the expansion of American culture and ideals

Following the Depression and World War Two, American culture went through many changes and it became increasingly clear that not all Americans share the same views. The government influenced American culture by working to solidify gender roles and social norms, alienating differences, and working to confine popular idealogy and perspective. But many Americans rebelled against this, bringing forth many of the equal rights fights we see continuing today. 

Beginning the Cold War era, the government perpetrated its ideals of America, aided by the narrative of the Red Scare. Fighting against the threat of communism was considered a shining value of America, and the notion of American Exceptionalism became increasingly prevalent and believed. Those in power decided what “should” define America, whiteness, the family unit, and gender roles, conflating much beyond this, anything challenging their status quo, with communism. The media used stereotypical women to push their ideals at home and abroad while considering people who did not fit this social norm, like teens, people of color, and radicalized women, as threats detrimental to the American way of life as communism. The idea of this utopian society is perpetuated throughout the magazines, the successful and suburban middle class, with women in the family or entertainment-oriented roles and nowhere near real positions of power. While the media built off of many stereotypes and gender norms already revolving in America, the added threat of communism and anything outside of the social norm pushed many of those who could fit into the stereotype to do so, with a sense of suspiciousness toward people who bring new ways of thinking or living. Still, many responded the opposite and reinvigorated the culture of the era and today, fighting against aspects of society they view as unacceptable.

While Women had gained some freedoms in wartime, this was stamped out with the renewed government pressure to conform and present an idealistic and “American” culture. The pressure to fit into this culture is discussed in Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, talking about how the very women that personified the prosperous upper middle-class suburb American dream family stereotype and were supposedly meant for this were at their core unfulfilled. The “problem with no name” is largely due to the pressured culture of this time and the idealogy behind sticking to the harmful status quo. The affluent and white male governing society created their idealistic idea for different people within their society, cutting out critical aspects of people's lives and devaluing them for the will of those in power. The mystique of feminine fulfillment was perpetuated to women, that their work at home is and should be enough, and this minimization of female experiences damaged the psyches and lives of women across America. Trying to convince women to be happy in their positions was to confine women to the social norm, and women of all ages felt the pressure of what was right or wrong in society. One magazine shows a school where boys were learning architecture, preparing them for a career, and girls were learning home economics, preparing them for their future as mothers and homemakers. Interestingly, many of the kids in these pictures might have grown up to be the teens in the 60s and 70s, breaking norms forced upon them throughout their life from the outside world and their own family dynamic, bringing forth a significant tradition of rebellion amongst younger generations against the prevailing obstructive culture that continues in the culture of America today. 

Through these decades, America shifted from the (false) narrative of a unified culture to people within America uniting on their own ideals, no longer the governments, and looking for recognition and change. When expression of ideas that looked to make changes to the social norm were seen with the same fear many felt of communism destabilizing and corrupting American values and lifestyle, those who were not associated with communism but supported movements that looked to change institutionalized attributes of America, like segregation, sexism, and homophobia, were stigmatized by the government. It became clear the american government was not as trustworthy as many thought, and this, along with the media narrative, reiterated the importance of underrepresented perspectives being heard, like Freidan speaking against the male-led media’s narrative of women’s happiness in the home. As the government and media worked to hold to their american family values into the 60s and 70s as representative of America as a whole, the public was becoming less receptive and malleable, with 75% supporting the government in the late 50s to a steady decline throughout the 60s, and the downward trend continued today. Stepping away from social norms became more validated as it became clear the government and many who perpetuated the norms were doing so not because it was actually right but because it was what they wanted. It became increasingly clear that mass media works to confine idealogy rather than promote free thought is important as well, as this shows the importance of personal education and the value of independence. The Civil Rights Movement and Second Wave Feminism are two large movements that exemplify how culture shifted for the expression and cultivation of creative and free thought that was previously unrepresented and downtrodden by the government. While people have always held to these ideals, the culture building throughout the Cold War period changed the way people interact with each other and their government, validating and reinvigorating a culture where people who feel they are subject to less than they deserve have a right to demand more.