What what the historical significance of the pastoralization housework?

Answer 1

The pastoralization of housework refers primarily to antebellum American women who, in an effort to distinguish themselves from mill girls and provide an invaluable service to their household, embraced housework. It is significant in the history of women because the national economy was becoming more and more industrialized at this time and women's role was becoming more and more diminished - in an economic sense. The traditional subsistence economy was going away. No longer could a monetary value be attached to the family economy of a farm. Men (and women) were finding employment outside of the home and these new jobs became the primary source of income. This left the housework as a job without monetary value and largely on the shoulders of the women.