These always crack me up. Simply amazing how far we've come. Today, I am an accountant, which is WAY better than being a secretary. ::chortle::
When I grow up I want to be the author; she appears to have the most comfortable shoes.
My grandmother was working in a salmon cannery and raising four kids on her own just a couple of years before this book came out. Take that, Ruth Shaw Radlauer.
It's good to know I have a gender-appropriate job. I have, however, added the sexy glasses. Ha!
I was just thinking, you could add the word "sexy" in front of every occupation in that table of contents and it would read like a list of my last seven Halloween costumes.
hmm, author is a very brainy occupation for a woman. when i was 5 or so i used to play nurse and shopkeeper (i had play kits) and also hairdresser and secretary. i never played lawyer or doctor or ceo... i don't think my parents ever encouraged me either way. maybe kids are just more aware of 'blue collar jobs'?
What, no maid?
Cracked me up.
And I too have a daughter who is in love, (with no prompting), of the color pink and all manners of glitter. Ack.
My grandmother also must not have read this book, as I'm sure she would have preferred any of these jobs to her own, which was working in a shoe factory and taking care of two daughters, age 9 and 8 when this book came out, who were 11 months apart. For extra fun, her husband worked the graveyard shift so they never saw each other. Whoo, man the good old days!
I'm just wondering what an impractical nurse would be. And yeah, my son would totally kick your son's ass if you dressed him like that.
We came across a similar book in a box of old photos that belonged to my husband's grandmother. It was a how-to guide for women entering the workforce. Not surprisingly, about 75% of it dealt with having the proper physical appearance (including how she should freshen up for the hubby before going home). I think the other 25% was about keeping her trap shut lest she piss off her male bosses.
Is Ruth's name an indication that she kept her maiden name after marrying? That is one progressive woman.
Awesome. I have an old pregnancy manual from my mom...Here's an exerpt from one of the chapters:
"While most obstetrical authorities, then, disapprove of excessive smoking in pregnancy, there is no reason for believing that a woman who smokes moderatey, let us sayten cigarettes a day, need change her custom at this time...There is no surer way of upsetting the nerves at a period when you should be calm and happy, or of converting a placid, sweet-tempered girl into an intolerable shrew." HA! Keep these coming, they're great!
I love the illustrations!
We once had a 1940's era book - now unfortunately mislaid, which went into great detail about all the things a dutiful wife should do to please her man. These included greeting hubby home from work with slippers and a smiling face, pretending to enjoy the marital bed (yes, it was more or less phrased that way... ) and ensuring the children did not bother him. Oh, and *not* working outside the home.
I am shocked teacher isn't in there. Isn't that what old maids who weren't married by their early twenties were supposed to do if they weren't smart enough to be nurses?
I find the illustrations in this one kind of charming, if you can look beyond the content!
Looking forward to the new Mr. T pages. Charlotte has been enjoying coloring pictures of the man she's inexplicably taken to calling "Uncle T."
You are being featured on Five Star Friday:
http://www.fivestarfriday.com/20...edition-
31.html
Don't forget that if you get a job as a ballet dancer, you're out of work by the time you are 30, unless you're a superstar like Baryshnikov.
i can't wait for more Mr T.
by monday. I promise.
I also remember reading excerpts of what women should do to please their spouse - probably it was sent around on the internet, but was photocopied from a book much like this one. Mentioned things another reader above said - the slippers/newspaper, keeping the kids quiet. But also always having a warm meal prepared, a nice drink in hand, and the woman should make sure she's freshly perfumed, lipsticked, and dressed (kids too, so they don't look like they played outside all day!) and cheery when he comes home from his hard day of work. Let him talk about HIS hard day, let him talk, don't interrupt or make suggestions. Do not plague him with anything about YOUR mundane day. He shouldn't be forced to listen to that!
Seriously, having a stiff drink and a hot meal ready after work is an awesome gesture for one's spouse. Respect should go both ways!
I just wanted to say that I was a little too excited to see the return of the blue jumper. As in, "Gasp! The blue jumper!"
Your nurse description made me kind of sad inside, but it was still funny along with the rest.
I can't wait to show my mom, wife, and sister The Seven Jobs That Women Have... I think we should ALL write them up in a card and give them to each of the women in our lives, whether on a special day or "just because"!
The "chap" in the stewardess picture is a girl. Note the lack of pants. Girls in my school district were not allowed to wear pants to school until 1967. Not so great during winter in upstate NY.
I'm surprised she didn't say "The Authoress".
And I'll bet wherever Jaroslav came from the women held normal jobs just like the men, even back then (with three years' maternity leave fully paid by whichever communist government).
oh my goodness...you are HILARIOUS.
My oldest son (
has a penchant for all seven of the traditionally female occupations, I wonder if I should be worried? Or maybe I should simply give him the 2008 almanac of limitless occupations that women excel at and call it good.
upon meeting my future husband's grandfather for the first time (198, he was mightily impressed that I was going to college. I was mightily unimpressed when he asked me what I was going to be: a teacher or a nurse.
I am mightily amused by the single non-sexy illustration, the practical nurse. (Although that piano teacher is starting to look a little worse for wear.) For those who didn't know, a practical nurse is one with only a year of training, as opposed to a registered nurse, who back then had three years of education and now has 2-4 years of college. If the illustration was of a registered nurse, it would have been sexy, too! 'Cause registered nurses are always bright and perky and well-fed-but-not-too-much-so! Practical nursing was for the old and dumpy (and, unfortunately, back then the only option open to most people of color).
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