Homeward Bound: The Politics Of Research Paper

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Though the book focuses on femininity and gender division, it explores these topics as a window to the larger issue of a society dealing with the fact that it could be instantaneously annihilated. This fear was used to fuel rampant consumerism, much of it directed at the housewife -- the proper way to stock a bomb shelter, how to cook with makeshift tools, and other emergency measures were common parts of contemporary advertising -- but reflective of society's worries and businesses capitalization on fear. Sex, too, was seen as a magnificent selling point, not for the first or last time in history. Not just the sex appeal of the human form -- generally scantily-clad females selling things to men -- but also in the area of domestic life. Problems with marriage and sex were seen as problems at the very core of society, something which affected men and women equally (though perhaps women bore the brunt of the blame in these situations....

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It was their job to keep their married men satisfied, so they wouldn't be tempted by the deviations available, and keep them strong in the fight against Communism (May, 97). Early on, May refers to the Kelly Longitudinal Study, a survey conducted in the 1950s to which almost one in six respondents admitted to having been to some sort of professional counseling regarding marital or emotional problems (May, 27). This was a high time for therapy, and a low time for divorce. Whether or not the two are directly related is unimportant; what both figures illustrate is the fact that marriage and the family was seen as the foundation of society when fear for the very existence of society was at an all-time high. Though this issue had a more direct impact on the lives and opportunities available to women, Homeward Bound explores the ills of a society that can produce such limitations, rather than focusing simply on the feminine effects.

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