The Dialectics of Motherhood in 1950s New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-430
Author(s):  
Chris Brickell ◽  
Fairleigh Gilmour
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Gender Politics ◽  
Feminist Movement ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Multiple Voices ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Ideologies Of Motherhood ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Mothers Experiences

While numerous historians have questioned the assumption that the 1950s were wholly conservative in terms of gender politics, few have systematically explored the nuances of debates over motherhood in particular. This article asks how depictions of motherhood in two popular New Zealand magazines reflected multiple voices that spoke of the complexities of mothers’ experiences and broader ideologies of motherhood during this era. It develops the concept of “dialectics of motherhood” in order to account for the interwoven ways in which sophisticated debates over “good” and “bad” mothers helped to propel social changes that led to the second-wave feminist movement.

Reflections on Professor Still's retrospective: A trans-Tasman response

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith K Pringle
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Feminist Movement ◽  
Women In Management ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
The Past ◽  
Suffrage Movement ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Indirect Action

Professor Still presents a succinct and insightful piece, reflecting on the development for women in management within Australia over the past three decades. She rightly focuses on women in management rather than to try and map the multitudinous developments of the women/gender in organisation literature that has mushroomed into a sub-discipline of its own over the past three decades.In considering any parallel development for women in New Zealand it seems compelling to start in the late 19th century. As a result of direct and indirect action by the suffrage movement; fuelled by activities of the women's temperance union, NZ women gained the vote in 1893. Like Australia, the colonial women were perceived very much as Damned Whores and God's Police (Summer, 1994). In these brief reflections, I focus on the last 30 years of changes since the second wave of the feminist movement. In summary, the conclusions are somewhat depressingly similar to Australia; however, there are some noteworthy differences.

Reflections on Professor Still's retrospective: A trans-Tasman response

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith K Pringle
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Feminist Movement ◽  
Women In Management ◽  
Parallel Development ◽  
The Past ◽  
Suffrage Movement ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Indirect Action

Professor Still presents a succinct and insightful piece, reflecting on the development for women in management within Australia over the past three decades. She rightly focuses on women in management rather than to try and map the multitudinous developments of the women/gender in organisation literature that has mushroomed into a sub-discipline of its own over the past three decades.In considering any parallel development for women in New Zealand it seems compelling to start in the late 19th century. As a result of direct and indirect action by the suffrage movement; fuelled by activities of the women's temperance union, NZ women gained the vote in 1893. Like Australia, the colonial women were perceived very much as Damned Whores and God's Police (Summer, 1994). In these brief reflections, I focus on the last 30 years of changes since the second wave of the feminist movement. In summary, the conclusions are somewhat depressingly similar to Australia; however, there are some noteworthy differences.

The Influence of the Infomercial in New Zealand

2019 ◽  
pp. 67-80
Author(s):  
Rosser Johnson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Cultural Impact ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
As If

New Zealand television networks introduced infomercials (30 minute advertisements designed to appear as if they are programmes) in late 1993. Although infomercials date from the 1950s in the USA, they were unknown in this country and quickly came to be seen as a peculiarly “intense” form of hyper-commercial broadcasting. This article aims to sketch out the cultural importance of the infomercial by analysing historical published primary sources (from the specialist and general press) as they reflect the views and opinions that resulted from the introduction of the infomercial. Specifically, it outlines the three main areas where that cultural importance was located. It concludes by analysing the significance of the cultural impact of the infomercial, both within broadcasting and within wider society.

Settler Histories and Indigenous Pasts: New Zealand and Australia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bain Attwood
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
Younger Generation ◽  
The 1950S

This chapter focuses on historical writing in New Zealand and Australia, which has been transformed since 1945. In the 1950s and 1960s, as the number of academic historians increased exponentially and growing professionalization occurred, a project of constructing a progressive story of masculinist nation-making and nationalism became dominant, while in the 1970s and 1980s, a younger generation of historians—many of them women and first-generation Australians—challenged this triumphant nationalist story of self-realization as they embraced social and cultural history and their emphases on the differences of class, gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. There is one area in which historical writing in New Zealand and Australia has undoubtedly been distinctive, at least in terms of its public impact; namely, that concerning the pasts of the indigenous peoples. The chapter then looks at the historiography of aboriginal–settler relations in Australia and New Zealand.

Australia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Bode
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Publishing Industry ◽  
Book Publishing ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Australian Literature

This chapter on the history of book publishing in Australia divides Australian novel publishing since 1950 into three periods: the 1950s and 1960s, the 1970s and 1980s, and the 1990s to the present. During the 1950s and 1960s, British companies dominated the publication of Australian novels and publishing decisions were predominantly made overseas, but the period also witnessed a ‘local publishing boom’, driven by the belief in the importance of Australian literature and publishing. The 1970s and 1980s saw the growth of a vibrant local publishing industry, supported by cultural nationalist policies and broad social changes. At the same time, the significant economic and logistical challenges of local publishing led to closures and mergers, and — along with the increasing globalization of publishing — enabled the entry of large, multinational corporations into the market. This latter trend, and the processes of globalization and deregulation, continued in the 1990s and beyond.

scholarly journals “Just Be Strong, You Will Get through It” a Qualitative Study of Young Migrants’ Experiences of Settling in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1292
Author(s):  
Enoka De Jacolyn ◽  
Karolina Stasiak ◽  
Judith McCool
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Inductive Method ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Acculturation Process ◽  
Migrant Youth ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
New Beginnings ◽  
Group Interviews

Migration, when it occurs during adolescence, is particularly challenging as it coincides with a myriad of other developmental and social changes. The present study set out to explore recent young migrants’ experiences of settling in New Zealand. The qualitative study aimed to identify areas of particular challenge, examples of resilience and new insights into the acculturation process. Focus group interviews were conducted with migrant youth aged 16–19 from three urban secondary schools in Auckland The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using a general inductive method. Key themes centered on new beginnings, confronting new realities, acceptance, support seeking and overcoming challenges. Young migrants in this study shared similar challenges during the early post-migration period. They were often faced with additional responsibility, being caught between two cultures while struggling with communication and language. However, they were able to draw on their own self-growth, gratitude, and social connections. This study provides an insight into experiences of young migrants in New Zealand, and offers suggestions for developing culturally relevant support to foster migrant youth wellbeing.

Deliberative Law

2018 ◽  
pp. 611-624
Author(s):  
David Ponet ◽  
Ethan J. Leib
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Law And Society ◽  
Multiple Voices ◽  
Critical Insight ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Rule Making

The “systemic turn” in deliberative democractic theory builds off the critical insight that one instance or site of deliberation does not legitimate an entire political system. But accepting too easily that non-deliberative parts can contribute to a deliberative sum can risk deliberative democracy’s aspirations for reform. This chapter examines three evolving areas of deliberative lawmaking—administrative lawmaking, districting commissions, and deliberative plebiscites—that underscore the ongoing relevance and promise of “second wave” deliberative democratic institutional design. The “notice and comment” structure of administrative rule-making, for instance, can invite the admission of multiple voices into the lawmaking process, especially when combined with the court’s role in incentivizing such practice. The trend toward nonpartisan or bipartisan commissions establishing legislative district lines can also generate powerful deliberative democratic dividends. Similarly, practices in plebisicitary democracy—whether through instances such as citizen policy juries or other directly democratic mechanisms—can contribute toward the deliberative democratization of law and society.

scholarly journals The Pioneers of Parents' Centre: Movers and Shakers for Change in the Philosophies and Practices of Childbirth and Parent Education in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Marie Bell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Shape Change ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
The Social ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Changing Times

<p>This thesis presents the voices of 17 pioneers of the organisation parents' Centre, founded in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1952. They reflect on Parents' Centre's contribution to the welfare and happiness of young children and their parents, and the challenges and satisfactions for them as 'movers and shakers' of an entrenched system. The pioneers, 13 women and 3 men, were a group of professionals and parents educated in the progressive tradition who worked as volunteers to found and develop the organisation. They challenged the well-established and generally respected views of the policymakers of the 1950s about the management of childbirth and parent education for young children. They believed that the education and care of the child from birth to three needed to be brought into line with the progressive principles and practices which had been gaining ground in the schools and pre-schools of New Zealand since the 1920s and which emphasised holistic development, especially the psychological aspects. Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory I set the study within the social climate of the 1950s to assess the contribution the changing times made to the success of the organisation. I identified the social and economic forces which brought change both in the institutions of society and within every day family life, particularly for young children and their parents. As researcher, I added my voice to their reflections while also playing the role of analyst. The study used an oral history method to record the stories of the participants from a contemporary perspective. My involvement in the organisation over 50 years gave me insider knowledge and a rapport with the people interviewed. Using a loosely structured interview I adopted a collegial method of data gathering. A second interview, two years after the first, informed the pioneers about my use of the interview material and gave opportunities for critical comments on my analysis. It became apparent that under the leadership of Helen Brew, parents' Centre was able to influence change. Analyses of the background of the pioneers and of the educationalists who influenced them in training, career and parenthood show that key influences on the pioneers were lecturers at Wellington and Christchurch Training Colleges and Victoria University of Wellington. The liberal thrust of these educational institutions reinforced similar philosophical elements in the child rearing practices experienced by the pioneers. Overall, the pioneers expressed satisfaction with the philosophies and practice they advocated at that time, their achievements within Parent's Centre, and pride in founding a consumer organisation effective for New Zealand conditions. They saw Parents' Centre as having helped to shape change. This study documents the strategies used by Parents' Centre to spread its message to parents, policy makers and the general public. At the end of the study the pioneers were in agreement that the change in the role of women, particularly as equal breadwinners with men, presented a challenge to the consumer and voluntary aspects of the organisation of Parents' Centre today. Some felt the organisation had lost its radical nature and was at risk of losing the consumer voice. Nonetheless, all the pioneers felt that Parents' Centre still had a part to play in providing effective ante-natal education 'by parents for parents' and a continuing role in working for change in the services in accordance with the needs of parents and children under three.</p>

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