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Nice Girls Don't Ask

In the 1950s, thousands of "social guidance" films were produced to shape female behavior. Offering a historical perspective on gender expectations, "Nice Girls Don't Ask" casts a subversive lens on the prevailing rules. The film has disturbing resonance in the current political climate.

  • Jan Krawitz
    Director
    Perfect Strangers, Big Enough, In Harm's Way, Mirror Mirror, Little People, Cotton Candy and Elephant Stuff, Styx
  • Jan Krawitz
    Producer
    Perfect Strangers, Big Enough, In Harm's Way, Mirror Mirror, Little People, Cotton Candy and Elephant Stuff, Styx
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm archival footage
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Krakow Film Festival
    Krakow
    Poland
    May 25, 2025
    World Premiere
Director Biography - Jan Krawitz

Jan’s documentary films have screened at Sundance, The New York Film Festival, SXSW, AFI Docs, Edinburgh, Visions du Réel, and Full Frame among others. Perfect Strangers, Big Enough, Mirror Mirror, Little People, In Harm’s Way, and Drive-in Blues were shown on national PBS and Little People was nominated for a national Emmy Award. Jan has had artist residencies at Yaddo, The Bogliasco Center, and Docs in Progress. She is Professor Emerita in the Stanford MFA program and was a Fulbright Scholar in Austria in 2022.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My mother was a math major in college and a highly capable woman. Because she married in the 1950s, she conformed to societal expectations and became a housewife and mother. The “trad wife” is again experiencing a resurgence in the current political climate as young women embrace a "career" as wife and mother.

"Nice Girls Don't Ask" is the final film in my trilogy of films about women's issues. It follows "Mirror Mirror" which explores female body image and "In Harm's Way," a personal essay about sexual violence against women.