The return of the housewife

Why women are still cleaning up

Author:
Emma Casey
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Housework is good for you. Housework sparks joy. Housework is beautiful. Housework is glamorous. Housework is key to a happy family. Housework shows that you care. Housework is women’s work. These popular depictions of housework have a long and stubborn history. Today, social media is flooded with images of the perfect home, with online ‘cleanfluencers’ dedicated to reproducing images of women cleaning, tidying and ordering their homes. Housework, with the promise of a life of love and contentment to those who commit to it, has become central to the recent self-care and positive thinking movement. And yet the reality is that housework remains one of the most unequal institutions globally. Women, especially poorer women and women of colour, do most of the low-paid and unpaid domestic labour. This book asks why these inequalities matter and why they persist. It offers a powerful call to challenge the prevailing myths around housework and the ‘naturally competent’ woman homemaker. Written in a lively and accessible way, drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary examples from literature, radical magazines, popular culture and politics, the book features anecdotes about the housewife in her various guises throughout.

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Introduction
Introduction
Chapter 1: ‘I really wanted to share this with you all!’
Chapter 1: ‘I really wanted to share this with you all!’
Chapter 2: Housework turned inwards
Chapter 2: Housework turned inwards
Chapter 3: ‘I’m broken and it’s beautiful’
Chapter 3: ‘I’m broken and it’s beautiful’
Chapter 4: ‘Laughter can get you through the hard days’
Chapter 4: ‘Laughter can get you through the hard days’
Chapter 5: The return of the housewife
Chapter 5: The return of the housewife
Conclusion
Conclusion
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