Remembering the Australian Women's Weekly in the 1950s

Every time I give a presentation on the Women's Weekly in the 1950s, I am inundated with stories from women of my generation of baby boomers about its influence on their lives. This is not surprising. It was found in one in four Australian homes, far outstripping its rivals, Woman, Woman's Day and New Idea, in circulation and was far more glamorous in appearance. In the 1950s, the Weekly was the popular face of Australian femininity. For women of all ages, reading the Weekly in the 1950s was like stepping into a glamorous new home filled with desirable and up-to-date products, familiar objects, interesting and romantic men, practical yet alluring women, and happy children. In this haven of modernity women found the emotional tools to deal with the masculine world.