Mrs. America: Gloria

April 17, 2020 7:39 PM - Season 1, Episode 2

Gloria Steinem launches Ms. Magazine. She deals with publishers, advertisers, and the press. She also continues to work with the political group. Of course, there are plenty of people who don't enjoy seeing Gloria in charge. Meanwhile, Phyllis gets organized.
posted by Monochrome (5 comments total)

Schlafly's house strongly reminds me of my relative's house from that time period (ok, about ten years later), also in Alton. The decorations, the clocks, the furniture... so many things match perfectly. They didn't have any "help" (as Schlafly's cohort calls them), though. It's very striking to me that Phyllis doesn't acknowledge the work of Leonia and Willie in performing a lot of the homemaking tasks that Phyllis insists must be done by mothers.
posted by Monochrome at 8:00 PM on April 17, 2020

" It's very striking to me that Phyllis doesn't acknowledge the work of Leonia and Willie in performing a lot of the homemaking tasks that Phyllis insists must be done by mothers."

I haven't watched this yet (not certain if I will or not, so much to watch), but that's always struck me about her: what she advocated/insisted/demanded that women do with their time/life was something that she absolutely didn't do with her life; she was an activist organizer who spent her life outside of the home in an (evil) leadership role.

If it weren't for her actual message and advocacy she would have been a poster child for feminism. As it was her entire life seems built upon fraud.

I do wonder if the show will explore these contradictions.
posted by el io at 9:58 AM on April 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Production designer was Mara LePere-Schloop. Helen Britten, Andrea Doyle, Patrica Lagman, and Kari Measham were the set decorators. It’s not a documentary. (I worked on a couple of episodes.)
posted by Ideefixe at 10:41 AM on April 18, 2020 [4 favorites]

It's very striking to me that Phyllis doesn't acknowledge the work of Leonia and Willie in performing a lot of the homemaking tasks that Phyllis insists must be done by mothers.

Well, it's a tradition from the days of slavery for the wife to manage the domestic servants as part of her duties, without acknowledging they exist...

As it was her entire life seems built upon fraud.

Hypocrisy and "Do as I say, but as I do" are also core social conservative values.
posted by happyroach at 1:32 PM on April 18, 2020

Recreating the 70s: Production Design Behind The Scenes 3 minutes
posted by Monochrome at 6:03 PM on May 29, 2020