The Interview Essay, Research Paper

The woman that I interviewed was my mother. She was born in 1949

and saw a large portion of the women?s liberation movement. When I

approached her with my laptop and papers she gave me a huge smile because

she knew that something was going on. When I told her that I had some

questions about women?s lib. she grew extremely excited and was over

eager to share the experience with me.

Her opinions about career opportunities were that most women were

housewives and some might have taken a small job in a retail store or

as a nurse. Women were very limited because the jobs were open to men

and weren?t as easily open to women because of the idea that women needed

to be at home taking care of the kids. All the limitations for women

in the ?perfect world? image that the fifties and sixties put of were

real. Women were constantly being held back and controlled by society.

The thing that sticks out most in her mind was that it was important

for men to go to school and her parents funded her brothers? college

education but refused to support hers.

She explained that dating basically went in the same direction.

The reason for dating was because men were looking for potential wives

and many couples were married straight out of high school. This made

women feel as if they didn?t need to pursue a career because their career

was to be a housewife. Men were the controller, provider, and

breadwinner. Marriage was an expectation and women were expected to find the

right person and get married as soon as possible. They were pressured

and hurried into it a lot of times.

Bra burning and striving to become independent was what my mother

shared with me about her ?lib days?. One big thing that she remembered

was that she wouldn?t let any man open a door for her. She also

remembered women liberation being a bit ?out there? at first and that there

weren?t that many women who endorsed it. To her, women?s liberation

didn?t have much to do with the evolution of women?s rights. It was just

one of those things that was bound to happen sooner or later.

?Today it?s great that women can choose careers and go for it.

It?s so cool that they?re not forced to feel like they have to be married

by the age of 25?, she replied when asked about women today. It was

important for men to go to school but it wasn?t important for her to

finish her college career? and her parents funded her brothers? college

education but refused to support hers.

How to be a good wife?

After reading over the handout about the ideal wife she told me that

that was the way the women thought at the time. That?s what the women

were expected to be by men and by society. It made her think about the

break down of the American family. In the fifties and sixties divorce

and all that wasn?t an issue, and she wonders if some of that might be

because society has changed the women?s role in the home due to the fact

that they?re more independent and working outside the home now.

My Reaction

I wasn?t at all surprised at how the interview with my mother went. I

didn?t really have a chance to ask many questions because she was so

fired up about it and had so much to tell me. Nothing of what she said

surprised me though. I know my mother and women liberation pretty well.

I was expecting what stories I received.