This semester, I'm taking an English elective called "A Whole New World: Disney, Feminism, and Identity," exclusively looking at the Disney princesses, like Mulan and Pocahontas. I knew that I'd probably love anything with "Disney" in the title, but after three weeks into the course, I've learned quite a bit about all three listed. I enjoy the professor, the subject, and the discussions we have as a class as well.
This past week, we studied "Snow White," Disney's first film. Made in 1937, many of society's ideals were quite different than what they are today. Before studying the film itself, our class went over sex and gender roles of that time, which would be very prominent in Snow White's attitude and mannerisms. During one of these periods, my professor pulled up the "Marital Rating Scale," a 1939 test made by Doctor George W. Crane for women to take to find out whether or not they were acceptable housewives.
We all laughed, took a couple of seconds looking at the different categories, and established we all would be awful housewives. Musing about it later, however, I wondered what my actual score would be, putting aside my non-housewife status. So, here I am, about to see how disappointing my 1930s counter-self would be.
So. . .essentially there are 50 "demerits" which will take away points, 50 "merits" which will add points, and I check each statement that's true. Seems simple enough. I won't write all of them here, obviously, but I'll try to include the weirder ones. We'll start with the demerits, because I have low expectations for myself.
#1 "Slow in coming to bed - delays till husband is almost asleep."
Well, considering my standard bedtime is three in the morning, I'd say this is a definite check.
#2 "Doesn't like children."
I'm like most college students without kids. If it's not mine and not screaming, I think it's pretty cute. I'd say no check here.
#5 "Wears red nail polish."
Check, Mr. Waiter.
#6 "Often late for appointments."
I like to think of it as "fashionably on time." Check.
#9 "Puts cold feet on husband at night to warm them."
I put my cold feet on anyone I'm cuddling with, so in the event I did have a husband, I'd do this all day, e'ery day. Check.
#10 "Is a back seat driver."
Back seat driver, front seat driver, actual driver. It's all the same, really. Check.
#13 "Uses slang or profanity."
Dude, I use slang all the flippin' time. #lit. #check.
#21 "Opens husband's personal mail."
Fun fact: This is a felony. No check.
#25 "Wears pajamas while preparing breakfast."
I'd wear my pajamas 24/7 if I could get away with not looking like a crazy person. Check.
#34 "Serves dinner late but fails to sit down till the meal is half over - then wants her husband to wait for her."
... If my husband is waiting for me, wouldn't that mean that the meal hasn't started yet. I'm confused. No check.
#43 "Doesn't want to get up to prepare breakfast."
If you're fine with breakfast being at like 1pm, then I will of course make it for you. Otherwise, no check.
14/50 demerits; however, some of them are worth more than one point, so an overall score of 30 demerits. Not too painful, so onto merits! Again, I'm only going to do a few of the 50.
#2 "Has meals on time."
A part of my scholarship hall duties is to cook seven times a semester for my kitchen of seven individuals (including me), and after many attempts, I can never seem to get the food done by the time I say. No check.
#3 "Can carry on an interesting conversation."
Yes, I can, if I do say so myself. Check.
#4 "Can play a musical instrument, as piano, violin, etc."
I can play the flute and the piccolo and the piano (theoretically). Check.
#5 "Dresses for breakfast."
Dude, I barely eat breakfast. No check.
#6 "Neat housekeeper - tidy and clean."
My room is clean currently, but it's usually in complete disarray. Such is my life. No check.
#9 "Asks husband's opinions regarding important decisions and purchases."
I mean, I'm pretty sure I would, and I'd like my future husband to do the same, obviously. Check.
#10 "Good sense of humor - jolly and gay."
Check, obviously. I'm hilarious.
#18 "Tries to become acquainted with husband's business or trade."
There is so much information that I know about video games, comic books, and card games that I would not know without my boyfriend. Check, please.
#20 "Has a pleasant disposition in the mornings - not crabby."
I don't trust these people. No check.
#28 "Write often and lovingly when away from husband."
Gross. No check.
#35 "Gives husband shampoo or manicure."
Ditto.
29/50 merits, but with an overall adjusted score of 72. Looky that, a C grade!
Final score: 42, meaning that I would be just barely an average housewife, according to Dr. George's scale.
Honestly, I did better than I thought I would. I figured as an unmarried, 20-year-old woman in college who sometimes forgets to feed herself and rarely gets more than 5 hours of sleep would be a terrible housewife in the 1930s, but apparently, I'd simply be an "average" one.
Taking the test, I realized that not only are some of the merits and demerits completely ridiculous by today's standards, they're also somewhat biased. For example, a couple of the demerits seemed really obscure, like "Eats onions, radishes, or garlic before a date or going to bed" or "Visits mother too often," which any woman rarely does anyway (hopefully), so one wouldn't get too many of these demerits. On the other hand, some of the merits that should be really obvious to a woman in a committed relationship, like "Tells husband she loves him often" or "Faithful and true to husband," were worth five or ten points instead of just one, making it weighted.
Overall, it seemed like a pretty biased test to make about 95% of 1930s women feel solid about their housewife skills while the other 5% thought, "This is really dumb, we should try to change these social norms." Regardless, this was a pretty interesting test to take, and now I suppose I have something really impressive to put on my resume (not).
PS: If you'd like to measure yourself, here's the link I used. Good luck, and may you be better than me.
