1960-1970s Marriage

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Marriage and the 1960-1970s Women’s Movement Historically women have faced a lot of pressure to get married and have children at a young age due to both economic necessity and societal expectations. At the start of the 1960s writers began to question and critique the societal expectations of women and the median age women got marriage began to rise. Films reflected changing cultural attitudes about gender, sexuality, and a woman’s societal role. Women began to consider their individual personhood apart from being a mother, wife, and homemaker. Women began to be able to pursue more effective relationships. The sexual revolution and the feminist movement allowed women to achieve greater equity in their marriages, to attain a higher status in…show more content…
Women began to shift focus from domestic duties to work and careers outside of the home (Heer and Grossbard-Shechman 49). These changes altered the role of women in society. In the 1960s more females than ever were entering the paid workforce (Walsh). The increase was most significant for married women between 20 and 24 years old. “The proportion of married women who were in the labor force increased from 31.7 percent in 1960 to 57.0 percent in 1975” (Heer and Grossbard-Shechman 62). The largest increases in the labor force came amount married women (Heer and Grossbard-Shechman 62). However, in 1963 women’s pay was 60% a male pay rate (Walsh). By 1975 women made 58.7% a male pay rate (Heer and Grossbard-Shechman 62). The employers argued that women didn’t need to be paid as much because their husbands would make a higher income to compensate (62). There was a long way to go before a woman would be considered equal to a man in the workforce. The feminist values of the 60s resulted in a significant increase of women in the workforce and set a…show more content…
Carnal Knowledge depicted numerous failed relationships, whereas The Marriage of a Young Stock Broker focuses on a crumbling marriage where the couple ends up reconnecting. The end is happily unrealistic. Marriages in the 1960s were riddled with sexism; this caused men to focus on physical needs and sexuality rather than communication with one’s partner. The film depicts a marital breakdown. In the movie a successful young stockbroker named William gives up his career to focus on Voyeurism full time. When his wife Lisa finds out she moves in with her sister. Lisa’s sister is the only strong female character in the film sister, Nan, encourages her to get a divorce. However, Nan is also an example of an unsuccessful and unfulfilled marriage that husband is fed up with her (Ebert). Lisa doesn’t take her advice and the couple ends up
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