Friday, June 14, 2019

American Girl (December 1961) "Lots of Room in Space for Women"



From 1917 until 1979 Girl Scouts of the USA published a magazine, originally called "The Rally" (1917–1920) and then "American Girl".

 I came across this issue dedicated to women in the space program. It is unusual to find material addressed directly to girls about careers in the space program. This December 1961 issue had a couple of articles so I will break up my postings of the articles into 3 also.

The first thing to notice is the "sexist" language (even if it is aimed at girls) using terms and references like: dainty, petticoats, discussion of dating, Jill-of-all-trades, 







 "These tests are already proving that women can withstand the stresses in space as well as men--- sometimes even better."

 "When she is not bowling with her Air Force pilot husband, she's cooking for him, naturally!"

 "When I first got the job I made up my mind I wouldn't stare at them all the time, even though they were famous. Then she adds with a vivacious smile, 'But they're not bad to look at'"

"Maybe that first woman to plant her dainty toes on the dusty surface of the moon will be you."

No comments:

Post a Comment