Victorian Visual Culture

Earlier this year, I took a course titled History of U.S. Television with the remarkable Professor Hannah Goodwin. Here, I learned about the significance that television has played in American life, from the early development of technology to major waves of entertainment. We analyzed a plethora of advertisements, where it is placed, and why its appearance as regular furniture matters in the grand scheme of marketing. The television was a brand new phenomenon; you need to buy it to share happiness with all the family! However, I was primarily interested in looking at the role of the mothers and how they fit into selling the new product. But how does this relate to Victorian visual culture? Why does it matter? I want to compare early Victorian advertisements to 1950s television advertisements while viewing the mother, the woman, the ‘caregiver.’ How have these depictions of women changed over time? 

In this particular Motorola TV (https://guides.library.duke.edu/c.php?g=480747&p=3321107) advertisement, television is placed up against the wall much like the paintings right above it. The color of the television box matches the earthy tones of the rest of the ad, brown and gold. It also functions as storage, storing what appears to be a record player. The father and son are sitting on a chair while the small daughter sits on the floor (which is a whole other conversation). Each person is looking at the television, presumably having a good time. The mother in the image is standing up behind the husband, carrying a plate of some sort, attending to her motherly and wifely duties, yet she still gets to enjoy the program. This ad is meant to serve as a place for relaxation and entertainment, but for whom exactly? The ad paints itself as “happiness shared by all the family,” while mothers must perform their duties as caretakers of the household. As absurd as it seems, let us take a look at a Victorian ad from Victorian Consumer Culture.

[photo could not be uploaded] This image showcases an advertisement for soap, where the women are at the forefront washing clothes and taking care of the children. You can clearly tell that these women are doing some sort of labor; however, if you take a closer look, you can see a man wearing what seems to be a traditional Chinese hat, pulling up water from a well so that these women can wash the clothing. He is the only man in this ad that does not seem to serve the role of the father, meaning there is no father figure, which is a stark contrast to the Motorola ad. The angel at the very top of the advertisement adds another layer to this piece, and why it’s there still confuses me. Still, a white biblical figure is more visible than the person of color. This ad could potentially paint women in a hardworking light; sleeves are up and aprons are dirty. The real war is cleaning that nasty stain from little Johnny’s school uniform. The little boy’s face is also visible, while we hardly see the young girl, much like the ad above.

Women and girls in these advertisements are only meant to serve as units of the family. The little girl in the Victorian advertisement could be learning to wash clothes to take on this new role she will eventually uphold. In contrast, the little girl in the 1950s ad is glued to a screen, presumably watching the woman in the show. The women serve as commodities themselves, I believe. Soap is like an accessory for women to use to help with household chores. The television, perhaps, could be used as a placeholder for peace to get chores done without the children bothering her.

Domesticity was pivotal to these companies to sell their items, clearly targeting women since they were primarily doing all the shopping in the household. Happiness shared by all the family and saves time and money, labor, and fuel being sold to these women perhaps felt like relief, and seeing themselves in the ads could have also persuaded them to purchase soap or a television. This representation all those years ago perhaps meant something, but in contemporary times, it feels wrong to look at.

The early 2000s was an accumulation of things that transpired for women after the ’60s, empowering them rather than viewing them as housewives.

“Advertisers increasingly aligned their messaging with progressive values, advocating for gender equality and social justice.” – Modus Direct

Women, especially mothers, were no longer objects in the household but rather members of society that served a greater purpose. Now, with the digital age of social media, it is easy for a woman to showcase her authenticity without constraint. Women in advertisements have grown and have certainly given younger minds an idea of what a woman can be.