The new woman -- wash day
Item
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Title
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The new woman -- wash day
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Description
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A yellowed stereographa of a woman looking on at a man who is doing laundry and looking towards her. The image is currently split down the middle and the two figures are not looking at each other in the way that they would have in the original image. The man is stooped over at a wooden basin and holding an unidentifiable piece of clothing, He is also wearing an apron and skirt. The woman is wearing pants, a hat in a masculine fashion, as well as pants and men’s plaid knickers. She is smoking a cigarette and has one leg propped on a chair as she watches the man wash the clothing. Behind the woman, there is a bicycle propped against the wall and behind the man, there is an assortment of household goods such as a stove, a teapot, and laundry hung to dry.
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This Stereographa created in 1897 is a depiction of a man washing clothes while a woman dressed masculinely watches. In the late 19th century laundry was one of the biggest jobs a woman undertook regularly. Often taking multiple days due to the layered nature of clothing at the time, washday was the realm of the woman. In this photograph we see a man doing laundry, which is not only emasculating for the time but also a visceral upset of social norms for the time. The woman’s clothing would also be considered wildly inappropriate because of their masculine nature, the way her leg is posed on the chair, which highlights her defined ankle, would be reminiscent of the feminist fashion of bloomers, which were scandalous for exposing the feet of women. This image is wholly one of antagonism, to some people it might look rather amusing, but at the time many men (specifically middle and upper-class white men) would find the idea of participating in women’s work terrifying.
Source:
Franklin, Harper. “1890-1899,” August 1, 2019. https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1890-1899/.
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Date
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1897
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Source
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https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90706169/
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Identifier
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Stereograph showing posed cliché of woman in knickers smoking cigarette and watching man wash laundry in tub.
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Creator
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Strohmeyer & Wyman
