Women and the Myth of Having It All

Abstract

This thesis traces the formation and development of the idea of “having it all” from the mid-twentieth century to the present. Drawing on film, television, and magazines, I argue that mass media alternately challenged and reinforced the perceived contradiction between women’s roles as mothers and as workers. At times, the feminist call for equality prevailed and onscreen heroines were portrayed as independent and vocal. At other times, when conservative views grew louder, characters renounced their careers for domesticity. Although both progressive and traditional ideals endured throughout this sixty-year period, the relative influence of each waxed and waned. Based upon the teachings of sociologists during the 1950s, the happy housewife and the more fully realized version of her – the Supermother – remained the motherhood ideal for American women throughout that decade and well into the next. After a decade of increased maternal employment, the Supermother became the Superwoman, who fulfilled all of the requirements of her predecessor, plus a career. As the women’s movement grew, articles and films portrayed women in a more independent light. This push forward for women’s rights led to a pushback, however, and by the 1980s articles warned women of the costs of liberation and encouraged their reappointment to the home; this trend continued into the 1990s. The Great Recession of the late 2000s ushered women back into the workforce and dual-career households increased; women had to do it all, including all of the housework, childcare, and paid work. The examination of cultural ideals and mass media that shaped women’s roles and expectations from the 1950s to present day helps explain what “having it all” meant for American women and why many women today are expected to fulfill the roles of both breadwinner and caregiver.