Have been following "Mad Men", and since was not yet born cannot comment on the early 1960's per se.
Being as all that may, it is all very well romancing the post war years, however one must remember the l950's and much of the early 1960's weren't heaven for everyone.
If one was a white, middle class or above male, you probably were sitting fine. More so if one was from the WASP ruling class, everyone else had to toe the line. Women were shoved back into the home, what jobs were left open to them were pink collar ghettos, sexual harrasment was rampant, (can vaguely remember want ads that were segregated by gender and female one always started "pretty, young ..... ".
Married women were still considered the unique property of their husbands. Things such as opening a credit card or bank account under her own name was difficult if the woman was married. Unmarried women often were asked to have their fathers (not mothers) co-sign.
There were many women like the wife of one of the top "Mad Men" who were married living in the suburbs, trapped in marriages because "that was the way they always heard it was to be", knowing their husbands were having affairs all over the place. While she could get a divource, for most women of her class her entire life was defined as being "wife and mother". Divorce would send her standard of living way down, and society was often harsh on such women. After all there were plenty of "Mrs. Mooreheads" (Mary Haines mother), who thought a wife was supposed to stay by her husband, no matter what he got up to, after all boys will be boys. If he knocked her about now and then, well what did she do to make him angry?
Blacks, gays and other minorities were worse off than women, who at least could count on the protection of their husbands or fathers (that is if they were "nice" girls, good wives and mothers, "bad" girls got what was coming to them and it was just too darn bad). I know from family stories that coloured persons couldn't go to resorts in places like Miami Beach or other parts of Florida. Employment was restricted to the menial tasks, though coloured women could become nurses,not all hospitals would hire them.
Gays like the "artsy" young man in "Mad Men" had their own "hell" to live through,and having a job in advertising wouldn't have protected that young man from getting beat up walking around late at night, or getting fired from his job because a client objected to "that f*g" working on his account.
All and all "Mad Men" is a great retro vision into the past, but I for one am very glad to live in 2008 and not 1961.
L.
