It's 2004.

The year has changed, but has society?

During the 1950s and '60s, women in the United States were expected to stay home as housewives and mothers, neglecting their own ideals and dreams.

Although women's role in society has changed tremendously over the past 50 years, sometimes I feel like we are stepping back in time.

Women are leaving the work force to take care of their children and husbands, but as the exquisite art professor in "Mona Lisa Smile" said, "Who says you can't do both?"

Last weekend I watched this movie for the first time, which is probably what inspired me to write this column.

I mean, I know things were quite different during the mid-20th century, but in all honesty, I was baffled to see how these female characters were portrayed.

Ironically, the next day I was riding around town listening to the radio when I heard a disc jockey talk about this very same subject.

He actually read part of an article from a 1950s Good Housekeeping magazine which told how to keep your husband happy.

I don't consider myself a self absorbed person, or even a feminist for that matter, but what about women? Did it matter if they were happy?

Well, according to a 1950s high school home-economics textbook, no.

To give you an idea of why I am so bothered by all of this, here are a few excerpts:

--ÊMinimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Better yet, have them in bed.

-- Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes.

-- Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice.

OK, I'm sorry, but when I am married and something is bothering me, I will talk about it, and if I'm upset, my voice and tone may not be "soothing."

After seeing the movie and hearing all of this, it really got me thinking.

Did my grandmothers have goals of being something other than a housewife? Did they push their dreams aside to follow in the footsteps of their mothers?

One thing I like about my life is that I have no idea where it will take me. These women knew exactly what they were going to do with their entire lives and what their roles would be. It was already planned for them.

In "Mona Lisa Smile," women basically went to school in search of a husband, not a degree. Some of these women were extremely intelligent but gave up attending some of the top law schools in the country to get married and raise a family.

It makes me wonder why they even went to college in the first place. Their voices were not heard, and at that time most of them did nothing about it.

Over the years, women's role in society has evolved. Women in the past fought for our place in society and the rights we have today.

Why would you want to throw all of that away?

Maybe being a housewife was both of my grandmothers' dreams and maybe some women today choose to play that role because it makes them happy.

But for me, I want to do both -- because I can.

Jennifer Reynolds is a junior journalism major from Shreveport and serves as managing editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to jmr035@latech.edu.