How would the new electrical appliances change the burden of maintaining the home and how would they alter standards for home-making? The purchase of a new vacuum cleaner, for example, might shift responsibility for cleaning from men, who might previously have hauled rugs outdoors once or twice a year to “beat” the dirt out of them, to women, who now were expected to vacuum the rugs frequently to keep them clean. This teaching unit explores cultural aspects of electrical use in the home, including the intersection of electricity with changing conceptions of femininity and the gendered nature of household labor. To boost demand, electric utility companies and appliance manufacturers sought to teach American consumers how to use electrical devices and promoted the electrified household as thekey to a better, more prosperous life. As electrical service became increasingly available in urban areas, middle class households experimented with and adopted new electrical appliances. Patterns of energy consumption started to change significantly in the first decades of the twentieth century.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |