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Story: Families: a history

Sexist society, 1972

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<em>Sexist society</em>, 1972

In the early 1970s, the domestic ideal of breadwinner fathers and full-time mothers was increasingly criticised. Its limitations were vividly captured on the cover of Sexist society, published in 1972. A man and a woman are trapped in the stocks against the background of an idyllic hillside suburb. Sexist society includes extracts from interviews with many women and men – including a female homemaker, a male breadwinner, a bachelor, a homosexual, an extramarital lover, an unmarried mother, a separated husband and a sex worker. The editors, Sue Kedgley and Sharon Cederman, stated that: 'We have tried to include a balance of male and female because we believe that men are restricted almost as much as women in our sexist society.'

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Reference: Susan Kedgley and Sharyn Cederman, eds. Sexist society. Wellington: Alister Taylor, 1972

by Rad Drawbridge

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How to cite this page

Ian Pool and Rosemary Du Plessis, Families: a history – Baby boom continues: 1960s – early 1970s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/30217/sexist-society-1972 (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Ian Pool and Rosemary Du Plessis, published 31 March 2011, updated 1 July 2017.