I have always been a fan of Lucille Ball and have USUALLY enjoyed "I Love Lucy" reruns. I have the entire first season on DVD and often record the episodes on TVLand. However, I always have to cringe when Lucy grovels and cowers before Ricky when she fears his reaction to whatever she's been up to. She lapses into "Yes sir, yes sir" mode, and occasionally he will resort to taking her over his knee and spanking her, as in the icon pic, which is hard to watch. This was not only tolerated, but even supposedly funny. If it had not been acceptable back in the early 1950s, it would not have been funny, so most watching likely thought nothing of it, other than to laugh at Lucy "getting hers" for whatever trouble she had wrought. Ricky also frequently treated Lucy as a child, questioning her as one does a 5-year-old and doling out "punishment", such as taking things away, withholding money, etc.
Was real life really like this at that time? Although I grew up in an all-female household from age 7 on, in the mid-1950s I don't remember my mother ever being treated this way, nor would she have stood for it. Did Lucy and Ricky's relationship reflect the norm in America at that time? Let's hope not!
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