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This volume brings together the most innovative historical work on
the conjoined themes of gender and consumption. In thirteen
pioneering essays, some of the most important voices in the field
consider how Western societies think about and use goods, how goods
shape female, as well as male, identities, how labor in the family
came to be divided between a male breadwinner and a female
consumer, and how fashion and cosmetics shape women's notions of
themselves and the society in which they live. Together these
essays represent the state of the art in research and writing about
the development of modern consumption practices, gender roles, and
the sexual division of labor in both the United States and Europe.
Covering a period of two centuries, the essays range from Marie
Antoinette's Paris to the burgeoning cosmetics culture of
mid-century America. They deal with topics such as blue-collar
workers' survival strategies in the interwar years, the anxieties
of working-class consumers, and the efforts of the state to define
women's - especially wives' and mothers' - consumer identity.
Generously illustrated, this volume also includes extensive
introductions and a comprehensive annotated bibliography. Drawing
on social, economic, and art history as well as cultural studies,
it provides a rich context for the current discourse around
consumption, particularly in relation to feminist discussions of
gender.
There is a growing scholarly interest in the historical development
of what has been called a 'consumer society.' In this important
collection of essays, historians from six different countries trace
the history of the consumer cooperative movement in much of western
Europe and North America from its inception to the present. The
consumer cooperative, as the contributors show, bears directly on
the role of socialist parties, the nascent feminist movement, and
conceptions of the worker's role in a changing economy and society
in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first book to explore consumer
cooperation on a comparative, international level, Consumers
Against Capitalism fills a significant gap in the literature of
labor history. It also makes a significant contribution to the
literature on consumerism and capitalist culture. It is essential
reading for students and scholars of labor history, women's
history, and social movements.
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