Even people’s fond memories of the 1950s are flawed, as Stephanie Coontz pointed out in her book The Way We Never Were. Back then, married women were often depressed and anxious, feeling unfulfilled without feeling entitled to their own dreams, without financial freedom, dominated by their husbands, and taking medications to control their sadness and anger. Women and men who were unmarried, gay or lesbian, or in alternative relationships were often left out of the cultural story altogether.
