeable, cogs in the machine - to show that women in the workplace are just part of the setting, there to quietly serve, or cause trouble for, the men?
How are they different from all the cops in the background of the detective office in a cop show? Every once in a while they’ll be called out for a scene. The rest of the time they’re animated wallpaper. It’s a tv trope, not a Cultural Statement.
I think that’s deliberate. Notice how Peggy Olsen, Joan Holloway/Harris, Jane Seigel, and Ida Blankenship are the onlyones that were even given last names.
The secretaries are all thin, young, attractive women, like some kind of office harem for the men to leer over. I’d bet when there’s “a new girl”, the men always rush over to check her out and see if there’s a chance there. Other than Miss Blankenship, where are all the dedicated, experienced old warhorses who have been in the ad game for years? None! It’s all flitty, weepy, flirtatious, silly young “girls” who come and go, come and go, mostly hired because they look good. (not that things have changed all that much.) I do think it’s deliberate because it reflects the status of the working “girl” in those days, pre-women’s lib. (living with roommates in The Big City, tiny salaries, and out to get themselves a M.A.N. before it’s too late, lol!).
This was essentially one of the main plots of the entire first season.
Granted, she works for the men’s interests, but Joan has done the hiring & firing for the secretarial pool since… always. The men just show up and find a new girl on their desk.
…and how!
Well, there was Olive. She was at least 50 and married. I get the impress that Joan assigns the older & less attractice girls to jobs where they won’t be seen (like on the switchboard or transcribing dictation). Blankenship was working out of Cooper’s house.