When Will Society Stop Telling Women Who to Be?

When Will Society Stop Telling Women Who to Be?

The same society that told women in the 1950s that their place was in the home raising children now says their place is in a corporation until they’re 70. Back then, pride came from homemaking.

Today, pride is supposed to come from high-pressure careers and financial independence. The message has changed, but the pressure remains the same.

So which version of society was right?

In the 1950s, women were encouraged—often forced—to embrace domesticity. They were told that real fulfillment came from being a good wife and mother. It sounded noble but came at the cost of autonomy, economic freedom, and self-expression.

Today’s model tells women to build careers, delay family, and measure success by salary, titles, and personal branding. But is this truly freedom—or just a new kind of expectation, dressed in modern language?

If one generation was shamed for wanting more than motherhood, today’s women are often shamed for wanting motherhood at all.

Both eras claim to offer empowerment, but both rely on a script. And any script that tells women what they should want—whether it’s a white picket fence or a corner office—is just a different kind of box.

In 50 years, it’s likely that people will question today’s constructs the same way we question the ones from the 1950s.

They might ask:

• Why was burnout normalized?

• Why was motherhood treated like a burden?

• Why was personal value so often tied to productivity?

Maybe the real issue isn’t which era got it right.Maybe the better question is:When will society stop deciding for women and start trusting them to decide for themselves?