Abstract

The 1950s were presumed to be an era of domestic bliss as strict gender roles dictated a woman’s place in the home and a man’s place as breadwinner. This study adds to a growing body of work revealing public sites where dialogue about opposition to traditional gender roles took place. This analysis of the 1950s gender-focused writing by Dorothy Barclay, editor of parent and child section of «The New York Times» reveals how women journalists used the standards of the day to undermine the sense of agreement about gender roles laying bare the festering tension between new and old conceptions