Dear Colleagues in Historical Archaeology ~

 

            A few months back, we queried the group for references
pertaining to early 20th century domestic sites, specifically Sears
houses.  We wish to make that appeal again. 

            Also, we are curious to hear whether any of you have studied
the material and spatial correlates of "the feminine mystique."  For
those who may not know, this gender ideology emerged in the 1920s and
1930s and, according to Ruth Schwartz Cowan, women were viewed as
"purely domestic creatures, that the goal of each normal woman's life
was the acquisition of a husband, a family and a home, that women who
worked outside their homes did so only under duress or because they were
'odd' (for which read 'ugly,' 'frustrated,' 'compulsive,' or 'single)
and that this state of affairs was sanctioned by the tenets of religion,
biology, psychology, and patriotism" (Cowan 1976:148).  So it had strong
parallels to the cult of domesticity, but differed in some of the
prescriptive details.

 

Cowan, Ruth Schwartz

1976     "Two washes in the morning and a bridge party at night:  The
American housewife between the wars."  Women's Studies 3(2):147-172.

 

            I would appreciate any references you might be willing to
share!  Thank you!

 

Deborah L. Rotman, Ph.D., RPA

Assistant Professor

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Purdue University

700 W. State Street; 316 Stone Hall

West Lafayette IN  47907-2059

Phone (765) 494-4683

Fax (765) 496-1476