Blog Assignment 2 - Impact of Being "12" in 1978!

1978 Stylish Fashions!

Oh, to be Twelve Again!

     You were "hip" in high-wasted pants, bell-bottoms, knee-high boots, and wedge heels. Styles were on the cusp of change in 1978 and depending on your attitude, your fashion sense often spoke for you. Typically if you possessed a more care free attitude you would wear wild, colorful, free flowing, multi-colored, mismatched, "anything goes" outfits. Whereas the more serious person dabbled in coordinated matching outfits. We were not completely out of the "hippie" or "flower child" styles, but we were definitely in the "disco" style as well. This was very evident in the forbidden, racy, R-rated popular box office hit "Saturday Night Fever."


     Unlike majority of my classmates who only needed to travel back six to ten years, I ventured back 34 years to research and remember the simpler times of 1978.



 
     In order to understand who I am today, it is imperative to share with you some of the social forces and historical events that occurred at an influential time in my life at age twelve (1978).

• Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States
• Vietnam War ended in 1975
• The "Framework for Peace" in the Middle East was being signed
• Two oil crisis (oils shortages) took place in the 70's
• Curbing the use of Nuclear Weapons agreements were being negotiated (U.S. & Russia)
• This was before the collapse of Russia and the two "Super Powers" and their actions were very concerning to the whole world.
• Watergate scandal
• Cult leader, Jim Jones led his followers to a mass suicide in Jones town.
• The movie "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" were on the "must see" list, both starring John Travolta.
• Sony announced the Walkman - the first portable stereo
• Population was only 4.4 billion (over 7 billion today)
• Interest rates were 11.75% and the average home cost of $54,800
• Average income was $17,000 annually ($8.17/hour)
• A gallon of gas set you back 0.63 cents per gallon!

 

Brief Family History

      My parents were labeled as "baby boomers" born in the 40's, grew up in the 50's and 60's and were well into raising two girls (my sister and I) in the 70's. In 1978, when I was twelve, it was very evident to me that the social concerns included "freedom" and "independence." Being that the Vietnam war ended only a few years before, the memories, the protests, and a divided America was still etched in the minds of many. "Love not War" and "Peace" was everywhere. Having parents who were only in their early thirties, they were leaning more towards being just out of the "Hippie" stage in their life. I feel that I was fortunate to of been raised by parents who were not full fledged "hippies" who may raise children too passively or parents too traditional who may of raised me with an authoritarian style. Instead, they had an easy going spirit, they were successful in remaining well-balanced and raised my sister and I authoritatively. Similar to the times of the Vietnam War, they allowed us a voice, encouraged independence, yet had clear boundaries, consequences and reasonable expectations, while showering us with love, security, and nurturing.

Political Concerns

 

     With the oil crisis and recovering from the wars, America was experiencing economic hard times. The weak economy, high inflation, and high unemployment directly affected my family. On one hand, it was scary because both of my parents found themselves unemployed that year. However, they dug deep, persevered and they reverted back to their entrepreneurial spirit and became self-employed. Therefore, this could have been a bleak time in my families life and instead it ended up being the best summer we ever had! They even bought a new boat and we had the time of our lives on the river. This "making lemonade out of lemons" behavior my parents evoked is where I think my entrepreneurial spirit was born. I also contribute my perseverance and strong work ethic to be from examples like these in my life.

Innovation: Building our Structural Society

 

     I view this time to be a time of many "firsts." Women were starting to get heard, reverse discrimination cases were being ruled on in the United States Supreme Court (Univ. of Calif Regents v. Bakke) baring quota systems for college admission, first test-tube baby was born, and women were integrated into the regular army-abolishing the Woman's Army Corp. Children's rights were beginning to be topics of concern in the social and judicial systems advocating on behalf of children, anti-abuse, etc. Motorola introduced the 1G (first generation) cell phone while Atari was rolling out one of the earliest home gaming system ($549). Mind you these two things were more status symbols of luxury for the wealthy, rather than a common, affordable, convenience, for the majority, as they are today. This was also a time when there was the first lesbian theme movie "Question of Love" was created.

Norms, Roles, and Status Shape Lives 

    

     In addition to my parents being major contributors to my independence, I also had larger societal forces working on my behalf as a women, opening more doors and opportunities. Personally, I believe that the timing of these things could have served me better had they occurred sooner. The reason I say this is because when I was born in 1966 to very young parents, in a time when women did not have many expectations beyond getting married, having children, and maintaining a home, I think had a direct impact on my academic path. My mother always told me later in life, "If I would of known when you were born that you would of went to college I would of saved up for it." Basically, she said it was not common to dream that your daughters would go off to college if you were a girl from a blue collar family in the 60's. I feel that I was a part of this time in history of "firsts." I like so many girls born in the 60's became first generations to get a college degree. Because of this gap in expected roles of my time, I did get married and put my priorities in being a wife and mother first and foremost, but always fit in being a part-time, lifetime student. Even though I have enough credits to have two bachelor degrees, I am finally able to prioritize my education and graduate this spring as a "super duper senior" at age 47. Funny how societal forces play a role in decisions, priorities, rights, and opportunities.

Different Times Different Values

 

     Another interesting thing to look back on what societal forces in my childhood that may have contributed to shaping my life is the television shows in 1978. Many popular programs that I enjoyed watching portrayed happy families like "Happy Days" or wholesome characters in the reruns of "Andy Griffin Show" or "Laverne & Shirley." These shows in this era rarely reflected broken marriages like today's programming. I come from many generations of no divorces in my family (as well as my husbands family). I have been married myself for over 25 years and I contribute this to my parents, grandparents, and the paths they exposed me to and the things they sheltered me from in forming this value that is no longer "the norm" in society today.

Additional TV shows in the 70's:

 

 Today's Conveniences were 1978's Innovations

 

Needed big pockets for cell phones in 1978!

Beginning of Conveniences

      In addition to 1978 being a time of many "firsts" or a time of recession and gloomy economic times, it was also a time of great innovation. Many of these innovations are the beginning of many conveniences of today. This is a great example of how people forget that they create society and go through the days as if it exists separate of them and often take them for granted. For example, cell phones, the first computer bulletin board systems were created in 1978, the first Iron Man triathlon (hence our thirst for fitness today), dishwashers, microwaves, and lastly, what would we do without our remote controls!

     In analyzing how these conveniences have shaped my life I do not view them in the sense of how they made my life easier. Instead, I am a generation that witnessed what life was before all of these wonderful inventions. Because of this, once again, I think that the reoccurring theme to my life has always been anything is possible! This time in my life was surrounded by innovation, possibilities, new ideas, more opportunities, and a great deal of change. For all of these things, I think that that is why I am highly motivated, entrepreneurial, curious, accepting of change and the unknown, open-minded, and back it all up with an incredible work ethic, desire to learn and continue to build upon and contribute to our constantly changing society. 

References:

www.historyorb.com

www.infoplease.com

www.cdc.gov

www.census.gov

www.answers.yahoo.com

www.history.com

www.thepeoplehistory.com

www.youtube.com