EXHIBITS
Crisis in the Kitchen : Health and Domesticity
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[0] => HIST 3770 Spring 2017
[1] => no-show
[2] => student exhibit
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Health and Domesticity
During the 1950s, many women elevated their role as a homemaker to a professional status, “investing it with skills, prestige, and importance.” [1] Women felt a sense of pride for the work that they did inside their home. Cookbooks from the post-war era reflect a celebration of motherhood and domesticity. The photo on the left shows an expecting mother with her two children. The children help her set the table while she puts the finishing touches on dinner. As the children help her, she fulfills her responsibility to teach her children.
Maintaining a beautiful appearance was also an expectation for women. A study of newly married couples in the 1950s revealed that physical attraction was an important requirement that people looked for in a mate. [2] To help women in their quest to maintain a beautiful figure, Knox created their “Eat and Reduce Plan” that would help women reduce how much they ate, but not sacrifice nutrition. They claimed, “unflavored gelatin provides supplementary protein without adding high calories, fats, and carbohydrates – thus food intake is happily regulated and you grow slimmer without growing hungrier.” [3] The book includes a suggested meal plan, recipes and tips for making the most of the diet, and a check-up chart to allow people to check their progress. [4] The image at the left is the cover artwork from the recipe book, featuring a woman on the scale and her husband standing nearby checking the results.
Citations
[1] May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era. 20th ed. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2008. p.150-151.
[2] May. Homeward Bound. p. 112.
[3] Knox Gelatin Recipe Book: Eat and Reduce Plan. Utah State University Special Collections, 641.5K77. p.10.
[4] Knox Eat and Reduce Plan. p. 4-7, 34-35.
Created by Kendrick Schut