Post #4843 by vintagegirl on Thu, Aug 1, 2002 12:08 AM

While I still lament the demise of certain aspects of past eras like the small businesses, good customer service, quality products, original designs, etc. I also do NOT long for many other things of those eras. For example, as much as I love the fashions and pop culture of the 50's, it would be difficult to be "open-minded" about sex (as a woman) without the knowledge and modern wonders we have now. Racism, sexism and the cold war WERE the 50's just as much as bullet bras and tiki bars. And just try being a bit of a bohemian at that time and watch how fast you'll be accused of being a Commie. (I've talked to Marsha Hunt -the 1940's blacklisted actress- a couple of times and her alternative views at the time basically ended her career. Taking a different stance then was a lot more risky.)

As for the 40's, I once asked my mom's friend (a 70-something woman from Belgium) if she ever longed for the 40's and her reply was "You can have it!" I think how great the 40's were is a matter of perspective.

I will agree that people did seem less crude than today. And yes, I do wish more people would get dressed up for special occasions today. (Or is nothing considered special anymore ....that's a whole other topic in itself.) I consider dressing up something of a ritual - which again is sadly lacking in our modern lives.

And while I love the modern burlesque of today, it is also more connected to theatre and performance art than the straightforward titillation it was meant as in the 50's. Those women usually did not have an easy life and while they may not have been silicone-injected, they were still considered "painted women" which was the same as being "plastic" today. Their dancing was definitely not considered "tasteful" by mainstream society. What makes modern burlesque so successful is that they kept the super-feminine iconography (the good) about it, but now have moved past the stigma branded on those that perform (the bad).

Ultimately it would be nice if we as a society could also be a little more careful about throwing out the good with the bad as we progess into the future. It's up to more enlightened people like us to keep frequenting the businesses we like and living according to how we want the future to be.

(By the way, the civil right's, women's rights and peace movements actually go back at least to the late 19th century. They were just called other things like the Suffragette Cause and Pacifism then.)

So while I'm all for time-warps in the parties I go to, the cars I drive and the clothes I wear, it's more about picking out the good that those eras had to offer without deluding myself into thinking that all of life was somehow better then. It does not mean that I really want to go back to those times. So yes, ironically, Vintagegirl is just fine living in the now.

Sorry for the long rant and being even more off-topic. Just had to put my 2 cents in.....OK so maybe it was more like a dollar. I could use a good, strong dirty martini right about now.
:drink:

[ Edited by: vintagegirl on 2002-08-01 00:34 ]