Day of the Outlaw JY

Although the film The Day of the Outlaw manly focuses on the alpha male cowboy it also brings up some very important women’s issues of the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The first issue is the issue of women being treated like objects. In the film the women of the town are treated like objects by the gang. When the gang comes into town the first thing they look for are the women. They treat them like objects and take advantage of them because the gang only sees them as objects of attraction. The gang also feels that they have the right to use women in any way they want because they feel that is why they are there. In 1950’s women were just seen as housewives and were expected to stay home watch over the children and the house while also catering to her husband. While some women were entering the workforce a majority of them were still staying home and fulfilling the classic role for women of that time.

Another issue seen in this film is the issue of rape. It is constant throughout this whole film because the members of the gang attempt to take advantage of the women of the town at any chance they get. In the 1950’s rape was present but most women that were raped did not come forward because they were scared of what society might think. Women of this time were expected to keep up a good appearance to society and admitting they were raped would tarnish this appearance. Also this brings us to another issue in this movie the issue of adultery. In the movie Helen Crane kisses her ex lover Blaise even though she has a husband. This was unheard of because the 1950’s was a very family oriented time period so cheating on your husband or wife and jeopardizing your family was not very common in this era.