Imagine if this was the only thing you had to clean your home with. Well, according to the broomshop, before 1797 brooms in America where home and handmade. Brooms where used to sweep castles, caves, and even to clean ashes from a fireplace. In this ever changing world, brooms have evolved tremendously but, the world around us progresses a lot faster. People evolved from being barefoot to wearing shoes. We evolved from living in caves to larger homes with more living space and bedrooms essentially leaving more space to clean.As time went on technology advanced. We no longer had to walk or ride horseback because we invented cars. Technological advancements also occurred within the home. You had the invention of the light bulb, mops, feather dusters, and carpet. The carpet industry began in America in the late 1700s. William Sprague introduced the first woven carpet mill in Philadelphia. Along with carpets came carpet beaters, sweepers, and other technologies to clean it. In an ever changing world, we would need something more convenient to clean our larger now carpeted homes. According to our textbook, technology cannot be explained by progress alone but with convenience as well, they kind of go hand and hand. Around 1868, the first technologies that lead to the develop of the vacuum cleaner where underway.
Ives W. McGaffey is responsible for some of the first vacuum cleaner technologies. his first idea consisted of manually powered machine that needed to be cranked. This technology was very inconvenient because the operator had to push and crank at the same time. Over the years several inventors such a John Thurman and Melvin Bissell, developed vacuum cleaners but Hubert Cecil Booth was a trailblazer in the development of the electronic vacuum cleaner.
Ives W. McGaffey is responsible for some of the first vacuum cleaner technologies. his first idea consisted of manually powered machine that needed to be cranked. This technology was very inconvenient because the operator had to push and crank at the same time. Over the years several inventors such a John Thurman and Melvin Bissell, developed vacuum cleaners but Hubert Cecil Booth was a trailblazer in the development of the electronic vacuum cleaner.
Booth came up with the idea for his vacuum cleaner after watching the cleaning of a railway carriage. It was cleaned by using compressed air. Booth's vacuum consisted of a tube connected to an airpump. The other end of the tube had a nozzle and this was pushed over the surface being clean. Because the machine was so large it took two people to operate it. At this time most homes did not have electricity and many people could not afford to buy a vacuum so Booth incorporated a cleaning service. Because of its size, this vacuum was treated more like a car. It was powered by an electric engine and carried on a four wheel horse carriage. Long tubes were stretched thru the windows to clean the homes.
As the vacuum cleaner evolved they became smaller and more convenient. The upright vacuum cleaner came along in the early 1900s. An asthmatic man by the name of Murray Spangler designed a machine for collecting dust with a broom handle, an electric motor with a rotating brush and a pillow case for the dust. Spangler was an eemployee of Hoover, now a leading name in home appliances caught wind of Spangler's idea and made it a success. Today vacuum cleaners come in all sizes from handheld to extremely compact. They are convenient and cut the time it takes to clean your home or office in half. They have hoses and can function in several different ways. You can even find self operating floor cleaners! In a steadily evolving world, the vacuum cleaner has come a long way, and yet has even further to go.
I feel like our technologies are similar in many ways. I did research on the washing machine, and like the vacuum, this technology has both made it easier to clean but added labor to our lives. It has evolved from our quest to meet the culture's desire to be clean. I liked the interesting fact in your post about how people had to hire a service to come to their homes and use the vacuum cleaner because it was too big and heavy. Oh how I wish this was still the case for us today! Like the washing machine, the vacuum evolved when electricity came into the home. The question about technologies such as these...are they really convenient?
ReplyDeleteIts funny to know how men created the technology of vacuum cleaner and yet, women were the ones for which the vacuums were to be used by. Thanks guys! The new wealth the men were receiving from the technologies they created, allowed them more control in the household. The man being the breadwinner, holding economic and social power, created a division of labor in which the woman was assigned the domestic role of maintaining the household and children and thus becoming a domestic slave. But this was not always the case. Before the 18th century Enlightenment, women held the social power because they had the supreme gift of child bearing. It wasn’t until man had increased his wealth and thus power by the domestication of cattle with the help of slaves, that women took on the lower social status. Man being master of his slaves and cattle created more wealth for him and a class distinction where he could use his wife just as he had his slaves and cattle, as a tool for production. Now it seems we and our vacuums are one entity, seen as only used by women for a productive and efficient family, divided by labour.
ReplyDeleteThe technology of the vacuum raises numerous ideological and societal questions. First, how does the vacuum serve as a convenience and subsequent progress? That is, who benefits and who falls victim. To that technology? Here, with the emergence of the vacuum technology, women have largely fallen victim as the vacuum to technology as the vacuum serves society and furthers as a capitalistic mode of production.
ReplyDeleteFollowing, the influx of woman’s entrance into the workforce during World War II, However, the subsequent returning home of the troops ultimately sentenced women to the domestic sphere. This theory formulates woman’s role as a domestic servant. Therefore, woman ceased to exist independently within the society which she belonged. That is, woman is categorized as the second sex or inferior. Moreover, the patriarchal model of familial structure encourages, promotes, and reinforces the ideal of female domesticity belonging inherently and biologically to the female sex. The vacuum works in a similar way, adding to domestic labor provided through the social division of labor under capitalistic dependence through domestic subjection. Further, capitalism exploits women through their unpaid labor. In essence, this is also true with men; however, predominantly women constitute the domesticity sphere.
Summarily, the vacuum acts as a repressive apparatus. While a spotless floor was not historically, necessary this progression in technology ultimately led to the increasing duties of women. Now the hegemonic ideology acts to form woman’s domestic function in place
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ReplyDeletehello. I am Winnie Gilbert. I just purchased a Shark Navigator DLX (still in the box). I have had a Kenmore commercial grade upright (with bag) since 1989. Someone told me that the Shark is not recommended for carpets as it pulls out all the carpet fibers. My sister also has one which she says she gets lots of fuzz but can see no dirt in the container after vacuuming. I have low pile carpet in all rooms except kitchen & bath. I am wondering if I should keep the Shark or get a different brand? I really would prefer bags as opposed to empting a container.
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