How Becoming an Adult Today Differs for a Female Fifty Years Ago

Becoming an adult today differs greatly compared to becoming an adult in the 1950’s. There have been many historical, cultural and social developments since that time. The experience of becoming an adult not only relies on their own individual expectations but it also heavily relies on the social environment and attitudes associated with that society. Cohen (1997: 180-181) observes that this idea of youth has to constantly be modified in the light of the changing situations of the times. Since Cohen made this observation there has been plenty of acknowledgment of the effects of social change on young people’s lives in many avenues by Cartmel and Furlong in 1997 and Dwyer and Wyn in 2001 (cited in Wyn 2004: 6). Wyn (2004: 7) also believes that young people’s choices, concerns and attitudes are the response to the world they are living in. However she does argue that many of the structures that create thinking about growing up come from an era where different situations and options occurred (Wyn 2004: 6). It is those different options and situations that will be discussed in this essay. The four main themes I believe to be important are family, education, and the workforce. Each of these elements of society are crucial to the experience of growing up into becoming an adult.

The fifties were described by Murphy (2006: 186) were full of hope and prosperity but with a subconscious fear that WW111 was to erupt. For many, it was simply described as being boring where nothing happened (Murphy 2006: 186). The fifties saw the introduction of television, supermarkets, Australia’s first Olympics and a marriage and fertility boom. There was certainly a lot going on unlike what Murphy points out. Family combines several elements that are going to be discussed. Fertility, marriage and the family structures are what will be looked at.

De Vaus (2006: 231) used the results from the Australian Social Attitudes Survey from 2003 to define what the term family meant, 98.8 per cent of the 2281 adults asked believed family was a married couple with children. However he also claims that it isn’t the only formation for the term family. If you had asked the same question in the 50’s, there would have only been one answer, a married couple with children. Murphy describes this concept as a �nuclear family’ (Murphy 2006: 188). This �nuclear family’ was the only type of family 50 years ago however now; there are many other types. Single parent families and same sex couples with children are also more acceptable. De Vaus (2006: 232) also notes that the way families are formed have changed dramatically.

The social expectation in the 50’s were clear, a young man and lady would meet, get serious, become engaged, get married, buy and set up a house together and then have 3 or 4 children closely after the marriage

(De Vaus 2006: 232). Now we see that women are not getting married as early or having children as early or having as many children than they did in the 50’s. The fifties were apart of the marriage increase that began in the forties. The percentage of woman aged from 35 to 44 who were not married dropped 16 percent in 1933 to 6.5 percent in 1961 (Murphy 2006: 188). First-time marriage rates for women who were 20-24 years rose greatly between 1921-1970, but fell dramatically 30 years later (AIFS n.d.). Both sexes were marrying younger and this �marriage boom’ stimulated the baby boom, housing development and the demand to fill those houses with consumer goods.

Because of this marriage boom, women in the 50’s were having far more babies than the women do today. The Department of Family and Community Services (n.d.) showed statistics that showed the total fertility rate was at its highest in 1961 at 3.6 children per mother. De Vaus (2006: 233) agrees with statistic and point out that it was the postwar baby boom. He also observes that now, one in four young women will end up being childless (De Vaus 2006: 233). The most recent fertility rate on record from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (n.d.) and Kippen and McDonald (2000: 11) state the current total fertility rate is at 1.7, which means that since the 50’s, it has halved. Another reason for this low rate is because many women are not having women until they are in their late twenties or thirties. The median age at childbearing has increased to 30.7 years in 2005 according to ABS (n.d.).

Again, during the 50’s because of all the marriage and baby booms, the percentage of private houses owned outright or being bought via a mortgage grew almost 22 percent from 1933 to 1961 (Murphy 2006: 188). Now however, most are buying houses with mortgages as the price of real estate is increasing more than the average person can afford. Although some bought houses with mortgages in the 50’s, the government was able to keep the interest rates low whereas now, due to the American debt crisis, the interest rates associated with home loans continue to raise.

The experience of becoming an adult has changed substantially since the 1950’s because the pressure of creating a family whilst people are in their early twenties has been relaxed and people are waiting until they are older. However for a young female in the 50’s it could be considered to be the opposite as it was simply what everyone did and it was expected of you to have a husband, children and a house while you were young. Unlike today were many young females are either studying or in the workforce, the young women of the fifties were in the kitchen or laundry or looking after their children.

Statistics from the Department of Education show that in the beginning of last year, (172,512) 56.7 per cent of commencing university students in Australia were female (2007: 2) whereas in 1956 only 2,830 females enrolled to commence university studies (ABS 1958: 471). The idea of completing high school and going to university wasn’t a reality during the 50’s. Females generally let school when they were 15 or 16 and went out to find a job. Once they were married they were either encouraged or forced to finish working and look after the family. However now, that really is a thing of the past. Last year more females completed high school than males (DEEW 2008: 66-71). Females today are more encouraged to finish school or at least take some form of certification to help them with job prospects and their overall career. Many would say that it would be impossible to gain a profession without some form of further education. There are more educational facilities and resources now than there used to be in the fifties. School populations declined during the fifties and land