Turning Back Time: Feminism, Domesticity, and Austere Femininities

A double-page spread in the Guardian Weekend magazine pictures ‘this season’s utilitarian homewares’ (2011: 60–1). While no human model is present, the selection of objects, which include a linen apron, an enamel peg bucket, a ‘housekeepers’ box, and a scrubbing brush, conjure a feminine subject. This subject is historicized via the coding of most of the objects as ‘retro’ products, for example through their presentation as reproductions of mid-century domestic props, or through their incorporation of wartime slogans such as ‘dig for victory’. The Guardian feature pins down the historical subjectivity in question more specifically by including a tea towel from the Imperial War Museum London shop adorned with the slogan ‘Housewives! Please finish travelling by 4 o’clock and leave the buses, trams and trains free for war workers’.