In the late 1960s, a cigarette named Virginia Slims was introduced into the marketplace that was directed specifically toward women. The 1960s – the decade of the Pill – ushered in the cultural revolution in which women rebelled against the June Cleaver image of their 1940s and ‘50s mothers, and claimed many freedoms of which men had been the primary beneficiaries until then. Advertising for Virginia Slims was particularly effective at making women feel that they were part of that liberation movement.
For example, a 1978 Virginia Slims magazine ad consisted of two upper and lower photographs. The top photograph was of a stout woman in long full skirts and apron laboriously hanging a basketful of laundry on an outside clothesline. Beneath it, the text read: “Back then, every man gave his wife at least one day a week out of the house.”
In contrast, the bottom photo showed a beautiful, elegant, slim young woman in a flowing, clinging dress, who had probably never even seen a clothesline, beneath which appeared the words: “You’ve come a long way, baby.”
Just how far women have come since the 1960s and ‘70s was the subject of an extensive study by Time magazine, and the results are almost as dramatic as the contrast between the photos in the Virginia Slims ad. Time started with information it had developed for a 1972 article on the status of women during the era of “women’s liberation,” and then took a poll of over 3,000 men and women to determine the current “State of the American Woman.”
The results are interesting for what they tell us about our society today as compared to almost 40 years ago. They show that women have, indeed, come a long way economically and socially; that they are still not treated as equals with men in some areas; but that in the future, it may be women who are economically better off then men. Moreover, it showed that most men have adapted to women’s emergence from the home into the workplace.
Almost 51 percent of the U.S. population is women, which immediately makes them a force to be reckoned with if they should ever agree on anything. Notwithstanding their numbers, women have traditionally been a minority presence in the work force because of the historic emphasis on women’s role in staying home to raise children. In 1972, women made up only 36 percent of the workforce.
However, with the rising cost of living and the desire to achieve the American Dream of a house with a picket fence, two cars and a worry-free retirement, more families have both parents working. Today, for the first time, there are as many women working as men. The economic downturn has affected men’s jobs more than women’s, and with the projected growth employment areas in those fields largely populated by women, the number of women in the workplace will likely surpass men within a few years.
Almost one-third of the doctors and lawyers in the country are now women, compared to only five percent in 1970. We have two women Supreme Court justices; six woman Governors; seven women Cabinet members; and 2,400 women FBI agents. No women occupied those positions in 1971.
Seventy-six percent of adult Americans viewed women’s increased presence in the workplace as positive for society. Of those, 88 percent were Democrats, but only 68 percent were Republicans, who traditionally prefer their women barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.
The reverse side of women working is that there are fewer stay-at-home mothers – only about 30 percent of homes today have a stay-at-home parent. Sixty-five percent of adult Americans viewed this as a negative, with Republicans leading the way with 81 percent disapproval. Only 53 percent of Democrats disapproved.
Women still suffer from discrimination in pay as opposed to men for comparable jobs, but the pay gap has closed. In 1972, women made 58 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Today, that figure is 77 cents for every dollar.
But while they may not earn as much, women control more of the family money. Sixty-five percent of women are their family’s chief financial planner, and women make 75 percent of the buying decisions in American homes. It is an old joke with a bit of truth that women spend half of the money in the U.S., and charge the other half.
Other results of the Time survey: In 1972, the average age at which women married for the first time was 21. Today, it is 26. The divorce rate has fallen from 4.1 per 1000 population in 1972 to 3.5 today, so perhaps marrying later is resulting in stronger relationships. However, fewer women are marrying. In 1970, 62 percent of women over 15 were married; today it is 53 percent. In 1970, 5 percent of women age 45 to 54 had never been married; today it has doubled to 10 percent. Cohabitation is likely reducing marriage.
In keeping with that trend, 54 percent of women today strongly agree that it is possible for a woman to have a fulfilling life if she remains single, and 70 percent said women are less financially dependent on their husbands than their mothers were.
My favorite among the Time magazine survey findings were the ones that responded to this statement: “There would be fewer problems in the world if women were more equal in government and business.” Sixty-nine percent of women agreed, as did – get this – 54 percent of men.
So, a sizable majority of Americans feel that, if women ran the world, we’d have less war, more wholesome food, better health care and less sex and violence on TV – and probably one-day deer hunting seasons, a limit of nine holes for a golf game and no more than one TV football game in one day.
You’ve come a long way, baby, and you’re only now beginning to flex your muscle. Just don’t replace Monday Night Football with Sesame Street.
(Richard Mays, a Heber Springs attorney and environmentalist, offers a liberal viewpoint on politics and social issues in each Friday’s edition)
Heber Springs, Ark. —
