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The Way to a Man's Heart is Through His StomachBy Cynthia Myerberg
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In the early to mid 1900's, the most acceptable career for a woman was marriage. The popular women’s publications during this time, always projecting a white, middle-class life style as the universal norm, were filled with a plethora of advice on how to get and keep a man. These articles, ads, and lists always stressed good cooking skills as a major strategy for getting a husband and for keeping him happy.
After World War II, women became the target audience for the post-war economy and technology. Images of domesticity in the 1950's were linked to women’s roles as consumers. Nowhere was this post-war propaganda more evident than in women’s periodicals. Since women were considered more vulnerable to emotional appeals, advertisements for food products and appliances were directed at them, exploiting their worst fear of losing their husbands because of sloppy housekeeping or poor cooking skills. Ads of women selflessly holding up their offerings to please HIM filled the pages of popular women’s magazines. A wave of new products from Mix Masters to Spam promised marital bliss to all women who understood that THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH. |