Paralinguistics’s Weblog

(www.donnareedshow.com)

I’ve seen The Donna Reed Show a few times, and I will admit, I started writing with the intention of ranting about it and how negatively it affected young women and housewives during the early 60’s. She cooked, cleaned, and smiled through every episode, causing men to expect their women to take it as the norm, and causing women to accept it as so. These years were the years when women’s liberation movements were beginning, and women were in dire need of positive role models, and Donna Reed was falling short.

After a bit of research though, to my surprise, Donna Reed actually fit into the positive role model category perfectly. According to biography.com, after The Donna Reed Show ended, Reed publicly denounced the show and the role she played. She became an eager feminist, anti-war advocate, and divorcee (which was quite uncommon at the time).

So, this is my shout-out to Donna Reed for changing with the times, and smiling the whole way.