Woman's Weekly / 7th May 1965
So, yeah. As icanhascheezburger.com have highlighted before, funny captions for animal pictures are nothing new. Although this editorial tells me more about Princess Margaret’s sham of a marriage than I ever wanted to know, the centenarian feature is quite startling, given that it’s talking about people born in 1865!
Tags: lolcats, scary thoughts
Woman's Weekly / 4th July 1969
Blimey, I had no idea that Avon reps used to wear a uniform! Although the corporate site has some history of the company, it doesn’t mention anything about uniforms, sadly, although there is a picture of the same uniform as in this ad.
Tags: avon, social history
Woman's Weekly / 16th April 1965
Nowadays, expectant mothers can drown in a sea of advisory books (some of which cause more noise than others), but back in 1965, it seems that getting information could be a real problem. Although traditionally, mothers could rely on family networks for information and support, this information wasn’t always reliable. It’s a good thing that this advice column existed, but the advice given for post-natal depression is of the one-step-forward-two-steps-back variety. Yes, there’s an acknowledgement that the condition exists, but there’s also the dangerous assertion that it’ll go away by itself and the glib wish of good luck. However, it’s not surprising, because as the linked article states, post-natal depression is still not fully understood, over 45 years later.
Another indicator of just how times have changed is the letter about having a left-handed son; although the advice is correct, just the fact that the mother felt compelled to ask shows how long prejudice about being left-handed remained in British society. Also, the idea that a woman would go through surgery to remove an ovary and NOT ask questions about how it would affect her fertility shows the woeful lack of confidence that some women had when dealing with the medical profession, as well as how no-one dealing with this woman felt the need to discuss this issue with her. Luckily, we’ve made progress with this in the last 45 years as well.
Tags: health, pregnancy, social history
Woman's Weekly / 23rd April 1965
It’s just as well that I love my job, as being stuck indoors during the sunniest weekend of the year so far was a little dispiriting. I cheered myself up by standing by the door occasionally, sniffing the spring air. And so to this article, which gives advice on how to live up to beauty standards which appear to require you to CHANGE HANDBAGS to match an outfit. To be fair, mixed in with the patriarchal stuff are a few handy practical hints, especially if you’re on your feet all day, which would have been the case for many women, given the lack of choice in career at that time. But do remember to refresh your make-up, otherwise your boss will think you’re a rough old slag, and there won’t be any flowers for you!
Tags: beauty, blatant sexism
Woman's Weekly / 27th June 1969
An advert deconstructing advertising, there, from over 40 years ago.
Tags: beauty
Woman's Weekly / 27th June 1969
What was behind the obsession with giving away tablecloths in the late ’60s? Were British women going through some sort of tablecloth crisis?
Woman's Weekly / 11th July 1969
Ah, the Pandora’s Box that is child rearing. Obviously, it would have been in Heinz’s interests to promote their foods as the ideal weaning solution, and it’s interesting that these foods still cause controversy today, as what was reported as a link between industrially-produced baby food to childhood obesity in the UK media, actually, erm, isn’t. However, the main point I have about this advert is that copy which is ostensibly intended to reassure new mothers actually provokes anxiety in me; a clever skill!
Tags: dodgy advice, food, Heinz, motherhood
Woman's Weekly / 27th June 1969
“Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman…”. All of these letters are significant in their own way, as none of these problems are issues for men. The 16 year old girl is probably being a bit overwrought, but I stayed the night with my best friend more than once as a teen without being accused of meeting a boy by my parents! Both Mrs. C and Working Wife are suffering from higher expectations being applied to them than to their husbands, and naturally, poor Worried won’t see the father of her child for dust. In some respects, things haven’t changed all that much, but at least women have more options nowadays to either get themselves out of trouble, or to avoid landing themselves in it.
Tags: blatant sexism, Mary Marryat, pregnancy, problem page, teenagers
Woman's Weekly / 11th July 1969
The old-fashioned phrasing here amuses me, but what is most significant is the explanation of what is a standard item nowadays; sun protection cream. As a very fair-skinned person, I’m amazed the writer managed to get a tan at all! My parents certainly didn’t use sun cream, and it wasn’t until I was burned quite badly in the sun when aged 3 that they realised it was something I needed. The erosion of the ozone layer has caused stronger sun rays, of course, but I suspect greater leisure time and foreign travel has made sun cream so important for my generation.
Tags: beauty, social history
Woman's Weekly / 27th June 1969
You can still get Birds Eye Frozen Beef, of course, and although this ad is aimed at housewives, this product is now mainly aimed at the elderly or those living alone. Although I can appreciate how helpful it can be to have meat in small portions (I’m a devotee of Waitrose Easy To Cook), the frozen stuff is never quite as nice, in my opinion!