White Picket Fence American Dream
Nov 25, 2020
Rebecca Traister, a writer and columnist focusing on gender and politics, teams up with Nicole Rogers, leader of Family Story, to dissect the dynamics of the American family ideal. They explore how post-WWII policies shaped the nuclear family and how advertising marketed homemaking as women's primary role. The conversation delves into the racial implications of suburbia, the political power of marriage, and how economic policies benefit traditional family structures, ultimately questioning the political motivations behind these enduring ideals.
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The Nuclear Family Is A Midcentury Construct
- The 1950s nuclear family myth (breadwinner dad, homemaker mom, 2.5 kids) is largely a mid-20th century construction, not an American constant.
- Nicole Rogers and Rebecca Traister explain it arose from post-WWII policies and social pressure that favored that family form.
Policy Built The Suburban Homemaker Role
- Postwar policies like the GI Bill and mortgages created incentives for white men to earn enough to keep wives out of the workforce.
- That policy stack helped normalize suburban homeownership and the homemaker role for many white families.
Suburbs As Built Symbols Of Whiteness
- Suburbia functioned as shorthand for whiteness because racial segregation was intentionally built into midcentury housing and investments.
- Rebecca Traister and Mary Jo Wiggins note that suburbs were often legally and economically inaccessible to Black Americans.
