It's interesting how the double standard for men and women in the 50s continues to thrive today. We've all heard of the "man has sex, he's a god, woman has sex, she's a slut/whore/insert derogatory word relating to the loss of virginity here" argument, and that's not a bad thing, despite my somewhat unfortunate disparaging tone.
In case you haven't heard of the argument before, it's fairly simple. In our society, men aren't judged like women are when it comes to sexuality. If they're judged, it's often in a positive manner. Men who have a lot of sexual partners are studs, players, the people that guys want to be and girls want to be with. Which, if "Sixty Minute Man" by Bill Ward & His Dominoes and "Runaround Sue" by Dion are any indication of, was true in the '50s.
"Sixty Minute Man" is a song about how girls who can't be satisfied by their current male partner should come on up and "see ol' Dan" because he'll essentially give you the best night of your life. While you can certainly interpret this song and its lyrics in an innocent light, maybe he'll just kiss your forehead and tease you through 15 minutes of tickling, the implication is clearly something more of a sexual nature. Ol' Dan is glorified; his sexual prowess make girls leave their husbands because they simply can't compare. Of course, on the flip side, we have the girls who are unfaithful enough to leave their husbands. This is where "Runaround Sue" comes in.
Sue, a girl who married a good husband yet still left him for cheap thrills around the neighborhood, is scorned upon. "Keep away from-a Runaround Sue" is the warning that this song delivers; the man evokes pity due to an disloyal wife. But when you hold these two songs side by side, you realize that these songs bring sexist undertones. Why is it that Ol' Dan is something to cheer about and Runaround Sue is something to protest against?
Thanks to our 50's domestic sitcoms, we have a good idea of the "traditional gender roles" that were alive and well. The men are the head of the house while the women are inherently subordinate; their only duty is to look pretty and serve their husbands. These songs exert control over women; their bodies and their sexuality are supervised through shame and humiliation. No one wants to be a "Runaround Sue" because of the stigma that that nickname carries, but the praise that follows Lovin' Dan is startling. Perhaps we haven't come as far as we'd like to think; as Doyle said in Betty, Girl Engineer, women can vote, but they do so in long skirts.
