1850s, not 1950s. I have always had a hard time taking feminist critiques of America very seriously. This is likely because of the house I grew up in. My father was quite traditional but women were treated with respect. When we first moved to Idaho, along with a lot of pleasant surprises (teenagers saying "excuse me" and generally treating strangers with respect; the willingness to help strangers in need of help) my wife and daughter both noticed a just below the surface (and sometimes breaching the surface) misogyny. Not traditional sex roles like I grew up with, but men who clearly held women in contempt.
I saw an example recently that made my blood run a little cold. Coming home from my daughter's place in Caldwell, we saw a pretty stereotypical motorcyclist couple. Scruffy but older. The woman riding bitch (as the stereotypical Hells Angel would say) was wearing a motorcycle jacket with one word on it: property.
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