Defining Their Identity: The Changing Roles of Women in the Post-war Era As Documented by the Valley Times Newspaper

by Christina Rice, Joy Picus (Introduction)

The popular view of women in the years following World War II has come to be of homemakers like television's Donna Reed and June Cleaver who maintained picture perfect households in suburban settings. In many cases this was indeed the primary role assumed by women of the era, but it wasn't the only one. Women pursued advanced degrees, became professionals, held office, excelled in sports, fought for equal rights, and became civically involved, and often while running those households. The San Fernando Valley has come to exemplify the post-War suburban growth that took place throughout the country and the Valley Times newspaper was there to document this expansion along with the Valley's dynamic women in their various roles. Now, the exibit and companion catalog, Defining Their Identity: The Changing Roles of Women in the Post-War Era, explores the changing roles of women through the lens of the Los Angeles Public Library's Valley Times' image archive.

204 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2014

About the author

Christina Rice is a writer, librarian, and archivist who was born and bred in the greater Los Angeles region. While majoring in film at Cal State Fullerton in the 1990s, she began collecting memorabilia relating to actress Ann Dvorak which eventually lead her to document Dvorak's life, launch www.anndvorak.com, and ultimately write Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel (University Press of Kentucky, 2013). After obtaining an MLIS from San Jose State University in 2004, she began a career as a librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library the following year. Since 2009, she has overseen the library’s historic photo collection. In addition to authoring books on Ann Dvorak and Jane Russell, she has also written numerous issues of the My Little Pony comic book series (IDW Publishing) and was a contributor to the Eisen-nominated anthologies Femme Magnifique (Black Crown, 2018) and Where We Live (Image Comics, 2018). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, their daughter, and two adorable dogs.