Being a Woman in the 1950s and the 1960s: Women and Everyday Life in Ginger and Rosa

The present study aims to focus on the relationship between gender and everyday life and reflect on the meanings of being a woman in the 1950s and the 1960s over Sally Potter’s film Ginger and Rosa (2012a). The 1950s and the 1960s are marked with significant changes and transformations in terms of the social statuses and everyday lives of women in many countries all around the world. Women began to question their gendered roles and performances, resist “doing gender” and speak out “the problem that has no name” in these years, which would then evolve into the second-wave feminist movement—a significant historical period in women’s history. Therefore, an analysis of this specific period is considered significant to understand the relationship between gender and everyday life. Thus, the present study first addresses the relationship between gender and everyday life in general terms, discussing the social construction of gender and how we are taught to do gender through socialization. Then, it examines women’s practices, performances, relationships, conflicts, and resistances in their everyday lives throughout the 1950s and the 1960s over the film Ginger and Rosa. Considering the historical, social, and political developments at the time, this study tries to explore significant issues within feminist studies such as the relationship between mothers and daughters, and female friendship/sisterhood through the characters in the film, and comprehend what it meant to be a young girl, a woman, a wife, and a mother in both private and public spheres in these years based upon the director’s own experiences and memories.