Blame World War II

Did you know that “The New American Woman, equipped with spurs and whimpering husband, made her destructive but unchosen blow with the rise of technology and the Second World War”? Well, an opinion piece in the Pioneer on November 21, 1963 claimed that this was indeed the case. The decline in the “oppositeness of sexes,” the commonality of homosexuals, and the general break down of western society were mentioned as some of the few results of the Second World War that Bill Turley pointed out in his editorial. The general homophobia and sexism of this article is exacerbated by the lack of any apparent backlash. No one bothered to contradict Turley’s claims that World War II broke the American home, indicating a general acceptance of sexism and homophobia on campus—if not a reified environment of homophobia and sexism at Whitman.

1963-11-21