Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Kitchen during the Industrial Revolution

Throughout history, the kitchen has been delegated as the realm of the female population, a stereotypical claim that has remained, despite being heavily disputed, until the modern era. Reminiscent of Neolithic concerns, women's place in the kitchen was the byproduct of man's obligation to sweep the surrounding territory for anything deemed edible, and more recently, their obligation to take a job. Men became the "provider", while women managed domestic and relatively arbitrary affairs. This stereotypical assignment of "family obligations" was prominent during the Industrial Revolution, emphasized by the sudden need to invest in a lucrative factory job in a rapidly changing world. However, new technology developed during the Industrial Revolution alleviated some of the pressure on women to undertake their familial duties and freed women from tight, domestic constraints that prevented their self-actualization. The promotion of gas and oil as fuel, the dietary shift, and the technological advancements of kitchen appliances, resulted in the commencement of women's liberation from the traditionally house-binding domestic duties assigned to them and weakened accepted gender roles during the Industrial Revolution.

The rise of gas and oil-powered kitchens during the Industrial Revolution made common kitchen chores simpler and more efficient, thus allowing women the opportunity to gradually escape confining domestic duties. At the start of the Industrial Revolution, coal was the primary source of household power; it was cheap and readily available, and though it was harder to clean and tedious to maintain, the general industry was not concerned with the simplicity of a housewife's job and promoted coal as an effective source of fuel. However, as the Industrial Revolution progressed and a larger number of technological innovations came to light, coal slowly began to fall from favor. It was instead replaced by gas and oil, sources of fuel that were deemed both more productive and efficient. A London Times newspaper article from May 4th, 1880 describes the shift from coal to gas as fuel in the context of streetlamp illumination; producers saw gas and oil as more efficient substitutes for previously labor-intensive coal-powered appliances such as street lamps, thus starting a nation-wide transition. By 1935, only 5% of the homes valued over $2,000 used coal as fuel, and the overwhelmingly large majority of households had converted to cooking gas. Incidentally, gas and oil contributed more than efficiency in obtaining a product; the revolutionary sources of fuel, when inputted into kitchen appliances, were easier to maintain and regulate, thus liberating large swaths of time formerly occupied with appliance maintenance for a woman to turn her attention to other activities. Furthermore, gas and oil stoves were easier to clean as there was no abundance of coal dust, and time-consuming chores such as loading the fuel and removing the ashes that were common during the era of coal stoves were almost completely eliminated. With the rise of gas and oil as sources of fuel, women became liberated from traditionally time-consuming tasks that stunted their self-actualization.



As the Industrial Revolution progressed, women became liberated from traditional domestic duties by the rapid increase in employment rates and positions in the household. London Times newspapers ranging from 1875-1880 were riddled with numerous "wanted ads" that displayed a seemingly common need for maids, governesses, and cooks. The eruption of "wanted ads"for household positions suggests a dramatic shift during the Industrial Revolution stemming from the increased population in urban areas and the increased need for working hands in the rapidly augmenting number of factories. A multitude of lower caliber jobs were made available to the working class, and, drawn by the newfound simplicity and benefits of a job, an overwhelming majority and middle class and lower class individuals rapidly inducted themselves in the heart of the Industrial Revolution's productive factories. Women too began to take up positions of their own in decidedly "feminine" occupations such as textile factories and printing shops, though their wages were still meager in comparison to their husbands'. With employment came an inability to fully integrate oneself in traditional domestic duties such as household management and rearing of the children. The numerous "wanted ads" in the newspaper in the heart of the Industrial Revolution illuminate a solution to a woman's obligation to both provide for her family through the completion of her domestic role and through employment; hiring a household hand. The increased call for aid in the household is both a testament to the newfound liberty that women achieved by integrating themselves in the working community, and to their freedom from traditional domestic duties.



Throughout the Industrial Revolution, the rise of canned food liberated women from time-consuming traditional household roles and weakened gender stereotypes. Previous to the Industrial Revolution, canned food was scarce and often only made in the home; women were obligated to cook for their family from scratch every day, from market and homegrown produce. However, as the Industrial Revolution progressed in the 1920s, canned food started to become a popular ingredient in the middle-class diet. The canned food movement began as an experiment in preserving vegetables such as succotash, peas, and corn for mass distribution. However, as canned food factories rapidly developed new methodologies to increase economic productivity, the range of foodstuffs increased to encompass delicacies such as lobster, spaghetti, and a multitude of other ready-made meals. An issue of the London Times from May 6, 1939, claims that the growing canned food industry made over 350 varieties of commodities available to the general population, and quickly propelled Britain to become the most prominent importer of canned food. The rising canned food industry meant more than the simplicity of a one night's meal-- it meant a revolutionary step in women's independence, and freedom from constricting gender roles. Canned food was readily available and required much less work to prepare than meals that were assembled from raw ingredients, thus shortening the amount of time a woman spent in the kitchen. Less time spent fulfilling traditional domestic duties meant more time exploring other societal possibilities, thus allowing women to break free from draining household responsibilities and their traditional gendered obligations. Free from time-intensive kitchen obligations, women could fully integrate themselves in the working community and outer society, thus opening up a plethora of opportunities for their self-actualization that would have otherwise been unavailable had they been tied to their stove. Thus, the rise of the canned food industry during the Industrial Revolution allowed women to break free of traditional gendered household roles to pursue other activities, emphasizing their inherent rights and beginning a movement that would eventually give women the opportunity to become heard throughout society.



15 comments:

  1. Very interesting. I love the part about canned food. We take this sort of packaged food for granted, but your post reminded me of what a monumental change this was in society. It would be great to align the newspaper images with the text in which you are describing them.

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  2. I like this but it was very long and was hard to find what i needed for a project quickly so i would shorten it to a smaller article but other than that it was wonderful and very educational

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  3. yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

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  4. this doesnt help at all 1/4 star

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  5. all the birds work for the boichwaze

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  6. :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

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