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Centron CorporationWhy Study Home Economics? (1955)

Two teenage girls learn how a knowledge of homemaking can contribute to the enrichment of life.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Centron Corporation
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Gender roles; Home economics

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: doowopbob - - April 24, 2009
Subject: ECCH....!
Two Of The Most Butt-Ugly Girls I've Ever Seen, Ramble On About Being Slaves For The Men In Their Future....More Than Likely, They Became Butch Lesbians....!....

Shotlist

Presents two teen-age girls as they learn how a knowledge of homemaking can contribute to the enrichment of life. They also learn about the vocational opportunities available to home economic students.
Ken Smith notes: This fine film attempts to cloak fifties "happy homemaker" stereotyping in the mantle of science. It opens as Janice and Carol, two sisters, try to decide which classes they want to attend next semester. Janice remarks that she wants to take some courses in Home Ec, to which Carol is aghast. "Home Economics?" she scoffs. "Why in the world do you want to take Home Economics?" Janice is not easily dissuaded, and replies "Why? Because that's something I'm gonna need to KNOW. If I'm gonna be a homemaker the rest of my life, I want to know what I'm doing!"
To confirm her point of view, Janice visits "Miss Jenkins," her Home Ec teacher, who explains that Home Economics isn't just baking and sewing; it teaches "the fundamental principals of food buying" and "the psychology of clothing." "Present-day textiles cannot be judged with confidence just by casual examination," Miss Jenkins cautions, as we see shots of girls peering through microscopes and stretching cloth swatches on a mechanical rack. If Janice decides not to get married ("at least, not right away" Miss Jenkins chuckles) she can apply her Home Ec training to college courses such as chemistry and bacteriology, or so this film insists.
"Home economics training teaches ways of developing democratic practices within the home," Miss Jenkins adds, patriotically, but she doesn't have to say any more to convince Janice. "Anyone who's going to be married and a homemaker would be foolish NOT to take Home Economics!"

SEXISM GENDER ROLES WOMAN WOMEN TEENAGERS HOME ECONOMICS TEACHERS HIGH SCHOOL CLOTHING DECORATIONS HOUSE DESIGN INTERIOR DECORATION MONEY MANAGEMENT BUDGETING FAMILIES COLLEGES BUSINESS