Novara Media ACFM Trip 52: Cleaning
Jun 29, 2025
In a thought-provoking exploration, the hosts delve into who handles cleaning in an ideal society, intertwining discussions on domestic chores with class politics and gender dynamics. They unpack the cultural meanings of cleanliness versus tidiness, revealing its emotional implications. The impact of historical standards on modern views surfaces, alongside the evolution of household technologies that shaped women's roles. Energetic songs about cleaning are celebrated, reflecting themes of liberation amid societal pressures. A multi-layered conversation that challenges perceptions of domestic labor!
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Cleanliness Is Contextual
- Cleanliness depends heavily on cultural, social, and emotional factors rather than fixed definitions.
- Dirt is "matter out of place," meaning dirtiness is contextual and involves social order, not inherent qualities.
Purity and Power Link
- Ideas of purity and dirtiness closely relate to social hierarchies and religion worldwide.
- Women’s bodies and sexuality have historically been unfairly labeled as unclean to enforce patriarchal control.
Industrialization Drives Cleanliness
- Urbanization heightened anxieties about cleanliness linked to class distinctions.
- Sanitation projects aimed both to sustain workers and to separate classes spatially for social control.
