When baking a cake, one would not tend to think of the protein denaturing, or the release of carbon dioxide to make it rise. But, these were the processes that women were thankfully able to learn in the early 1900s while many assumed they were learning how to disinfect a counter top. The domestication of women is not even a historical, but a continuing attempted process still prevalent to the present day. With phrases and claims of women belonging in the kitchen coined with the overall intent of preventing feminine advancement in male-dominated spheres, it's crucial that society acknowledges not just the hardships that many women had to overcome to pursue these sorts of career paths, but give spotlight to the process.
Home Economic Movement
What is "Home Economics?"
Home economics is a term used to define the study of all things crucial in managing a home, with key subjects including cooking, interior design, cleaning, family finances, etc. Often struggling to assert themselves in a professional lens, the Alberta Human Ecology and Home Economics Association (AHEA) was established in 1909 by Ellen Swallow Richards with the intent and purpose of not only improving the living conditions in households, but also advancing careers that woman would have otherwise not had the knowledge nor ability to pursue. This distinctively sparked the beginning of the home economics movement, a progressive reform to continue the legacy of the AHEA. Contemporary home economics will be in more regards to the domestication of women, as the decline in these classes were prevalent and still are. They are now commonly referred to as "social sciences".
