Question

if only all women behaved like our ideal woman... then everything would be fine. her hubby came home from the war and expected his factory job back. during the early cold war years, some home economics texts seemed to suggest that knowing how to make hospital corners and a good tuna casserole were the only things between our way of life and communist incursion. it was patriotic to be an exemplary housewife. and pink - thinking experts of the sixties and seventies, trying to stem this tide, churned out reams of text that countered the onrushing tide of the womens movement. if all women behaved like our ideal woman, the experts seemed to say through the years, then everything would be fine. you might even say that the \problem with no name\ that betty friedan wrote about in the feminine mystique (1963) was a virulent strain of pink - thinkitis. after all, according to friedan, \the problem\ was in part engendered by the experts insistence that women \could desire no greater destiny than to glory in their own femininity\ - a pink think credo. the pink think of the 1940s to 1970s held that femininity was necessary for catching and marrying the man, which was in turn a prerequisite for childbearing - the ultimate feminine fulfillment. this resulted in little girls playing games like mystery date long before they were ever interested in boys. it made home economics a high school course and college major, and suggested a teen girls focus should be on dating and getting a boyfriend. it made beauty, mystery date: a board game marketed to girls aged 6 - 14. the object of the game was to be ready for a date by assembling three matching cards to make an outfit appropriate for the date. 4. reread and discuss reread lines 21 - 44. with a small group, identify and discuss perils central idea in these paragraphs. 5. read as you read lines 45 - 65, continue to cite textual evidence. in the margin, explain in your own words what the author means by \pink thinkitis.\ underline text that describes other principles of \pink think.\

Explanation:

For question 4, lines 21 - 44 discuss how after the war, there were expectations for women to be exemplary housewives as a patriotic act and how pink - thinking experts promoted this ideal to counter the women's movement. The central idea is the promotion of an idealized, traditional female role.
For question 5, "pink thinkitis" refers to the ideology that promotes a very narrow view of femininity centered around attracting and marrying a man, child - bearing as the ultimate fulfillment, and focusing on dating and appearance from a young age. Text that describes other principles includes statements about home economics being emphasized and little girls playing games related to dating before being interested in boys.

Answer:

1. The central idea is that after the war, there was a push for women to conform to an idealized, traditional housewife role as a patriotic act and to counter the women's movement.
2. "Pink thinkitis" means an ideology that defines femininity in a narrow way centered on attracting a man, child - bearing, and focusing on dating and appearance. Underlined text could include "It made home economics a high school course and college major, and suggested a teen girl's focus should be on dating and getting a boyfriend. It made beauty...".