Follies of the Madmen #526

Shhh! You're not supposed to notice that!

Back in the day young people were trying to look older and more mature… as opposed to today, when everyone tries to look like a teenager.

Maybe all the young chicks they could find begged off, saying this was too lame. So the ad guys had to backfill with their wives.

Hey, don't be ageist - middle-aged women are allowed to have a sleep-over, too!

A fast Google reveals only 1.2% of women in America in the 1950s went to college. I would assume (always a danger, but I do keep doing it) most were very serious-minded and cared little about their looks and/or it was because of their looks they didn't get married right out of high school.

Perhaps it should be kept in mind that being attractive probably excluded them from most dorm slumber parties because they were more interested in dating.

From personal observation -- I started college full-time in 1971, and the models in that ad look younger and more attractive than any of the women in my classes.

@Richard Bos -- I think everyone has seen at least a few "co-ed slumber party" movies, but those are fictional. You're not supposed to notice the obvious 'maturity' of the actresses, or their stretch marks, droopiness, etc..

Phideaux, I was told the story of a guy's mother who graduated from Tulane Univ. in chemical engineering in 1947. Unusual in many ways.

@Virtual -- Women graduates in STEM were quite rare, so each one was noteworthy in some way. The number of obstacles they had to clear just to get in means they had to be very strong Type A personalities. I wouldn't expect any of them to get their degrees and then sink into the obscurity of subservient housewifery.

My grandmother graduated from college in the 1920s with a degree in elementary education. Not STEM, but very unusual for the time.