‘(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry’: Romantic Expectations of Teenage Girls in the 1960s West Midlands

Singleton, Rosalind Watkiss

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-52911-4_6

Rosalind Watkiss Singleton¹⁷

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music ((PSHSPM))

1384 Accesses

Abstract

Using autobiographies, memoirs and oral testimony, this chapter suggests that the music favoured by teenagers, and the magazines they read, served to reinforce traditional values of love and marriage and were in not symptomatic of rebellion or revolution. The women who were interviewed were teenagers during the 1960s and the early 1970s, born between 1947 and 1958; they were questioned concerning their tastes in music, magazines and men and were asked to explain the influences upon their expectations of love and romance. For adolescent girls growing up during the 1960s, the consumption of both music and magazines were integral to their lives, the messages within them contributing to the ‘romantic expectations’ of teenage girls and preparing them for marriage as a much anticipated and inevitable destination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 109.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 139.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
The title of this article comes from Darlene Love, ‘(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry’ (1963). In 1963 Love reached number 39 in the American Hot 100 with this track.
2.
J. Obelkevich, ‘Consumption’, in J. Obelkevich and P. Catterall, (eds.) Understanding Post-war British Society (London, 1994), p. 143 (Obelkevich 1994); D. Sandbrook, White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties (London, 2006), p. 56 (Sandbrook 2006); J. Clarke and T. Jefferson, ‘working class youth cultures’ in A. Gray, J. Campbell, M. Erikson, S. Hanson and H. Wood, (eds.) CCCS Selected Working Papers Volume 2 (London, 2007), p. 201 (Clarke and Jefferson 2007); C. Langhamer, The English in Love: The Intimate Story of an Emotional Revolution (Oxford, 2013), p. 56 (Langhamer 2013): D. Kynaston, Modernity Britain: A Shake of the Dice, 1959–62 (London, 2014) (Kynaston 2014); M. P. Donnelly, Sixties Britain: Culture, Society and Politics (Harlow, 2005), p. 3 (Donnelly 2005).
3.
M. Abrams, The Teenage Consumer (London, 1959), p. 7 (Abrams 1959).
4.
Abrams, Teenage Consumer, p. 5.
5.
Abrams, Teenage Consumer, p. 10.
6.
The concept was first introduced in 1975 by A. McRobbie and J. Garber, ‘Girls and subcultures’, in S. Hall and T. Jefferson (eds.) Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain (London, 1975) (McRobbie and Garber 1975); A. McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture (Basingstoke, 2000) pp. 4–16 (McRobbie 2000); A. McRobbie and J. Garber, ‘Girls and subcultures’ in A. Gray, J. Campbell, M. Erikson, S. Hanson and H. Wood (eds.) CCCS Selected Working Papers Volume 2 (London, 2007), p. 222 (McRobbie and Garber 2007). For a more recent discussion, S. Lincoln, Youth Culture and Private Space (Basingstoke, 2012) (Lincoln 2012).
7.
Obelkevich, ‘Consumption’, p. 146
8.
McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture, p. 9. pp. 22–3; S. Frith, The Sociology of Rock (London, 1978), p. 64 (Frith 1978).
9.
M. Akhtar and S. Humphries, The Fifties and Sixties: A Lifestyle Revolution (London, 2001), p. 80 (Akhtar and Humphries 2001); C. Davies, Permissive Britain: Social Change in the Sixties and Seventies (London, 1975), p. 69 (Davies 1975).
10.
B. Masters, The Swinging Sixties (London, 1985), p. 34 (Masters 1985).
11.
J. Hyams, White Boots and Mini Skirts (London, 2013) (Hyams 2013); J. Street-Porter, Baggage: My Childhood (London, 2004) (Street-Porter 2004).
12.
Oral interviews and autobiographies.
13.
P. Laurie, The Teenage Revolution (London, 1965), p. 23 (Laurie 1965).
14.
Laurie, Teenage Revolution, p. 152.
15.
Donelly, Sixties Britain, p. 36.
16.
MW in T. Johnson, The Mill Girls (London, 2014), p. 311 (Johnson 2014).
17.
The Black Country Bugle.
18.
R. Watkiss, ‘Old Habits Persist, Change and Continuity in Black Country Communities: Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton, 1945–c. 1970’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wolverhampton, 2014) (Watkiss 2014).
19.
Although for a larger study this would be a necessity.
20.
Laurie, Teenage Revolution, p. 88.
21.
S. Brooke, ‘A certain amount of mush: love, romance, celluloid and wax in the mid twentieth century’, in A. Harris and T.W. Jones (eds.) Love and Romance in Britain, 1918–1970 (Basingstoke, 2015), p. 83 (Brooke 2015).
22.
Brooke ‘A certain amount of mush’, p. 82.
23.
Abrams, Teenage Consumer, p. 1.
24.
P. Granger, Up West; Voices from the Streets of Post-War London (London, 2009) (Granger 2009).
25.
Donnelly, Sixties Britain, p. 35.
26.
Laurie, Teenage Revolution, p. 77.
27.
KB.
28.
LS.
29.
LL, JB.
30.
McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture, p. 4; Lincoln, Youth Culture and Private Space.
31.
Donnelly, Sixties Britain, p. 35; Lincoln, Youth Culture and Private Space. In her introduction Lincoln confesses that her bedroom was ‘almost becoming a kind of shrine’ to the band Bros., p. 4.
32.
All artistes and tracks mentioned in this chapter were those recalled by respondents. KB, LS, LH, WS.
33.
KB.
34.
LS, LL, SN, DF, JB.
35.
TM, LS, LL, WS, LH, JB.
36.
LJ.
37.
KD.
38.
TB.
39.
LS.
40.
SN. See remarks before reference 110.
41.
LS.
42.
TO.
43.
SN.
44.
DA.
45.
TB.
46.
DF.
47.
DF.
48.
KB.
49.
LH.
50.
C.A. Stafford and A. Crowe, Us Kids: Growing Up in Ladywood, 1945–1960 (Birmingham, 1998), p. 156 (Stafford and Crowe 1998).
51.
TB.
52.
Freda Payne, Band of Gold (1970).
53.
Brooke, ‘A certain amount of mush’, p. 86.
54.
C. Brown, The Death of Christian England: Understanding Secularisation 1800–2000 (Abingdon, 2001), p. 178 (Brown 2001).
55.
SN.
56.
This is true at least until the late 1960s, for some magazines it was much longer.
57.
P. Tinkler, Constructing Girlhood: Popular Magazines for Girls Growing Up in England, 1920–1950 (London, 1995), p. 3 (Tinkler 1995).
58.
C. Hathorne, Five Minutes’ Love (Dudley, 2006), p. 149 (Hathorne 2006).
59.
SN, LS, JB.
60.
LJ.
61.
Valentine (1957).
62.
A. McRobbie, ‘Jackie: An ideology of adolescent feminity’ (Occasional Paper, Women Series: SP No. 53, Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, 1978) (McRobbie 1978).
63.
Sandbrook, White Heat, p. 227.
64.
Honey (1966).
65.
Marilyn, 3 June 1961, p. 1. Thanks to Dr Mike Cunningham (University of Wolverhampton) for remarking that the storyline had ‘echoes of the song “It Should Have Been Me”’ (1963), written by Whitfield and Stevenson for Kim Weston, covered by Gladys Knight and the Pips (1968) and subsequently by other artistes.
66.
Jackie, 11 January 1964.
67.
Brown, The Death of Christian England.
68.
L. Stras, ‘Introduction: She’s so fine, or why girl singers still matter’ in L. Stras (ed.) She’s so Fine: Reflections on Whiteness, Adolescence and Class in 1960s Music (Farnham, 2011), p. 18 (Stras 2011).
69.
J. E. Gardner ‘She Got Her Man, But Could She Keep Him? Love and marriage in American romance comics, 1947–1954’, The Journal of American Culture, 36 (1) (2013), 24 (Gardner 2013).
70.
LJ.
71.
Valentine, 21 September 1963, p. 1.
72.
KD. This was endorsed by LS, LL and others.
73.
Langhamer, The English in Love, p. 173.
74.
McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture, p. 86.
75.
‘Modes and morals’ The Economist, 28 November 1953, p. 644. It is, however, important to note that by the mid-1970s the content and the message of the magazines was, almost imperceptibly, changing,
76.
Langhamer, The English in Love, p. 86.
77.
LH.
78.
TB.
79.
LH.
80.
CH.
81.
LS.
82.
GP.
83.
Laurie, Teenage Revolution, p. 70.
84.
Langhamer, The English in Love, p. 210.
85.
Hyams, White Boots, pp. xiv–xv.
86.
LS.
87.
SV ‘Memories of Walsall in the Swinging 60s’ The Black Country Bugle, 13 June 2013, p. 11.
88.
CH Telephone interview 15 October 2015.
89.
TB, LS, LL, JB, LH.
90.
GP.
91.
DF, LH, SN.
92.
LH, JB.
93.
LS, SN, LL.
94.
GP.
95.
DF, LS, SN.
96.
CH.
97.
JC.
98.
DF. When they married, in 1976, she was still considering the financial implications for her father. ‘There were only twelve guests at the wedding. I had to have a white dress because mum made me but I had my way over the rest of the wedding. As I was twenty-five it was easier to stand up for myself.’
99.
LS, WT, JB.
100.
LL, GB, TB.
101.
A. Pressley, The 50s and 60s: The Best of Times (London, 2003), p. 197 (Pressley 2003).
102.
LS, LL, SN.
103.
KB.
104.
It is interesting to note that even girls who left home to study at university and teacher training college returned home at the end of their training – all except JG who got married and ‘gained her freedom’.
105.
LH, LL.
106.
LS.
107.
BT.
108.
LS.
109.
LL.
110.
LS.
111.
LH.
112.
BT, LS, LL, JB, LH.
113.
SN.
114.
SN.
115.
LS.
116.
WT.
117.
LS.
118.
DF.
119.
LS, LL, DF, SN.
120.
DF.
121.
Pressley, The 50s and 60s, pp. 192–7. Anonymous respondents.
122.
C. Hathorne, All Shook Up (Dudley, 2007), p. 26 (Hathorne 2007).
123.
A. Johnson, This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood (London, 2013), p. 274 (Johnson 2013).
124.
LS.
125.
LS.
126.
SN.
127.
SN.
128.
JG She was the only respondent who admitted ‘putting it about a bit’ with previous boyfriends. Jean’s marriage ended in divorce in 1985.
129.
WS.
130.
SN.
131.
GP.
132.
LJ.
133.
LS.
134.
LJ.
135.
C. Hathorne, Those Were the Days (Dudley, 2013), p. 80 (Hathorne 2013).
136.
CH Telephone interview 15 October 2015; Hathorne, Those Were the Days, p. 122.
137.
LL, LS, JB, BT, JG.
138.
WS.
139.
LS, 1970; AEB A-level exam paper.
140.
Dudley Herald, 2 July 1955.
141.
A.M. Mangan, Me and Mine (London, 2012), p. 175 (Mangan 2012).
142.
LL, TB, WS.
143.
Dudley Herald, 6 March 1965.
144.
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (1967) ‘Third Finger Left Hand’ Gordy Records. ‘Third Finger Left Hand’ was on the B side of ‘Jimmy Mack’ and was covered in 1970 by British duo The Pearls
145.
Love Affair, (1968) ‘Everlasting Love’ CBS Records. The single, first released by Robert Knight in 1967, reached 40 in the UK charts in January 1968, but was number one in the singles chart for Love Affair in February 1968.
146.
McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture, p. 101.
147.
Jackie, 11 January 1964.
148.
Marilyn, June 1961.
149.
Laurie, Teenage Rebellion, p. 65.
150.
Manfred Mann (1965) ‘Semi-Detached Suburban Mr James’, Fontana Record Label.
151.
Laurie, Teenage Rebellion, p, 65.
152.
Pressley, The 50s and 60s, p. 196. Anonymous respondent.
153.
LS; LL.
154.
BT, SN, LS, JG.
155.
LS.
156.
BT.
157.
DF.
158.
R. Pierce ‘Marriage in the 50s’ The Sociological Review, 11 (2) (July 1963) pp. 215–40 (Pierce 1963).
159.
TB.
160.
LL was quoting her grandmother here.
161.
JG.
162.
LL, JB interviewed together.
163.
Laurie, Teenage Revolution, p. 153.
164.
WS.
165.
CH.

References

M. Abrams, The Teenage Consumer (London, 1959), p. 7.
Google Scholar
M. Akhtar and S. Humphries, The Fifties and Sixties: A Lifestyle Revolution (London, 2001), p. 80.
Google Scholar
S. Brooke, ‘A Certain Amount of Mush: Love, Romance, Celluloid and Wax in the Mid Twentieth Century’ in A. Harris and T.W. Jones (eds.) Love and Romance in Britain, 1918–1970 (Basingstoke, 2015), p. 83.
Google Scholar
C. Brown, The Death of Christian England: Understanding Secularisation 1800–2000 (Abingdon, 2001), p. 178.
Google Scholar
J. Clarke and T. Jefferson, ‘Working Class Youth Cultures’ in A. Gray, J. Campbell, M. Erikson, S. Hanson and H. Wood, (eds.) CCCS Selected Working Papers Volume 2 (London, 2007), p. 201.
Google Scholar
C. Davies, Permissive Britain: Social Change in the Sixties and Seventies (London, 1975), p. 69.
Google Scholar
M. P. Donnelly, Sixties Britain: Culture, Society and Politics (Harlow, 2005), p. 3.
Google Scholar
S. Frith, The Sociology of Rock (London, 1978), p. 64.
Google Scholar
J. E. Gardner ‘She Got Her Man, But Could She Keep Him? Love and Marriage in American Romance Comics, 1947–1954’, The Journal of American Culture, 36, 1 (2013), p. 24.
Article Google Scholar
P. Granger, Up West; Voices from the Streets of Post-War London (London, 2009).
Google Scholar
C. Hathorne, Five Minutes Love (Dudley, 2006), p. 149.
Google Scholar
C. Hathorne, All Shook Up (Dudley, 2007), p. 26.
Google Scholar
C. Hathorne, Those Were the Days (Dudley, 2013), p. 80.
Google Scholar
J. Hyams, White Boots and Mini Skirts (London, 2013).
Google Scholar
A. Johnson, This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood (London, 2013), p. 274.
Google Scholar
T. Johnson, The Mill Girls (London, 2014), p. 311.
Google Scholar
D. Kynaston, Modernity Britain: A Shake of the Dice, 1959–62 (London, 2014).
Google Scholar
C. Langhamer, The English in Love: The Intimate Story of an Emotional Revolution (Oxford, 2013), p. 56.
Google Scholar
P. Laurie, The Teenage Revolution (London, 1965), p. 23.
Google Scholar
S. Lincoln, Youth Culture and Private Space (Basingstoke, 2012).
Google Scholar
A.M. Mangan, Me and Mine (London, 2012), p. 175.
Google Scholar
B. Masters, The Swinging Sixties (London, 1985), p. 34.
Google Scholar
A. McRobbie, ‘Jackie: An Ideology of Adolescent Feminity’ (Occasional Paper, Women Series: SP No. 53, Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, 1978).
Google Scholar
A. McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture (Basingstoke, 2000), pp. 4–16.
Google Scholar
A. McRobbie and J. Garber, ‘Girls and Subcultures’ in S. Hall and T. Jefferson (eds.) Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain (London, 1975).
Google Scholar
A. McRobbie and J. Garber, ‘Girls and Subcultures’ in A. Gray, J. Campbell, M. Erikson, S. Hanson and H. Wood (eds.) CCCS Selected Working Papers Volume 2 (London, 2007), p. 222.
Google Scholar
J. Obelkevich, ‘Consumption’ in J. Obelkevich and P. Catterall, (eds.) Understanding Post-war British Society (London, 1994), p. 143.
Google Scholar
R. Pierce ‘Marriage in the 50s’ The Sociological Review 11, 2 (July 1963), pp. 215–40.
Article Google Scholar
A. Pressley, The 50s and 60s: The Best of Times (London, 2003), p. 197.
Google Scholar
D. Sandbrook, White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties (London, 2006), p. 56.
Google Scholar
C.A. Stafford and A. Crowe, Us Kids: Growing Up in Ladywood, 1945–1960 (Birmingham, 1998), p. 156.
Google Scholar
L. Stras, ‘Introduction: She’s so fine, or why girl singers still matter’ in L. Stras (ed.) She’s so Fine: Reflections on Whiteness, Adolescence and Class in 1960s Music (Farnham, 2011), p. 18.
Google Scholar
J. Street-Porter, Baggage: My Childhood (London, 2004).
Google Scholar
P. Tinkler, Constructing Girlhood: Popular Magazines for Girls Growing Up in England, 1920–1950 (London, 1995), p. 3.
Google Scholar
R. Watkiss, ‘Old Habits Persist, Change and Continuity in Black Country Communities: Pensnett, Sedgley and Tipton, 1945–c. 1970‘’, (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wolverhampton, 2014).
Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK
Rosalind Watkiss Singleton

Authors

Rosalind Watkiss Singleton
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rosalind Watkiss Singleton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

University of Wolverhampton , Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Keith Gildart
University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom
Anna Gough-Yates
Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Sian Lincoln
London Metropolitan University , LONDON, United Kingdom
Bill Osgerby
University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
Lucy Robinson
University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
John Street
University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom
Peter Webb
University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
Matthew Worley

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Singleton, R.W. (2017). ‘(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry’: Romantic Expectations of Teenage Girls in the 1960s West Midlands. In: Gildart, K., et al. Youth Culture and Social Change. Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52911-4_6

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52911-4_6
Published: 04 October 2017
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-52910-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-52911-4
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics