From Victorian Prudishness to Individual Vibrators

Longing for the "Good Old Days" when you did not have to spend another half trashing mountains of spam, and half your life parked on the freeway to get your mail? Does your blood pressure rise at the end of the morning whenever you make an effort to have a quiet meal in a and the inconsiderate jerk at another table is hollering into his cellphone? Take a break using this frenetic insanity and enjoy REMEMBRANCES OF TIMES PAST, by Marta Hiatt, a nostalgic collection of stories and images recalling the way life was in early portion of the 20th Century, when life was not as complicated.Take a sentimental journey back to a time of Model-T Fords, stay-at-home-moms, vinyl long-playing documents, telegrams, radio times, strict principles of etiquette, and manual typewriters. Hiatt has collected hundreds of personal stories of "the traditional days," in her charming book, illustrated with 250 black and white classic images that vividly provide the stories to life."My cousin and I were reminiscing one day about how exactly we used to spend virtually all day Saturday helping mom move the wash through a wringer repeatedly to obtain the water out," Hiatt says. "What a chore that was! We also mentioned how we'd to make soap suds to do the laundry in the days before detergent was invented. We put the tough bar of soap in a little wire grate and swished it around for approximately 10 minutes to get enough suds. After our talk I thought it'd be interesting to put together an entire book about the so-called "good previous days" by asking friends and family to contribute their stories."Dr. Hiatt compared her youth in the '40s your today:oYou have a cell-phone, we had a party-line, and everyone on our line might hear in, generally surreptitiously.oYou deliver e-mail, we delivered telegrams.oYou enjoy your audio on a pocket-size iPod, ours came on 12-inch vinyl records.oIf you need information, you just Google it, but we'd to locate through index cards at the regional library.Friends and relatives brought interesting, individual reports such as this:"In our family we usually ate meals together mother and my sisters and I organized them, and we cleared up afterward too, while the boys played games and father read the document vibrator. We all stood around it and sometimes my mom played the violin after supper and sang. We were creative we played board games together as a family group, and activities were devised by people. On Sunday nights we listened to radio stations programs like "The Shadow Knows" and "The Lone Ranger," "Jack Benny," "Fred Allen," and all sat round the dining table. Of course there was not any TELEVISION, so we spoke to each other.Hiatt feels the greatest cultural adjustments were the hippie revolution of the '60s and the feminist revolution of the '70s, sparked by Betty Freidan's book "The Feminine Mystique." "After this," states Hiatt, "women gained a great deal of freedom. Before now, job listings in the document were separated by sex, and women can only make an application for "female only" jobs. Although there's still a long way to go, today we are even referring to the possibility of a lady president, so there have already been huge changes."The '60s creation changed our entire culture. We went from being a really uneasy society governed by religion and strict rules of etiquette, to anything goes, and "do your own personal thing". --From bathing suits that covered a woman's entire body, to bikinis and thongs, and from ties and button-down white shirts at work to 'relaxed Fridays .' Everyone was no longer scared of 'what would the neighbors think '? or shocked if they made a cultural faux pas."In discussing "Sex and Social Mores," Hiatt explores the modifications from Victorian prudishness to private vibes, and from corsets to Wonder Bras. She recalls: "It is surprising to understand that, before the feminist movement, it absolutely was legitimate for a person to rape his wife. Her wifely duty was considered her wifely duty to submit to his sexual demands whenever and however he wanted, whether she wanted to or not. And a spouse couldn't obtain a divorce until he or she could show either adultery or mental cruelty. Partner beating or chronic alcoholism were not adequate reasons for divorce. In case a woman was not married by 25, she was named an maid," and was frequently refused entry in to university or promotion to administration, which was reserved for males.Hiatt states: "Life was harsher in the 20th Century, nonetheless it was also much simpler."