Examination of this advertising image reveals a feminine subject who according to the advertisement gains a “sense of place [and] a sense of purpose” from her designation as an “iron age woman”. This super-mom’s shiny iron kitchen appliances prop her up as a “modern” thin, white, clean feminine subject without arm hair, content in the private sphere of her own “kitchen”. Even though this image of the new “iron age woman” attempts to differentiate itself from the much criticized June Cleaver images of the 1950’s by referencing modernity and implying by her posture that this woman no longer needs feminism, it still reinforces the stereotype that women are supposed to gain a “sense of place [and] a sense of purpose” from the same domestic labor responsibilities that are still expected disproportionately of them, despite the fact that many of them work outside the home and most consider themselves more liberated than women in the 1950’s. And indeed to attain Super-Mom status, women must necessarily face a second shift of domestic labor responsibilities in addition to any volunteer or income-generating activities outside the domestic space shown here.
The Super-Mom who earns enough income to displace some of her domestic labor responsibilities such as cooking, taking care of children and especially cleaning, onto someone else (often women of color) also accords a high degree of power as a post-feminist Super-Mom. The portrayal of the good Super-Mom in this ad highlights the regulatory and disciplinary role that the Super-Mom plays as a cultural construct who often wields various forms of cultural power at the same time that she is denied other powers and at the same time that her privileged position is often denied to others who may not be white or thin or free from body hair.
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