Over The Years, Morals and Modesty

                                              Over The Years

                                 Remembering Morals and Modesty

Eileen Renders

   As a senior who can remember way back when I would like to share a few memories of some of the d notable changes that have taken place. To begin with, there were many large families with seven to ten children, and not all were Catholic. It was of course before “birth-control” was made available to people. Therefore, it was a man’s world as he was the breadwinner while mom was home with the kids.

   Certain rules were obvious, such as a Bar or Tavern only allowed women to enter through the back door to purchase and then leave. Whenever children of a particular family were all in school, and the om ventured out to work, the Interviewer often would ask biased questions of a woman, such as; “Are you pregnant?”, “Does your husband mind if you work?” This type of interview I experienced myself.

   With the availability of birth control in the Fifties, family life changed. Birth control prevented many large families, including Catholic families. Many women who were suppressed by husbands who ruled the nest because he paid for everything, motivated women to prevent undesired pregnancies and go out to work to earn respect and independence. It is referred to as “women’s Liberation.” The divorce rate was high, and it was a bitter-sweet time for American families.

   Part of the movement showed women deciding to go “braless” and take up cigarette smoking, and on the bright side, women fought for equal pay and found jobs that could offer equal pay, such as in Sales jobs that paid commissioned pay. Real Estate became a woman’s salvation, and still today in many areas, women surpass men as Realtors.

   Another positive outcome is that women fought to enroll their daughters in college, which had previously only been offered to the young men in a family.

   There are many aspects of the past that I miss, such as how a young woman would blush when receiving a compliment, We were very uncomfortable in a Doctor’s office when being examined. Teenagers wore loose clothing, bobby sox, and non-revealing clothing. When a young girl got married in the neighborhood and the same year gave birth to a child, neighbors counted the months adding up to the birth to see whether she had sex before the marriage as maybe “she had to get married.”  She may have been thought of as an individual without morals. No unmarried couples were living together.

    Saturday night young people went to a local Dance Hall. Today, whether it is athletes, divers, singers, or celebrities, their dress always seems to include exposing their derriere. An evening dress must show cleavage, being sexy is important to being female, or so it seems.

   Modesty and morals were abundant in women, and girls learned what was expected of them at a young age. 

   What I miss in the Fifties and Sixties is how young females were respected and admired for their modesty and high standards and were not judged or noticed by exposed areas of their bodies. Women of today are educated, talented, and beautiful, and have succeeded and achieved in many fields. The anatomy of the female body has not changed over the decades, and we are not in competition with one another. 

   Taking the example of God’s mother, our mother, we note immediately of her modesty and humility. She is the woman we might emulate and teach our daughters to be like, and in so doing we are pleasing to God.