General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Growing up female [View all]TBF
(32,000 posts)And that was the view exactly. I was from a farm family so everyone thought I should grow up to marry one of the neighboring farmers' boys (a good match means everyone knows each other and sometimes farms get combined that way as folks inherit). Luckily I had a subversive grandmother. She graduated from high school at age 16 and wanted to teach but her father died unexpectedly (hit by a truck, I kid you not) so she worked in a factory and married a local farmer. She never even learned to drive herself. BUT, she sure planted seeds in my head - you are just as smart as any boy, apply for college, don't take any time off, wait to get married until you're done, etc... and it worked. But there sure was pressure against that and I think there still is today in many communities.