Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 2 When Never-Ending Domesticity Isn't As Blissful As It Seems There's a lot we remember today about midcentury America. The celebrated sights and sounds. The famous leaders and infamous politicians. And the way that image of the happy homemaker, with her feminine hairdo and fit-and-flare dresses, was our answer to the hardship of World War II and the looming anxieties of the Cold War. But today, as we see the re-emergence of tradwives, it's worth noting something we often forget: The misery of women who were relegated to the home. "There's a lot of isolation, there's a lot of unrest in their spirits and in their souls," says Kristen Thompson, who wrote her graduate master's thesis at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, on mid-20th-century housewives. "They had these higher dreams and aspirations, and they're now living in a society that's pushing them back." In this episode, Thompson tells us about how housewives often turned to tranquilizers, particularly Milltown, which was advertised in popular magazines – Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, House Beautiful – as a "happy" pill. In reality, Milltown was addictive, dangerous when it came to accidental overdoses, and withdrawal from it could lead to hallucinations and seizures. We also speak with former tradwife Enitza Templeton, who tells us about the journey she went through – choosing a "traditional" lifestyle and submitting to her husband – but ultimately realizing how unfulfilling it was. "I was just kind of a shell of a human and a robot version of myself," she says. Join us for part two of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Serax ad)

Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 2 When Never-Ending Domesticity Isn't As Blissful As It Seems There's a lot we remember today about midcentury America. The celebrated sights and sounds. The famous leaders and infamous politicians. And the way that image of the happy homemaker, with her feminine hairdo and fit-and-flare dresses, was our answer to the hardship of World War II and the looming anxieties of the Cold War. But today, as we see the re-emergence of tradwives, it's worth noting something we often forget: The misery of women who were relegated to the home. "There's a lot of isolation, there's a lot of unrest in their spirits and in their souls," says Kristen Thompson, who wrote her graduate master's thesis at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, on mid-20th-century housewives. "They had these higher dreams and aspirations, and they're now living in a society that's pushing them back." In this episode, Thompson tells us about how housewives often turned to tranquilizers, particularly Milltown, which was advertised in popular magazines – Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, House Beautiful – as a "happy" pill. In reality, Milltown was addictive, dangerous when it came to accidental overdoses, and withdrawal from it could lead to hallucinations and seizures. We also speak with former tradwife Enitza Templeton, who tells us about the journey she went through – choosing a "traditional" lifestyle and submitting to her husband – but ultimately realizing how unfulfilling it was. "I was just kind of a shell of a human and a robot version of myself," she says. Join us for part two of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Serax ad)

Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 2 When Never-Ending Domesticity Isn't As Blissful As It Seems There's a lot we remember today about midcentury America. The celebrated sights and sounds. The famous leaders and infamous politicians. And the way that image of the happy homemaker, with her feminine hairdo and fit-and-flare dresses, was our answer to the hardship of World War II and the looming anxieties of the Cold War. But today, as we see the re-emergence of tradwives, it's worth noting something we often forget: The misery of women who were relegated to the home. "There's a lot of isolation, there's a lot of unrest in their spirits and in their souls," says Kristen Thompson, who wrote her graduate master's thesis at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, on mid-20th-century housewives. "They had these higher dreams and aspirations, and they're now living in a society that's pushing them back." In this episode, Thompson tells us about how housewives often turned to tranquilizers, particularly Milltown, which was advertised in popular magazines – Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, House Beautiful – as a "happy" pill. In reality, Milltown was addictive, dangerous when it came to accidental overdoses, and withdrawal from it could lead to hallucinations and seizures. We also speak with former tradwife Enitza Templeton, who tells us about the journey she went through – choosing a "traditional" lifestyle and submitting to her husband – but ultimately realizing how unfulfilling it was. "I was just kind of a shell of a human and a robot version of myself," she says. Join us for part two of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Serax ad)

When Never-Ending Domesticity Isn't As Blissful As It Seems - Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 2

Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 1 Meet the Cold War-Era Housewife, Complete with Pearls and Aprons With men back from World War II, working women are thrust back into the home – and become a potent new symbol of the American way of life. With so much surprising (and complicated) interest in "tradwives," we decided to go back in time to understand the history of the American housewife in the first place. We were blown away by what we learned. It turns out that the fantastical image of the American housewife, which sprung up after World War 11, was just that: A fantasy. While women were once encouraged to be Rosie the Riveter, as soon as the men came back from war, the wives were pushed back into the home. The newly minted "housewife" was everywhere – in magazine ads, on TV shows, and in home economics filmstrips watched by school kids. "She's doing her housework in a tidy little dress with a little apron and high heels, as if that's the way women do their housework," says Elaine Tyler May, who studied housewives for decades at the University of Minnesota. As we learn in the podcast, the "housewife" was nothing more than an invention. As the Cold War raged, the United States competed with the Soviet Union – and in a show of one-upmanship, took to flaunting the American housewife as a sign of our cultural superiority. "That was really quite deliberately about the Cold War," May says. The housewife with her shiny new blenders, toasters and coffee makers "was promoted as part of the American way of life, the American dream." The problem? American women were never consulted. Join us in part one of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Ladies' Home Journal, Wikimedia Commons)

Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 1 Meet the Cold War-Era Housewife, Complete with Pearls and Aprons With men back from World War II, working women are thrust back into the home – and become a potent new symbol of the American way of life. With so much surprising (and complicated) interest in "tradwives," we decided to go back in time to understand the history of the American housewife in the first place. We were blown away by what we learned. It turns out that the fantastical image of the American housewife, which sprung up after World War 11, was just that: A fantasy. While women were once encouraged to be Rosie the Riveter, as soon as the men came back from war, the wives were pushed back into the home. The newly minted "housewife" was everywhere – in magazine ads, on TV shows, and in home economics filmstrips watched by school kids. "She's doing her housework in a tidy little dress with a little apron and high heels, as if that's the way women do their housework," says Elaine Tyler May, who studied housewives for decades at the University of Minnesota. As we learn in the podcast, the "housewife" was nothing more than an invention. As the Cold War raged, the United States competed with the Soviet Union – and in a show of one-upmanship, took to flaunting the American housewife as a sign of our cultural superiority. "That was really quite deliberately about the Cold War," May says. The housewife with her shiny new blenders, toasters and coffee makers "was promoted as part of the American way of life, the American dream." The problem? American women were never consulted. Join us in part one of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Ladies' Home Journal, Wikimedia Commons)

Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 1 Meet the Cold War-Era Housewife, Complete with Pearls and Aprons With men back from World War II, working women are thrust back into the home – and become a potent new symbol of the American way of life. With so much surprising (and complicated) interest in "tradwives," we decided to go back in time to understand the history of the American housewife in the first place. We were blown away by what we learned. It turns out that the fantastical image of the American housewife, which sprung up after World War 11, was just that: A fantasy. While women were once encouraged to be Rosie the Riveter, as soon as the men came back from war, the wives were pushed back into the home. The newly minted "housewife" was everywhere – in magazine ads, on TV shows, and in home economics filmstrips watched by school kids. "She's doing her housework in a tidy little dress with a little apron and high heels, as if that's the way women do their housework," says Elaine Tyler May, who studied housewives for decades at the University of Minnesota. As we learn in the podcast, the "housewife" was nothing more than an invention. As the Cold War raged, the United States competed with the Soviet Union – and in a show of one-upmanship, took to flaunting the American housewife as a sign of our cultural superiority. "That was really quite deliberately about the Cold War," May says. The housewife with her shiny new blenders, toasters and coffee makers "was promoted as part of the American way of life, the American dream." The problem? American women were never consulted. Join us in part one of Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife. (Photo credit: Ladies' Home Journal, Wikimedia Commons)

Meet the Cold War-Era Housewife, Complete with Pearls and Aprons - Invented: The Myth of the American Housewife - Episode 1

In our final episode, we explore our original food – the culinary traditions of Turtle Island, which is how many Indigenous cultures refer to North America. With many celebrations planned for the 250th anniversary of the United States, we thought it would be a particularly poignant time to look back to Native food. "Food is a gift from the land in our way of thinking," says Jill Falcon Ramaker, at Montana State University. "If we're able to receive those gifts and work with the land, tending wild plots, taking care of buffalo, then we're expressing our food sovereignty." Ramaker is one of many experts who told us about an awakening that's happening when it comes to Indigenous food, which was plentiful and important for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. In Oakland, California, Crystal Wahpepah is serving dishes like hand-harvested wild rice fritters and "three sisters" veggie bowls at her restaurant, <a href= "https://wahpepahskitchen.com/">Wahpepah's Kitchen</a>. And in Minneapolis, a restaurant called <a href= "https://owamni.com/">Owamni</a>, co-founded by Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson, specializes in "pre-contact" indigenous foods (no wheat flour, dairy, refined sugar, or factory-farmed beef, pork and chicken). While these restaurants are winning accolades, it's safe to say that many Americans are profoundly unfamiliar with Native food. By some estimates, there are less than 20 Indigenous restaurants in the U.S. "If something isn't practiced, it disappears," says Lois Ellen Frank, co-owner of <a href= "https://redmesacuisine.com/">Red Mesa Cuisine</a> in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a small catering company specializing in Indigenous food and cultural education. She's also the author of "<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Foods-Southwest-Indian-Nations-Contemporary/dp/1580083986">Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations,</a>" the first Native American cuisine cookbook to win a James Beard award, back in 2003. "The only way to keep these foods alive, the only way to perpetuate them, is if people make it." While much of Indigenous cuisine has been ignored, forgotten, and nearly wiped out, we found early documented examples – including the "<a href= "https://search.lib.uiowa.edu/permalink/f/1t0qp29/01IOWA_ALMA21322071620002771">The Indian Cook Book</a>," published in 1933 by the Indian Women's Club of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this episode, we talk to Frank about her mentor, Juanita Tiger Kavena, author of the 1980 cookbook "<a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Hopi-Cookery-Juanita-Tiger-Kavena/dp/0816506183">Hopi Cookery</a>." And we also speak to Robert Caldwell at the University at Buffalo about modern-day Indigenous cuisine. (Photo: Lois Ellen Frank by Daphnehougard, Wikimedia Commons)

In our final episode, we explore our original food – the culinary traditions of Turtle Island, which is how many Indigenous cultures refer to North America. With many celebrations planned for the 250th anniversary of the United States, we thought it would be a particularly poignant time to look back to Native food. "Food is a gift from the land in our way of thinking," says Jill Falcon Ramaker, at Montana State University. "If we're able to receive those gifts and work with the land, tending wild plots, taking care of buffalo, then we're expressing our food sovereignty." Ramaker is one of many experts who told us about an awakening that's happening when it comes to Indigenous food, which was plentiful and important for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. In Oakland, California, Crystal Wahpepah is serving dishes like hand-harvested wild rice fritters and "three sisters" veggie bowls at her restaurant, Wahpepah's Kitchen. And in Minneapolis, a restaurant called Owamni, co-founded by Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson, specializes in "pre-contact" indigenous foods (no wheat flour, dairy, refined sugar, or factory-farmed beef, pork and chicken). While these restaurants are winning accolades, it's safe to say that many Americans are profoundly unfamiliar with Native food. By some estimates, there are less than 20 Indigenous restaurants in the U.S. "If something isn't practiced, it disappears," says Lois Ellen Frank, co-owner of Red Mesa Cuisine in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a small catering company specializing in Indigenous food and cultural education. She's also the author of "Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations," the first Native American cuisine cookbook to win a James Beard award, back in 2003. "The only way to keep these foods alive, the only way to perpetuate them, is if people make it." While much of Indigenous cuisine has been ignored, forgotten, and nearly wiped out, we found early documented examples – including the "The Indian Cook Book," published in 1933 by the Indian Women's Club of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this episode, we talk to Frank about her mentor, Juanita Tiger Kavena, author of the 1980 cookbook "Hopi Cookery." And we also speak to Robert Caldwell at the University at Buffalo about modern-day Indigenous cuisine. (Photo: Lois Ellen Frank by Daphnehougard, Wikimedia Commons)

In our final episode, we explore our original food – the culinary traditions of Turtle Island, which is how many Indigenous cultures refer to North America. With many celebrations planned for the 250th anniversary of the United States, we thought it would be a particularly poignant time to look back to Native food. "Food is a gift from the land in our way of thinking," says Jill Falcon Ramaker, at Montana State University. "If we're able to receive those gifts and work with the land, tending wild plots, taking care of buffalo, then we're expressing our food sovereignty." Ramaker is one of many experts who told us about an awakening that's happening when it comes to Indigenous food, which was plentiful and important for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. In Oakland, California, Crystal Wahpepah is serving dishes like hand-harvested wild rice fritters and "three sisters" veggie bowls at her restaurant, <a href="https://wahpepahskitchen.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wahpepah's Kitchen</a>. And in Minneapolis, a restaurant called <a href="https://owamni.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Owamni</a>, co-founded by Sean Sherman and Dana Thompson, specializes in "pre-contact" indigenous foods (no wheat flour, dairy, refined sugar, or factory-farmed beef, pork and chicken). While these restaurants are winning accolades, it's safe to say that many Americans are profoundly unfamiliar with Native food. By some estimates, there are less than 20 Indigenous restaurants in the U.S. "If something isn't practiced, it disappears," says Lois Ellen Frank, co-owner of <a href="https://redmesacuisine.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Red Mesa Cuisine</a> in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a small catering company specializing in Indigenous food and cultural education. She's also the author of "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Foods-Southwest-Indian-Nations-Contemporary/dp/1580083986" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations,</a>" the first Native American cuisine cookbook to win a James Beard award, back in 2003. "The only way to keep these foods alive, the only way to perpetuate them, is if people make it." While much of Indigenous cuisine has been ignored, forgotten, and nearly wiped out, we found early documented examples – including the "<a href="https://search.lib.uiowa.edu/permalink/f/1t0qp29/01IOWA_ALMA21322071620002771" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Indian Cook Book</a>," published in 1933 by the Indian Women's Club of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In this episode, we talk to Frank about her mentor, Juanita Tiger Kavena, author of the 1980 cookbook "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hopi-Cookery-Juanita-Tiger-Kavena/dp/0816506183" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hopi Cookery</a>." And we also speak to Robert Caldwell at the University at Buffalo about modern-day Indigenous cuisine. (Photo: Lois Ellen Frank by Daphnehougard, Wikimedia Commons)

Seasoned: Women Culinary Pioneers – Indigenous Chefs

The San Diego entrepreneur launched Hera Hub, a co-working space company supporting women entrepreneurs, after a near-fatal car crash pushed her to add meaning to her life.

The San Diego entrepreneur launched Hera Hub, a co-working space company supporting women entrepreneurs, after a near-fatal car crash pushed her to add meaning to her life.

Turning Setbacks into Triumphs - Felena Hanson - Ep 01

Coming Soon from The Story Exchange.

The Story Exchange - Teaser

The Story Exchange podcast showcases the stories and strategies of entrepreneurial women from San Diego to New York and beyond. Hosted by Colleen DeBaise. TheStoryExchange.org

Share The Story Exchange

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Story Exchange

The Story Exchange episodes

About The Story Exchange

More shows like The Story Exchange

Fresh Air

Bon Appétit

Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

Pivot

The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

The Sporkful

Good Food

Radio Cherry Bombe

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

The Daily

#SistersInLaw

On with Kara Swisher

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

Bobby on the Beat