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!”
Why Study Home Economics (clip)
Includes sociological research in comments.
Department of Education. Excerpt from the “And Down Will Come Baby” documentary. “And Down Will Come Baby” is a video about the effects of exposure to alcohol and other drugs on the fetus during pregnancy. Creative Commons license: Public Domain
Published on Mar 8, 2013
Despite platitudes about living in a race-blind society, a new study from Brandeis University shows that the wealth gap between Whites and Blacks tripled in the last 25 years. The study surveyed 1,700 households of working age between 1984 and 2009. There’s no better to see how wealth and race meet face-to-face than Washington, DC. RT producer Gavino Garay sits down with Maurice Jackson, Professor of African American Studies at Georgetown University, to understand why, after so many years of racial ‘equality,’ Blacks are nowhere near the same socioeconomic status as Whites.
I heard about this story and decided it was a great subject for a megapost.
Published on Feb 26, 2013
“Pop That” is the name of a rap video featuring a blinged out, booty-grabbing rapper. It’s making the rounds on YouTube right now.Nothing new, right? Well, the issue in this case is that the emcee grabbing the mic is not a man with gobs of street cred. He’s 10-years-old.In “Pop That” he says, “Coke ain’t a bad word.” Some of his other videos show him swearing and slapping a womanâs bottom.
Published on Feb 28, 2013
From movies and TV shows to songs on the radio, there have been fewer opportunities in traditional media for Asian-American entertainers. But the Internet, especially YouTube, has changed that. Elizabeth Lee reports from Los Angeles, a place that has seen an explosion of Asian-American YouTube celebrities.
Published on Feb 22, 2013
No prayer room for Muslims. That’s a prospect that could take place at a university in London. These are Muslim students signing a petition against the university’s policies to restrict their access to prayer facilities on campus. Muslim students here feel discriminated against, and want a room to congregate for Friday prayers. Previously they had to find empty classrooms to pray together, but now they are making an open stand.
Published on Feb 22, 2013
So far in the first two months of this year, gun deaths in Chicago have already outpaced last year’s explosive rate. Elizabeth Brackett of PBS member station WTTW explores the escalating public health crisis in Chicago due to the high rates of gun violence.
Published on Feb 22, 2013
February is Black History Month in the United States. It draws attention and pays tribute to people, organizations and events that have shaped the history of African Americans and their contributions to American society. VOA’s Chris Simkins reports on a black women’s organization that has fought for civil rights and has made a difference in the lives of many for more than a century.
Published on Feb 20, 2013
Caught between the promise of prosperity that natural gas extraction in the Karoo Basin might bring and concerns about environmental and health impacts, citizen resistance to fracking is growing in the Republic of South Africa. Earth Focus correspondent Jeff Barbee reports.
