1950s and Conformity

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This page is for the documentation and exploration of all things related to conformity in the 1950s, especially (but not necessarily restricted to) issues of conformity in the lives of teenagers and young people. Relevant terms to this topic include mental hygiene, etiquette, peer pressure, authoritarianism, the Cold War, and any other societal influences that strike one as repressive, or just plain strange looking at them from the perspective of the 21st century.

A short overview of the Fifties can be found in the Oxford Companion to American History. Relevant issues to conformity that this article touches on include: Anticommunism, McCarthyism, mass marketing, idealization of the nuclear family, segregation, Consensus Politics, gender roles, and homogeneity.

Contents 1 Journal Articles 2 Books 3 Video / Multimedia 4 Web Sites

Journal Articles

Thomson, Irene Taviss. "Individualism and Conformity in the 1950s and the 1980s." Sociological Forum. Vol 7. No. 3.

The author discusses American society within the framework of Tocquiville's observations regarding the tension between American individualism vs. community and conformity. Thomson evaluates the popular literature of the 1950s (and 1980s) to compare the qualities present and promoted by bestsellers and magazines. In the 1950s, emphasis was put on young people to attain maturity and assume responsibilities. In contrast, pop psychology in the 1980s stressed the never-ending development of the person. In the 1950s relationship problems were blamed on the selfishness or egocentricity of one (or both) of the individuals. In the 1980s, the emphasis was placed more on the "relationship." Anti-conformity messages in the 1950s were rather rare. There are many more examples of how the view of the individual and community shifted between the 1950s and 1980s. In summary, the author concludes that the institutional norms of the 1950s has given way to the importance of "subjective interpretations."

Wilson, Margaret S., "Do College Girls Conform to the Standards of Their Parents?" Marriage and Family Living. Aug. 1953.

This article poses the question, "Is college influence stronger than parental influence?" According to the author, college "girls" of the 1950s by and large conformed to their parents' preferences in the major areas of life, among them: dating, mate selection, drinking, smoking, household duties, and choice of college. Conformity is categorized as being based on either objective rationality, conformity through fear of an authoritarian parent, and conformity due to immaturity and dependence on parents. Thankfully, (sic) the American culture pattern of the "democratic family control" allowed the daughter "some part in determining standards."

Books

The Lonely Crowd; a Study of the Changing American Character. by David Riesman w/Nathan Glazer and Renel Denney. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1953. WSU Holland BF755.A5 R5 1953.

The popularity of The Lonely Crowd among the public caused it to become the best-selling sociology book in the United States. The book is a complex study of American life as the country became established as a major industrial power in the world. Originally, Riesman intended the book to focus on the causes of political apathy, but it turned into something much more ambitious. The book divided people into two categories - either inner or outer-directed. Simply put, the "inner-directed" person was portrayed as selfish, materialistic, and recklessly individualistic. This scenario served as the backdrop for society (schools, parents, etc.) to promote the importance of the peer-group, and the idealisation of being part of the group, and "fitting in." Consider this quote from "Fifty Years of The Lonely Crowd." by Wilfred M. McClay. The Wilson Quarterly. Summer 1998. Vol. 22, Iss. 3. Pg. 34.


Everywhere one looked in the culture, and particularly in the education of children, one saw evidence of "an enormous ideological shift favoring submission to the group," a regime in which "the peergroup is the measure of all things" and "the individual has few defenses the group cannot batter down." Such a culture appeared to value smooth socialization and "adjustment" far more than it did independence or dissent.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson. New York : Simon and Schuster, c1955.

Sloan Wilson's book is closely associated with the decade of the 1950s suburban family and the experience of conforming to the post-WWII corporate culture. For a more complete discussion of the book, and information about Sloan Wilson, consult this article from the Boston Globe: Dressed for Regret: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, a Reissued '50s Classic, Sharply Portrays the Sorry Business of Trading Standards for Status. by Dan Wakefield. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Nov 3, 2002. pg. D.8.

Public Affairs Pamphlets authored by the Public Affairs Committee (New York; 1936-1988), Call number range Dewey 305.p96

This series of booklets, those written from 1936-1960 in particular, tell us all about life after WWII, when conformity was a plus. Browsing through these pamphlets is like looking into a time capsule: topics include everything from teen dating and marriage, to college issues, health, welfare, what to do about fear, radioactive fallout and more. The government wanted to be very active in people's lives, telling them just how to deal with all of these matters.

Video / Multimedia

Habit Patterns (1954). Knickerbocker Productions.

This video is in the public domain and can be downloaded or watched from the Internet. Streaming and downloading options are found on the left side of the screen. To view the video with RealPlayer, click on one of the .rm files. Watch Barbara learn to FIT IN with everyone else! There are several reviews of this video on the linked page you can read. A whole generation of kids had to watch films like this in Health class!

Web Sites

Behind the Picket Fence: The Fifties Family Exposed through Primary Sources. Coordinated with The National History Project and Illinois State University.

This is a really unique site, because the authors labored to include primary resources as examples in their discussion of 1950s culture in America. While there is no overt discussion of "conformity" at any length, the sections on Suburbia and Entertainment provide primary resources that illustrate conformity in the 1950s. Consider the appearance of the people in the Picture of Commuters, the Cartoon of the Suburban Life. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as if the site is being updated.