Do housewives lead dull or exciting lives? (1961) | RetroFocus 

Hard to believe everyone was over 55 back then. Thank God scientists invented young people.

When old women in the 60s have a better life than you

So personal space was invented sometime after 1961, noted.

"Excuse me... do you mind if I lean in and stare into your soul?"

"it's not like in the old days"... so strange because their present-day is our old days.

When australians still spoke english

that 81 year old lady was fantastic! "Started working when i was thirteen and sacked at 78". lol.

Do you think Australian housewives lead a dull life? "Not if I can get one of them"

After the clip I wonder if the interviewer asked "do you mind if we put this on youtube"...

Clearly nobody under 50 was worth an opinion in 1961

Can we talk about how close the interviewer got to them. He just kinda pounced out of nowhere too.

3:27-3:30 "Mgmhmehaha dmemee" " *GOOD* "

"Never met one" *[WALKS AWAY VERY FAST]*

People really walked around in suits back then. That's crazy.

I don't know, seems like housewives back in the day seemed to do more and not devote themselves 100% to their kids. My grandma had different clubs and was very involved in church. She'd help out at school and had small hobbies. It wasn't just 100% kids all the times.

3:24 - Man: incomprehensible gibberish Interviewer: .. GOOD!

They sound quite English the Aussies of 1961

Such well preserved footage

Can we appreciate how classy everyone is dressed back at this time? The average Joe still had a fine suit, clean hair cut and hat, women with earrings and fine dresses.

Everyone seemed to have a genuine personality back then and were always polite, even when a microphone was stuck in their face.

Have you ever considered going to work “oh heavens no”

"Nothing's dull, people are."

”I’ve been working since I was 13. I was sacked at 78.” 😂👍🏻

3:15 Interviewer: Do you think that Australian house wives live a dull unexciting life? Looking into gate guy: "Ay suppo ee difficult to say meh, I think's very wunnoable woman if I der, for thep emine? Interviewer: GOOD

I think the stereotype that women back then had dull lives is misleading, women back then didn't need jobs and there was more housework. However, that housework to them was a job and when they didn't do housework they were able to socialize. Ask yourself, do my grandparents have boring lives? Because elderly men and women are pretty much doing what the women in the 60's were doing. They don't use facebook and Playstation but can still be glued to the TV for hours, go out to the pub, play golf and bowls. From their perspective our lives look boring.

He says "I've never met one..."😂🤣😂

I love how everyone acknowledged that being happy as a housewife depends on the person but those who like it thrive in it, especially when in charge of a household so they aren’t just piddling around all day.

The last guy: "not if i can get in with them" Interviewer: Mildly gasps and awkwardly smiles

Keep these old interviews coming

"I never met one." Someone buy that man a beer!

As a woman looking at my future, it's a little sad to me that I'll have to work all my life instead of being able to focus just on my family. Don't get me wrong, it's important that women have the opportunity to work in case she doesn't marry or her husband dies or divorces her, or if the family hits hard times and she needs to pitch in to bring in some money. I'm grateful to have that freedom. But it's sad that that's what I HAVE to do, unless I marry a man who brings in a lot of money. Even then, because the culture has changed, housewives don't have as much of a support system. In the 20th century neighbors were all involved in each other's lives and could help each other out when they needed it. I don't even know my neighbors! Churches were also more central to people's lives, but relevence of churches in their communities is diminishing. It's like we don't have a real community any more.

My mum Was a full time mum She had a wonderful life Caring for 4 kids Caring for her family She did a great job God rest het soul

That last guy was a "savage" before his time 😂😂😂

I love how the interviewer got shocked at the end. An appropriate response to someone suggesting making a wife cheat on her husband.

0:45 “Never considered going to work?” “Good heavens NO!!” 😂😂😂

“Good heavens no I’ve always had a large family to attend too” what an angel 😂🥰

6:12 the reaction is so different to what it would be now haha

Love these on-the-street interviews. They break so many stereotypes!

1:48 “not if they’ve got the right husband..” 😂👌🏻

The interview starting at 3:08 is quite possibly one of the funniest things I've ever seen, everything from him peeping through the fence like a hired Mafia killer to the interviewer's "GOOD!" got me rolling 😂😂😂

5:21 Really touched my heart. Such a lovely old lady 😥

1:47 - True gentleman

Last interview ~ “do you think Australian housewives live a dull and boring life ?” “Oh not if I can get in with them .” 😂😂 what a rascal !

The happiest time in my life has been raising my children full time. It’s a real joy and provides much more meaning to me than when I was working outside the home.

I'm a housewife in 2019, living in north africa but I was born and grew up in the uk. I love it, being able to focus on my family 100% is amazing, tiring at times but amazing.

It’s crazy to see how polite everyone was then and when the interviewer asked them the question everyone talked like they were friends. Nowadays people would just say get the camera out of my face.

5:20 - this lady's story made me heart stop idk why.😔 I think her being alone and her doing what she has to do with no help makes me realize I don't want my nan or mum to be alone when they're 80 😔

I’m a housewife and I love it. My husband and I go on vacation 3 or 4 times a year to get away for a while and I suppose that’s what helps keep life interesting. I have my daily routine. Wake up, coffee, gym, shower, hair and make up, online shopping, look at memes/watch RU-vid videos, sometimes I’ll look for new places for me and my husband to visit, make dinner or order dinner, then husband comes home by 6. I love my life. I don’t miss my life before this. I did work for a few years and I earned much more than the people in my age group. I did feel content that I could provide for myself and could live life financially comfortably, but I was always physically drained from my job and was always alone. Going on vacations alone wasn’t the same, and my friends couldn’t leave work to on vacation with me nor have the funds to do so. love my husband and I love my new life the way it is now.

Some people in the comments dont seem to understand having a family is fulfilling, not everyone needs to ride the carousel to inflate their self worth. 🤣

“I don’t know sir, I’m over from New Zealand” ... what’s a house wife? LOL

I find these so aesthetic

It’s great to be a housewife if you’re middle-class and up, not much work to do and hobbies to pursue. I think it’s more of a class question than “women in the workplace” question.

Why do I find 3:15 hilarious?

I love being a housewife.

Lmao the last guy’s response shocked the reporter 😂😂

Back when people put some effort into their appearances in public

guy in the background at 3:25 like “hey bro check this out they filming 3:28 other guys like “oh yea nice bro”

What is interesting is how well-spoken and humble they are. People nowadays can barely form a coherent sentence.

The last lady with the lovely hat made me want to hop through the screen and give her a big hug!

It's funny to think that these interviews are still being enjoyed 58+ years later. If you'd told these people that the footage would be enjoyed around the world on futuristic screens in the year 2019, they'd probably laugh at such fantastic circumstances.

This guys interview style is off the hook.

My heart hurt for that last little lovely lady whoS husband died and she was sick..... what a lovely gracious little lady

I don’t know why I keep watching these

I love being at home, I have sooo much time for myself and to make my home beautiful and homey for my husband, and I am a counseling psychologist, but I work from home

I’m a millennial and wish to be a housewife and participate in organizations and run a side business that I enjoy doing at home on my own schedule. What I earn would just be bonus income but my husband would be the breadwinner.

The last guys comment 😂😂 classic! 😂😂 the interviewers face was hilarious! 😂😂

It’s interesting how their opinions and responses are so different..I feel like these days a lot of people’s opinions are so influenced by social media and now people are always trying to copy from or are influenced by each other you wouldn’t get such unique responses from people like you could then

When one person in the household could work and maintain the house, buy a house, and the other one took care of the family. Study, work, own a home and no debt.

it is so enjoyable to see how normal and kind people were

"trying is one thing but succeeding is another" this reporter knows something

my nana moved to australia in 1959. she was the first woman in the company she worked for to continue working after marriage. she says that she told her boss "im an excellent worker now, why should my being married change that" and thats honestly iconic apparently many women she knew followed in her footsteps so i like to think that she helped to make the change, maybe im biased cuz its my grandmother lol

Q: Are there lives dull and boring A: Not if I get in with them 🤣🤣

Being a housewife shouldnt be degraded. It's as important as any other job.

I love being a stay at home mom. I have time for my baby and husband. When I work I have more work. I have work out side the home, naturally most of the work of the child is on me something people don't tell young girls is that most of the child work well be on you naturally. It not like he doesn't won't to help it just that life lines it up like that. I like staying home. The child gets my attention And my husband is cared for and I can take care of myself.

I think what people today don’t understand is how much work went into being a housewife back then. It wasn’t sitting around, watching TV and drinking $6 Starbucks drinks at Target all day. These women WORKED. They were just getting into the “convenience” era of frozen dinners and kitchen gadgets, however, that was a far cry from where we are today. They didn’t have smart phones, grocery delivery services, FaceTime, drive through restaurants, nice dishwashers, etc. My grandma did all the housework, all the cooking, all the landscaping, all the home repairs, all the shopping, all the errands, all the parent-teacher meetings, etc. My grandpa worked his ass off in a steel mill and she kept up the home. They both worked hard.

W O W such healthy states of mind, for the most part!

This is a loaded question because it asserts that housewives either lead dull lives or exciting lives. Props to the interviewees for giving well thought answers.

That last guy was a straight up player. Classic!

As an Australian housewife myself it’s nice to finally see some of these stereotypes questioned.

Hard to believe, this was nearly 60 years ago and nearly everyone that was interviewed is probably dead at this stage 😕

For me, honestly, the only time being a housewife is dull is when I can't take my car out. My husband had his truck in the shop for a couple weeks and it was just ugh. Otherwise, we go to the park, we have playdates with moms I like, we paint, I make stuff, it's fun. It's work, but I make my own fun.

I love how they didn’t edit out the bomb interviews. Like the guy who, when asked the question replied “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met one.” What?????

That First Lady was so ADORABLE!!!!!!! I could hang out with her all day 😍

Old lady from New Zealand was a legend, sounds like a real lovely nan

These interviews are the best! Love to hear those opinions and compare them to the life we are leading now. Some things have changed but a lot is still the same, but in a different setting. Thanks for sharing!

1:40 “ well look sir I wouldn’t know I’m just over from New Zealand “😂😂

This feels like going back in time

This is something I could watch all day, I get to understand the thoughts of people and the environment people lived in back then.

1:47 God bless! What a nice man.

I Love these People..That Era had Character❤❤❤

came from "do you think there is life on other planets?" also, the comments in this video MIGHT have been sent to the other planets. 😂

I am convinced these videos are the most fascinating things on all of RU-vid

The very first woman was so charming and well-spoken - seemed like she'd been working for radio, well most people did!

@6:13 The first troll has been found

I was there at the interview.....and now I am sitting and watching.....

They speak so well! I'm speechless 😍😍😍

This was entertaining and enlightening in equal measure. Loved the 81 year old lady who said she worked from age 13 to 78, when 'I was sacked'. And the Kiwi guy. "Dunno, I'm just over from New Zealand.' Classic.

Professor from university concluded that the system needs more slaves. So lets liberate women from their "boring" liberty of enjoying in life and send them in "exiting and dynamic" enviroment called work. Where they will be grinded phisicaly and emotionally by people who are neither their husbands, parents, siblings, nor children. Aaaand when they are deemed unusable we shall give them a misery called pension.

Thanks for leading me down this wormhole YT. Loving the subject matter of all these old ABC clips

That old lady at the start omg 😭 so cuteeeeeee