MovieChat Forums > Happy Days (1974) Discussion > Richie was a terrible boyfriend

Richie was a terrible boyfriend

posted 7 years ago by skipper
9 replies | jump to latest

He fooled around on Lori Beth a lot. Why did he have such guilt about the baton twirler yet kept doing it?

1950's was all about double standard......which actually is pretty era accurate. Pill had not been developed yet and other forms of birth control were (yes) very difficult to get even for married couples in some states.

Plus abortion was illegal.

So stands to reason that even Richie Cunningham had room to fool around....even if 'something' did nag @ him ('conscience'). Whereas Lori Beth was the one who had to be faithful and honest.

[–] TimMC (9143) 4 years ago

Love killing me some babies.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

It is interesting given Richie was supposed to be the stand up good guy of the show.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2390) 4 years ago

And? Even the 'good guys' understood that they had room in that world to do whatever they wanted. They could after all just walk away after sex.

Something like AIDS/HIV was inconceivable then....and anything which did occur would merely get cleaned up with a trip to the doctor. So why would Richie worry long term? That's not being terrible it's just how it was.

[–] strntz (10932) 4 years ago

Richie was a terrible boyfriend

Well, it's probably because he didn't like kissing girls.. He kissed girls with his eyes clenched tight like he was having his spleen removed through his navel without anesthesia.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

In the 1950s it was acceptable for men to fool around on their girlfriends/wives. Today, it is women who can fool around, as long as it is with another woman or one of their students.

[–] Popcorngal (4361) 4 years ago

Now I have heard everything, but you are right to some extent.

[–] strntz (10932) 4 years ago

I won't comment on the second part of your comment (LOL), but even in the 50s it wasn't acceptable for men to cheat on their women.

But I will concede that there was more of a "good ol' boy" camaraderie where cheating was more explained away with a "boys will be boys" argument, but it was never truly acceptable.

I'll also concede that a woman cheating on her man back then was an automatic divorce and the woman got reamed (figuratively) in the divorce whereas a man most likely would not suffer as so for the same behavior.

Today, women generally get the "win" in a divorce case.

But no, a man cheating on a woman in the 50s was considered wrong. Gossips of the era would feast on this stuff. It wouldn't be gossip worthy if it was accepted.

[–] liscarkat (16652) 4 years ago

"In the 1950s it was acceptable for men to fool around on their girlfriends/wives."

No, it wasn't. Where on earth did you ever get such a preposterous idea? A combination of ignorance, fantasy, and ideological agenda has distorted present-day people's picture of the 1950s worse than any other decade.