Home<\/a> | Introduction<\/a> | Literature Review<\/a> | Data & Analysis<\/a> | Conclusion<\/a> | Sources<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Home<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As with the construction of childhood, the meaning of home is a social construction which is highly impacted by societal factors and changes over time. This is demonstrated by how the home was impacted during World War I. Valentine (2001) broadly explores the concepts and meanings of the home, defining it as a \u201cmatrix of social relations\u201d which has \u201cwider symbolic and ideological meanings.\u201d The ideal home is often seen as a place of relaxation, shelter, and separate from the realm of work (Valentine 2001). Yet, in World War I, the home was not sheltered from the societal pressures of the time and became a tool to advance the war effort. A traditionally private space was heavily influenced by the federal government. As part of the food conservation campaign, Hoover painted \u201cFood [as] the principal weapon on the home front against the Hun,\u201d so, \u201cAmericans were urged to save wheat, sugar, fat, and meat to feed the Allies\u201d (Janik 2010) As such, the kitchen became a place a war front of its own, as a place where one could support their country. Tied to the ideal home is the image of the ideal family. This ideal shifts over time and in the late 19th and early 20th century, the new model of family life emerged. According to David Macleod\u2019s The Age of the Child<\/em> \u201cThe new model of family life was closely linked to ideals prescribing separate spheres for women and men\u201d (Macleod 1998). However, these \u201cseparate spheres\u201d often overlapped, with women often providing unpaid labor in a space seen as separate from work, or when the home was a place of production rather than consumption (Valentine 2001). Thus, \u201cThroughout the progressive era, the middle-class family ideal would remain in conflict with the family economy\u2026\u201d (Macleod 1998).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Housewife<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of women\u2019s roles as a homemaker in the ideal home, they are seen as the main preparer of food, an image that was solidified by advertising and propaganda campaigns. Both food advertisers in the 20th century and the government during World War I used the stereotypical image of women in order to change peoples\u2019 dietary habits. Tanfer Tunc\u2019s article \u201cLess Sugar, More Warships: Food as American Propaganda in WWI\u201d argues that the mobilization of middle class women by government propaganda led to a substantial shift in culinary habits. \u201cWomen served as the backbone of the USFA’s programmes because they had the most direct contact with the production, purchase, and preparation of food. Consequently, much of the food-related propaganda of the First World War was gendered–both in language and in imagery–to appeal to the ‘female’ sensibility of maternal self-sacrifice\u2026\u201d (Tunc 2012) The use of the \u201cideal housewife\u201d image further solidified their place in society as homemakers and for the children viewing the advertisements, it would further solidify the gender divides as norms within their homes. Katherine Parkin\u2019s book \u201cFood is Love\u201d argues that food holds symbolic meaning, especially in relation to women, which has been historically manipulated by food advertisers. They \u201cpromoted the belief that food preparation is a gender-specific activity and that women should shop and cook in order to express their love\u201d (Parkin 2006) The propagandists during WWI likewise used the ideological meaning of food. Instead of merely \u201cexpressing their love,\u201d the preparation of certain foods also expressed their patriotism. However, the effort to make women the central leaders of the \u201chome front\u201d led to a more nuanced view of women\u2019s roles in society. Women were paradoxically seen as part of the \u201ckitchen army\u201d and as dignified members of the war effort, while also being depicted as feminine and working in the kitchen (Dumenil 2017). This mirrors the paradox of the home being a place of respite (Valentine 2001), while also being a war front of its own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Children<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from women, children were also central to the food conservation campaign, which led them to have a more involved, \u201cadult,\u201d role in the war. Robert Gross\u2019s article \u201cLick a Stamp, Lick the Kaiser\u201d argues that \u201c…Hoover and other administrators turned to the local culinary habits in order to promote conservation, with children at the center of their efforts\u201d (Gross 2013). One way this was accomplished was through food pledge cards specifically for children. While pledge cards were mainly circulated to women, as part of this campaign, \u201cChildren were urged to sign their own special Junior Soldier Flag Pledge cards, urging them to conserve and to convince their parents to do the same\u201d (Janik 2010) Since children had sway over the consumption of food because of their influence over their parents, it was important that they were a part of the effort. They were also directly involved in the preparation of food. However, this was often only the case for girls because food preparation was a largely gendered activity. During the war, women and girls were encouraged to can foods in order to preserve them and decrease food waste. \u201cBy the start of the First World War, hundreds of canning or bottling clubs and associations had been established nationwide, and many of the women and girls involved in these clubs were even selling their products locally\u2026\u201d (Tunc 2012) This effort led to a canned food explosion in 1920 and demonstrates the centrality of children to the shift in diet. Even if children did not participate in activities directly related to the food conservation campaign such as signing Junior Pledge cards or participating in canning demonstrations, they still \u201c…experienced adult concerns over food in the form of different meals.\u201d (Gross 2013) The effort was so pervasive in people\u2019s homes, that rather than being insulated from adult worries about the war, children became aware of them through a reduction in red meats, flour, and sugar in their meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n World War I fundamentally changed many aspects of American life, including the importance of culinary habits. The food conservation campaign demonstrates how larger societal movements and global conflicts can change more private aspects of life, even within people\u2019s own homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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