Home Sweet Homemaker

The Young Homemaker - just think, somewhere in the world some poor feminist has fallen into a swoon just by reading the title.

Published for the Australian secondary schools in 1971, in the days when many young teenage girls still aspired to happy domesticity instead of aspiring to being, say, Paris Hilton.

Appropriately published by romance printer, Mills and Boon, this text book covers the basics including nutrition, hygiene, laundering, home management and recipes.

It's a written in a simple, no-nonsense style that you can imagine a somewhat austere, 'I know who's boss in the classroom and it's me' teacher delivering. Here's a sample if the text in the picture below isn't readable:

Should Schoolgirls 'Slim'?
If a schoolgirl feels she is unhappily fat she should go and ask her doctor's advice. He won't laugh.

But a sensible schoogirl will always:
1. Eat a good breakfast, dinner and tea.
2. Drink all the milk she can get.
3. Eat all the fruit she can get.
She may
1. Cut down on sweets, biscuits and cakes on her own.
2. Take more greens and other vegetables instead of potatoes.

Certainly a more practical subject than its modern day equivalent, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education where girls go from a (metaphorically speaking) meat and three vege education to fairy floss:

This area of study provides for the intellectual, social, emotional, physical and spiritual development of students. It involves students learning and practising ways of maintaining active, healthy lifestyles and improving health.

Students study aspects of a social view of lifestyles where the principles of diversity, social justice and supportive environments are fundamental aspects. Individual, family and community values and beliefs and the sociocultural and physical environments in which we live will be examined.

Still trying to work out what that means.