Stereotypes of Men
Ward Cleaver is the father in Leave it to Beaver. Like most men during the 1950s, Ward is white, well-educated, and holds a respectable job. Because Ward is the father and the breadwinner, he portrays typical professional man with a white collar job. As the father, he teaches important lessons to his kids, which in this time period were usually biological. Ward exemplifies other typical fathers of this time period in that he is fair and rational. He holds the maximum authority, demanding respect from his children. He takes no sass from his children and he determines the punishments for the wrongdoings of his children, with little to no input from his wife.
From the above clip, Ward's dominant personality as the father is very evident. As mentioned, he determines the punishment for Beaver as staying away from the movies for 2 weeks. He is very respected by Beaver, his son, as Beaver refers to him as "sir". Ward rules with a firm, but rationale style, as most fathers did in the 1950s. Click below to learn more about the Stereotypes of Women!