The advertisement actually called her Suzi Homemaker!
RUBY TUESDAY
SUZI HOMEMAKER
Sauce for the goose, but not the gander.
Oh what powerful propaganda!
I was 'sucked-in' well and truly,
Like every other Jane and Julie.
In the Second World War the 'girls' excelled;
They found that they could plough and weld
And fly a plane and drive a tank
And 'man' the counters at the bank.
But, come the Peace, they were not needed;
But, come the Peace, they were not needed;
The cries of the 'demobbed' men were heeded.
'They can't take mens' jobs! It's not fair!
What will we do if the jobs aren't there?
Back to the kitchen, girls, quick smart!
Your job is baking apple tart!'
And so girls were dismissed, forthwith,
And so grew up the potent myth
That all a girl was equipped to do
Was sweep the floor and cook a stew
And make the beds and tie shoe-laces!
She'd better not put on airs and graces!
Proper work was reserved for men.
Sauce for the cockerel not the hen.
I left school consistently harried
By the words 'You'll soon get married'.
That was the only true ambition,
That was the only right condition.
And, to this end, one needed 'Love'
To attain the perfection shown above.
One 'hooked' a man, put on a pinny,
And then was treated like a ninny;
One whose kitchen was Paradise,
Where everything was 'very nice'.
Pretty knick-knacks, shining chrome;
Suzi, the Maker of the Home.
Not being very domesticated,
The whole idea of it was hated,
And yet I felt the odd one out,
An 'unnatural' girl, without a doubt.
*
Propaganda! A powerful tool
Utilised by those who rule,
To whip the populace into shape.
It's only the clever who escape.
Even as I write, manipulation
Is taking place in every nation.
'Brain washing'....call it what you will,
Everywhere in overkill.
And, of course, it's very fine
For those who want to toe the line.
Good luck to them if the powers that be
Tune in to their mentality!
But pity all who fret and doubt
And end up being the odd one out.
Victims are, in the end, to blame
For allowing themselves to be pawns in the game.
*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Simple Alphabet
NEIGHBOUR
I once had a row with a neighbour
Who accused me of tossing the caber.
I gave him a whack
And he whacked me one back
And now we're both doing Hard Labour!
*
Suzi, the Maker of the Home.
Not being very domesticated,
The whole idea of it was hated,
And yet I felt the odd one out,
An 'unnatural' girl, without a doubt.
*
Propaganda! A powerful tool
Utilised by those who rule,
To whip the populace into shape.
It's only the clever who escape.
Even as I write, manipulation
Is taking place in every nation.
'Brain washing'....call it what you will,
Everywhere in overkill.
And, of course, it's very fine
For those who want to toe the line.
Good luck to them if the powers that be
Tune in to their mentality!
But pity all who fret and doubt
And end up being the odd one out.
Victims are, in the end, to blame
For allowing themselves to be pawns in the game.
*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Simple Alphabet
NEIGHBOUR
I once had a row with a neighbour
Who accused me of tossing the caber.
I gave him a whack
And he whacked me one back
And now we're both doing Hard Labour!
*
2 comments:
I wasn't born until after "the war" but I was expected to grow up to be a homemaker. However, I was also expected to hold down a full-time job. My first husband worked from 10pm to 4am, and I started work at 8am, but I, the little ninny, got up at 3am so I could make dinner for him.
Needless to say, that didn't last very long.
Love your limerick, too. Being accused of tossing a caber is hilarious, but I always tell people who seek vengeance: "It doesn't matter how much he deserves it, if you beat him to a pulp, you'll end up in jail and he'll go free, and justice will not be served."
K
Suzi Homemaker, was spot on....
I made sure my girls knew that they could be anything they wanted to be, the only thing that would hold them back...was themselves. I have one daughter who is a welder, two work for the cities they live in.. in the parks and the 3rd works in a plane parts manufactor, she knows where every part is from the start to shipping.
but I remember in my senior year,(1957) Betty Crocker had an essay contest. I wrote how I thought someday there would be machines that would do most of the cooking and women would be out of the kitchen. My teacher wouldn't send it in, as she didn't think it was realistic. I went on to do the women things, of office, raising children and nurses aide, but in the mix was smashing cars for scrap iron, which made me the happiest. lol... Thanks for the poem, as always.. right on..
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