The Image of Females in Male Eyes

Fortune Magazine, November 1944, Smith-Corona (p257)
Playboy Magazine, July 1958, Centerfold (p35)
Playboy Magazine, July 1958, Centerfold (p39)

World War II drastically changed gender roles in America. Patriotism meant helping the war effort, whether it be consuming less or buying war bonds. With many jobs vacated by men on tours of service, women had a unique opportunity to enter the work force in unprecedented numbers. The portrayal of gender roles in magazines marketed for men changed after the war ended. In Fortune magazine, a periodical originally targeting elite men, women were acknowledged to be an integral part of the American war effort. The advertisement from Smith-Corona Typewriters addresses the issue of potential female roles when the war is over. It is implied that when the soldiers returned home, the labor dynamic would change and there would be a need to find new work. The skill of typing, the ad states, offered huge career mobility and statue. Typing was directed at all women as their best possible option. There is an emphasis on planning ahead so that when typewriters become available after the war, trained women won't be left behind.
Playboy Magazine, a magazine created in 1953 for men with class, shows women in a much different light. Women are portrayed as feminine and dependent. The centerfold, the woman who is focussed on the most by male readers, is blatantly called idle and lazy. According to Playboy, not only should women not work or exercise, even playing chess is too much effort. This image is in contrast with the World War II era Fortune Smith-Corona ad. Although women weren't seen as equipped for high management, their place in the work force was accepted and embraced in 1944. By 1958, men were shown through magazines like Playboy that women should depend on men and remain idle.