How To Keep Your Man

I read an article recently which made me laugh, about how to keep your man. It's amazing how things have changed since the 1950s, much of it for the better - but not all of it.

With divorce being extremely difficult to obtain, advice was plentiful on how to make a marriage last - and the onus was definitely on a wife to keep her man happy...

You can read the whole article on our RUSC Facebook page, but here's the headings to give you an idea...

7 Tips For Keeping Your Man (from the 1950s)

• Don't Talk
• Bad Cooking Will Drive Your Man To Seedy Saloons
• Be The Hot Steak, Not The Cheap Pork
• Don't Be A Sexual Vampire, Or A Frigid Franny
• Pink Panties Are A Must
• Let Him Have A Little Fun Now And Then
• Remember Your Husband Is The Boss Of You

Occasionally, there's a radio show which pops up showing this same attitude, and you'll no doubt have noticed them over the years too. I wish I'd kept a list of the ones I've heard - it would have been fun to put together a collection!

It seems that along with those opinions published by the 'experts', advertising was also very much geared towards ensuring one was a pleasing wife too. There's some astonishing advertising in an old copy of the Radio Mirror I have from July 1948, which you most definitely wouldn't see in any literature today!

Here's a great example from Listerine Antiseptic for oral hygiene, a full page advert titled "Look, Buttercup, your trouble is right under your nose!" It's pretty harsh, and reads...

There's a new man in her life. It's her first real date with him and she's been getting ready for it all day long. He is the one-and-only and tonight is, indeed, the night for romance.
Unfortunately, it isn't going to work out that way.
Before nine o'clock he'll be wondering what he ever saw in her ... Cupid will put the arrow back in his quiver... and she'll cry herself to sleep wondering whatever happened to turn his ardor into indifference.
"Poor thing! Poor thing!" you say. 
Nonsense! Don't waste your sympathy on her! She doesn't deserve it. No woman does who blindly takes her breath for granted ... even for one night. After all, nothing puts you in such a bad light as halitosis (unpleasant breath).
Isn't it just common sense and good grooming to always rinse the mouth with Listerine Antiseptic before any date where you wish to be at your best? You go forth with a wonderful sense of assurance that your breath is fresher, sweeter, and less likely to offend. 

I wonder how many ladies and gents did genuinely heed the advice given by the 'experts' back then. 

I'd wager a bet the marriages that stood the test of time, were the ones which had one of the most important ingredient of a healthy and thriving marriage - mutual respect.  

Happy listening my friends,