I feel we're treading a little too far into "observe the lowly housewife" territory here. Both of my grandmothers were housewives in the 30s and 40s, and while they didn't have all the opportunities that men of their time did, they were hardly voiceless slaves or household appliances of their husbands.

The '50s and '60s were actually worse for women, because of the concerted effort to get them out of the workforce after WWII to give the jobs to returning servicemen. There were ads and articles that all talked about the importance of being a housewife and supporting your man.

I grew up in the '60s, which is why I couldn't watch this show for very long. Having less choice is not simpler. I grew up surrounded by women who could only pour their considerable talents into housework, decorating and childcare. They were, as Margaret Mitchell described herself, dynamos going to waste.

(And VK's use of that particular word is revealing in its own way.)

and in an interview, not just amongst friends (not that that's better, but the fact that he feels so comfortable using it for national consumption is telling as well)

Mine was too, well in the 40s, and I'm absolutely sure my grandfather loved her and valued her input as a mother and wife, but that's in all reality as far as it probably went.

I don't think it was simpler--I think it SEEMS simpler. When I was a teen in the 70s and "Happy Days" was on, we talked about the 50s as a simpler time, and it used to make my parents laugh at us. As my mom pointed out, living with the Korean war and McCarthyism and racism and the threat of Atomic war was not happy.

I think I'm on team Robin & Burrell. Kartheiser may well be a jerk in person -- that's irrelevant to me -- but nothing in that interview made me raise an eyebrow. I'm also confused because the part that seems to have irritated some people comes right after he says that he thinks the show isn't about how different things were then, but how similar.

But I've been known to call male friends "pussies," so I guess that reveals a lot about me, too.

It's just...he says that the actresses on the show think it would be better, and I can't imagine any of them saying it, but specifically the leads-Peggy, Betty, Joan (maybe), or Rachel thinking any of it was easier.

There are a lot of background actresses for the secretarial pool so maybe one of them are saying it.

Plus someone with a smaller role isn't going to know exactly what's going on in scenes where it's just Don's wife and the shrink, right? Not until they saw the whole thing together?

Here's the quote:

Yeah, there are a lot of women on set who look at their characters’ lives and say, “Why did we ever burn our bras? Things were kinda nice.”

Characters' lives says to me someone who we know as a character, and I don't buy it.

I also have to admit that the 'bra burning feminist' stereotype kinda chaps my hide.

I think that it's more his interpretation of the comments that the women are making. For example, if someone said "it must have been nice to only have to worry about the house and the kids", they don't mean that it was a better time and they want to go back there, but that women had less responsibility.