6. How were American attitudes toward sex changing in the
1950s?

The 1950s is often viewed as a period of conformity, when both men and women observed strict gender roles and complied with society’s expectations. After the devastation of the Great Depression and World War II, many Americans sought to build a peaceful and prosperous society. However, even though certain gender roles and norms were socially enforced, the 1950s was not as conformist as is sometimes portrayed, and discontent with the status quo bubbled just beneath the surface of the placid peacetime society. Although women were expected to identify primarily as wives and mothers and to eschew work outside of the home, women continued to make up a significant proportion of the postwar labor force. Moreover, the 1950s witnessed significant changes in patterns of sexual behavior, which would ultimately lead to the “sexual revolution” of the 1960s.

Explanation:

You had to live through it to understand it.

WWII had just ended. A lot of vets were turned loose. They wanted homes. They wanted children. The wanted peace. They most of all, did not want to fight in another war.  The entertainment turned very light. The heavy thinking was just not the order of the day. So you got conformity, because the vets were used to discipline.

But you also got Elvis who was away ahead of his time (much as I hate to say it). He revolutionized popular music, by bringing black music to the white community. You also got the Beat Generation who rebelled against staid America. Search Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsburg.

For a better picture, if you live somewhere where there is a large library, try and get The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. It reflects the values of the 1950s just about as well as anything and it has a terrific cast. That's one film that did think.

a.   it resulted in widespread unemployment.

representative government