The Suburban Dream
After World War II many Americans had children, because they were confident that the future would be bright and peaceful. At the same time developers like William Levitt started to buy land just outside the cities and use mass production techniques to build modern and inexpensive single-family houses there. Like this the baby-boom went hand in hand with the suburban boom.
In the 1950’s were 15 million new single-family houses built in the suburbs. The population in the suburbs grew rapidly. When moving to the suburbs it was necessary to get a car. Having a car meant higher social status, and it was desired to have the biggest and the shiniest car. Having a car also gave you mobility.
These houses were open and had informal living rooms, which were called “family rooms” and backyards. It made them perfect for young families and they got nicknames like “Fertility Valley” and “The Rabbit Hutch”. The suburbs had a negative effect on women and the gender roles, because it urged the American women to leave the workforce and focus on their job as mothers and wives. This resulted in a great deal of dissatisfaction among women who wished for a more fulfilling life.
Sources:
Post-War Paradoxes
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tupperware-consumer/
The 1950’s