All the World and Her Husband : Women in the 20th Century Consumer Culture

Many of women’s everyday experiences are tied up inextricably with consumption. In consumer culture research, it tends to be the activities and interests of women which take center stage. This collection provides a wide range of different perspectives on women as consumers, focusing on popular culture, including examinations of popular media and their targeting of female audiences. Apart from a grounding in feminism, the collection does not present a single view, theoretically, methodologically, or politically. Its contributors work across a wide range of disciplines, including cultural and media studies, design history, and sociolinguistics. What they all have in common is the aim of understanding women’s experiences and struggles in relation to consumer culture in the 20th century. Introduction : Women In Consumer Culture / Maggie Andrews And Mary M. Talbot -- 'all The World And Her Husband' : The Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition 1908-1939 / Deborah S. Ryan -- New Disciplines For Women And The Rise Of The Chain Store In The 1930's / Janice Winship -- Modernity Tamed? Women Shoppers And The Rationalization Of Consumption In The Inter-war Period / Mica Nava -- 'the Greatest Invention Of The Century' : Menstruation In Visual And Material Culture / Alia Al-khalidi -- Georgette Heyer : The Historical Romance And The Consumption Of The Erotic, 1918-1939 / Sallie Mcnamara -- 'a Material Girl'? Adolescent Girls And Their Magazines, 1920-1958 / Penny Tinker -- 'mrs. Housewife And Her Grocer' : The Advent Of Self-service Food Shopping In Britain / Barbara Usherwood -- Decisions In Diy : Women, Home Improvements And Advertising In Post-war Britain / Jen Browne -- 'as Seen On Tv' : Design And Domestic Economy / Alison J. Clarke -- Advertising Difference : Women, Western Europe And 'consumer-citizenship' / Anne M. Cronin -- Strange Bedfellows : Feminism In Advertising / Mary M. Talbot -- 'thanks For Stopping By' : Gender And Virtual Intimacy In American Shop-by-television Discourse / Mary Bucholtz -- A Self Off The Shelf? Consuming Women's Empowerment / Deborah Cameron -- Fashioning The Career Woman : Power Dressing As A Strategy Of Consumption / Joanne Entwistle -- Non-occasion Greeting Cards And The Commodification Of Personal Relationships / Jane Hobson -- Girl Power And The Post-modern Fan : The 1996 Boyzone Concert Tour / Maggie Andrews And Rosie Whorlow Edited By Maggie Andrews And Mary M. Talbot. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Many of women's everyday experiences and pleasures are tied up inextricably with consumption. Women have a lifelong relationship with the marketplace. Being feminine involves, amongst other things, a particular pattern of consumption. In research into consumer culture, it is women's activities, interests and expertise which take centre-stage. This collection provides a wide range of different perspectives on women as consumers. The book aims to understand consumer culture and consumerism broadly, focusing on popular media and their targeting of female audiences, in addition to issues and themes more directly associated with product purchase, placement and promotion, and with commodification. The book explores the notion of consumption as empowering for women as a problematic, but exciting, recouping of commodity culture for feminism. Apart from the grounding in feminism, the collection does not present a single view, either theoretically, in methodology or in politics. Its contributors work across a wide range of disciplines, including cultural and media studies, design history and sociolinguistics. By bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives, the book will function as a catalyst for debate. Many of women's everyday experiences and pleasures are tied up inextricably with consumption. In consumer-culture research, it tends to be the activities and interests of women which take center stage. This collection provides a wide range of different perspectives on women as consumers, focusing on popular culture, including examinations of popular media and their targeting of female audiences.Apart from a grounding in feminism the collection does not present a single view, theoretically; methodologically, or politically. Its contributors work across a wide range of disciplines, including cultural and media studies, design history, and sociolinguistics. What they all have in common is the aim of understanding women's experiences and struggles in relation to consumer culture in the 20th century.