Made in Patriarchy: Toward a Feminist Analysis of Women and Design

Author(s): Cheryl Buckley

Source: Design Issues, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Autumn, 1986), pp. 3-14
Published by: The MIT Press
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 Cheryl Buckley

Made in Patriarchy:
Toward a Feminist Analysis of Women and
Design

1) See, for example, Nikolaus Pevsner, Womenhave been involvedwith designin a varietyof ways - as
PioneersofModernDesign:FromWilliam
Morristo WalterGropius(London:Pen- practitioners, theorists, consumers, historians, and as objects of
guin, 1975); Reyner Banham, Theory representation. Yet a survey of the literature of design history,
and Design in the First MachineAge
(London: ArchitecturalPress, 1975);
theory, and practice would lead one to believe otherwise.
Fiona MacCarthy,A Historyof British Women's interventions, both past and present, are consistently
Design, 1830-1970 (London: George ignored. Indeed, the omissions are so overwhelming, and the rare
Allen andUnwin, 1979);Open Univer-
and Design
sity, Historyof Architecture acknowledgment so cursory and marginalized, that one realizes
1890-1939(MiltonKeynes:Open Uni- these silences are not accidental and haphazard; rather, they are
versity, 1975);John Heskett,Industrial
Design (London:Thamesand Hudson,
the direct consequence of specific historiographic methods.2
1980).In thesebasictextbooksof design These methods, which involve the selection, classification, and
history,two or threewomenareconsis-
tently mentioned.Somebooks, such as prioritization of types of design, categories of designers, distinct
those forming the Open University styles and movements, and different modes of production, are
series, acknowledgemore women de-
signers,althoughin allcasestheworkof
inherently biased against women and, in effect, serve to exclude
the womenwho makeit into the history them from history. To compound this omission, the few women
books could be describedas modernist. who make it into the literature of design are accounted for within
More recently, Adrian Forty has
acknowledgeda few morewomenin his
the framework of patriarchy; they are either defined by their gen-
book Objectsof Desire:DesignandSoci- der as designers or users of feminine products, or they are sub-
ety 1750-1980(London: Thames and
Hudson, 1986). Some historianshave
sumed under the name of their husband, lover, father, or brother.3
beencarefulto declaretheirbiaseswhen The aim of this paper is to analyze the patriarchalcontext within
analyzinga particular period.Forexam- which women interact with design and to examine the methods
ple, PennySparke,in the prefaceto her
book, An Introductionto Design and used by design historians to record that interaction.
Culturein the TwentiethCentury(Lon- To a certain extent, this paper is also an attempt to pinpoint
don: Allen andUnwin, 1986),states,"I
should also declaremy bias where its some of the key debates to have emerged in design history in Brit-
subject matteris concerned.As I am ain concerning the role of women and design. Most of these have
dealingsolelywiththeperiodafter1900,
and with designin its most democratic taken feminist theory as their starting point. Feminist theory has
sense, my main concern is with the been particularly useful in that it delineates the operation of pat-
relationship of designwithmass-produc-
tion industry"(p. xvi). Sheexplainsthat riarchy and the construction of the "feminine."4 It has shown how
shedoesnot findcraftor fashionirrelev- femininity is socially constructed and how sexuality and gender
ant; indeed, she argues that they are
extremely important. However, she
identity are acquired at conscious and unconscious levels in the
focuses on specific areas of design family and through language acquisition. The work of feminist
and their relationshipto one mode historians and art historians has also been important, especially
of production.
2) Consideras an examplethe nearsilence the critiques of the discipline of history revealing the ideological
about women's involvement in the reasons for the silence about women.5 As Parkerand Pollock have
Bauhaus.Althoughwomenweretrained
andtaughtattheBauhaus,thevastlitera- argued in their book Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology,
tureon the subjectmakesscantreference "To discover the history of women and art is in part to account for

Design Issues: Vol. III, No. 2 3

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 to their presence. (I include here Gillian the way art history is written. To expose its underlying values, its
Naylor's recent updated version of her
early book on the Bauhaus.) We know a assumptions, its silences, and its prejudices is also to understand
great deal about Marcel Breuer, Walter that the way women artists are recorded and described is crucial to'
Gropius, Laszl6 Moholy-Nagy, Johannes the definition of art and the artistin our society. "6In their writings,
Itten, and Wassily Kandinsky, but how
much do we know about their female feminist historians have challenged the centrality of individuals as
counterparts?
agents of history and the focus on professional structures and
3) The Irish-born designer Eileen Gray has
been defined by her gender as a feminine modes of activity. Instead, they have pinpointed domestic labor
designer. Unlike her contemporary Le and non-professional activities as crucial areasof women's history,
Corbusier, her work has been consigned
to the so-called decorative arts. It is only and they have located alternative information, such as oral
more recently that historians have noted sources, to counterbalance the great weight of "official"
her role in the European avant-gardeas a
modernist designer and architect.
documentation.
Margaret Macdonald and Louise Powell In recent years, a feminist approach to design history has been
are examples of women designers whose
work has been subsumed under their placed firmly on the agenda. Feminist design historians, theorists,
husband's names. Louise Powell was a and practitioners have attempted to coordinate their activities
pottery designer at Josiah Wedgwood through teaching strategies, the organization of conferences, and
and Sons in the early twentieth century.
She worked with her husband Alfred in publications, because, as Griselda Pollock has stated, a feminist
Powell, and, until recently, he alone was
credited with their joint contribution to
approach is neither a side-issue nor a novel historical perspective -
new design development at Wedgwood. it is a central concern of contemporary design history. As she has
Margaret Macdonald is another woman pointed out, "we are involved in a contest for occupation of an
designer whose work has been ignored in
the history books. When she is acknowl- ideologically strategic terrain."7
edged, it is only to account for a decora-
tive element in work produced by her
Women designers
husband Charles Rennie Mackintosh,
which debt is inconvenient to a historical Central to a feminist analysis of women's role in design is an
analysis of Mackintosh as a full-fledged examination of patriarchy.8 Patriarchy has circumscribed
modernist. See, for example, Thomas
Howarth, Charles Rennie Mackintosh women's opportunities to participate fully in all areas of society
and the Modern Movement (London: and, more specifically, in all sectors of design, through a variety of
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977).
4) See, for example, Kate Millet, Sexual
means - institutional, social, economic, psychological, and histor-
Politics (London: Abacus, 1972); ical. The resulting female stereotypes delineate certain modes of
Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch
behavior as being appropriate for women. Certain occupations
(London: Granada, 1981);JulietMitchell,
Psychoanalysis and Feminism (London: and social roles are designated female, and a physical and intellec-
Penguin, 1975); Michele Barrett, tual ideal is created for women to aspireto. These stereotypes have
Women'sOppression Today: Problems in
Marxist Feminist Analysis (London: had enormous impact on the physical spaces - whether at home or
Verso, 1980). at work - which women occupy, their occupations, and their
5) See, for example, Sheila Rowbotham,
Hidden From History (London: Pluto relationship with design. Design historians who examine women's
Press, 1980); Jill Liddington and Jill role in design must acknowledge that women in the past and
Norris, One Hand Tied Behind Us: The
Rise of the Women'sSuffrage Movement women today are placed within the context of patriarchy,and that
(London: Virago, 1978); Judith L. ideas about women's design abilities and design needs originate in
Newton, Mary P. Ryan, and Judith R.
Walkowitz, eds., Sex and Class in patriarchy. Recent debate within feminist history and theory has
Women's History (London: Routledge highlighted the dependent relationship between patriarchy and
and Kegan Paul, 1983).
6) Rozsika Parker and Griselda Pollock, capitalism and the ability of both to reshape and reformulate soci-
Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideol- ety in order to overcome potentially transforming processes.9
ogy (London: Routledge and Kegan To what extent, then, does patriarchy form the framework for
Paul, 1981), 3.
7) Griselda Pollock, "Vision, Voice and women's role as designers? In a patriarchy,men's activities are val-
Power: Feminist Art History and Marx- ued more highly than women's. For example, industrial design has
ism," Block 6 (1982): 5. Conferences
have been organized on the theme of been given higher status than knitted textiles. The reasons for this
"Women and Design" at the Institute of valuation are complex. In an advanced industrial society in which
Contemporary Arts, London, 1983;
Leicester University, 1985; and Central culture is valued above nature, male roles are seen as being more
School of Art and Design, London, cultural than natural; female roles are seen as the reverse of this.

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 1986.Severalpapershavebeenpublished As a consequenceof their biologicalcapacityto reproduceand
from these conferences, including
CherylBuckley,"WomenDesignersin theirroleswithinpatriarchyof caringfor andnurturingthe fam-
the North Staffordshire
PotteryIndus- ily, womenareseenas beingclose to nature.As SherryOrtnerhas
try," Woman's Art Journal (Fall 1984/
Winter 1985): 11-15;Anthea Callen, argued,"femaleis to maleas natureis to culture."10Evenwomen
"TheSexualDivision of Labourin the designers,who throughthe designprocesstransformnatureinto
Arts and CraftsMovement,"Woman's
ArtJournal(Fall1984/Winter
1985):1-6;
culture, are tied to their biology by patriarchalideology, which
Lynne Walker,"TheEntry of Women definestheirdesignskills as a productof theirsex - as naturalor
into the ArchitecturalProfession in innate. Womenare consideredto possess sex-specificskills that
Britain," Woman'sArt Journal (Spring/
Summer1986):13-18.See also issuesof determinetheir design abilities;they are apparentlydexterous,
Feminist Art News that concentrate on
Womenand Design:Textilesand Fash-
decorative,and meticulous.These skills mean that women are
ion in Vol. 1,No. 9 andDesignin Vol.2, consideredto be naturallysuitedto certainareasof designproduc-
No. 3. OnecanalsoconsultTagGronberg tion, namely,the so-calleddecorativearts,includingsuchworkas
andJudyAttfield,eds.A ResourceBook
on Women Workingin Design (London: jewelry,embroidery,graphicillustration,weaving,knitting,pot-
The LondonInstitute,CentralSchoolof
Art and Design, 1986). The editorsof
tery, and dressmaking.Linkingall these activitiestogetheris the
thisbookweretheorganizersof theCen-
notion that they are naturallyfemale;the resultingdesignprod-
tralSchool's1986"WomenandDesign" ucts are either worn by women or producedby them to fulfill
conference.
8) Patriarchy as a concepthasbeendefined essentiallydomestictasks.Significantly,mencanbe the designers
by variousfeministtheorists.An early of clothes, textiles,or pottery,but first the designactivitieshave
definitionis foundin Millet,SexualPoli- to be redefined.Dressmaking,for example,has been seen as a
tics,25: "Oursociety... is a patriarchy.
The fact is evidentat once if one recalls "natural"areafor women to work in. It is viewed as an obvious
that the military,industry,technology, vehicle for their femininity,their desire to decorate, and their
universities, science, political offices,
finances- in short, every avenue of obsession with appearances.Fashiondesign, however,has been
powerwithinsociety,includingthecoer- appropriatedby maledesignerswho haveassumedthe personaof
civeforceof thepolice,is in entirelymale
hands."The centralproblemwith this genius- ChristianDior, Yves SaintLaurent,and, morerecently,
definitionof patriarchy is thatit is a uni- KarlLagerfeld.Fashionasa designprocessis thoughtto transcend
versal and trans-historicalform of the sex-specificskills of dexterity,patience, and decorativeness
oppressionthat is being described.It
presentsspecificproblemsfor a Marxist associatedwith dressmaking.Instead,it involvescreativeimagina-
feministapproachlocated in historical tion, andthe aggressivebusinessandmarketingskillsthatarepart
analysis.SheilaRowbothamhas argued
in her essay"TheTroublewith Patriar- of the malestereotype.
chy,"New Statesman98 (1979):970,that This practiceof definingwomen'sdesignskillsin termsof their
this "impliesa universalformof oppres-
sionwhichreturnsus to biology."A use- biology is reinforcedby sociallyconstructednotionsof masculine
ful definitionof patriarchy thatattempts and feminine,which assigndifferentcharacteristicsto male and
to overcomethis problemof universal
female.SoniaDelaunay,the painteranddesigner,is noted by his-
oppression is outlined by Griselda
Pollock:"patriarchy doesnot referto the toriansfor her "instinctive"feeling for color, whereasher hus-
static,oppressivedominationof one sex band, Robert, is attributedas havingformulateda color theory.
overanother,buta webof psycho-social
relationshipswhich institutea socially Robert Delaunay embodies the male stereotype as logical and
significantdifferenceon the axisof sex, intellectual,Sonia embodiesthe femalestereotypeas instinctive
which is so deeplylocatedin our very
sense of lived, sexual identity that it and emotional.To compoundthis devaluationof women design-
appearsto us asnaturalandunalterable," ers' work, designsproducedby women in the domesticenviron-
in "Vision,VoiceandPower,"10.
ment(theirnaturalspacewithina patriarchy)areseento represent
9) This debateis especiallyuseful for the
developmentof a feministapproachto use-valueratherthan exchange-value.The designsproducedby
designhistoryanddesignpracticewithin women in a domestic environment(embroidery,knitting, and
Westerncapitalistcountries.(Thispaper
does not aim to examinemanifestations applique) are used by the family in the home rather than
of patriarchy in non-capitalistcountries,
nordoesit aimto examinedesignhistory exchangedfor profit within the capitalistmarketplace.At this
andpracticein thosecountries.)Foruse- point capitalismand patriarchyinteractto devaluethis type of
ful discussions of the relationship
betweenpatriarchyand capitalism,see,
design; essentially,it has been made in the wrong place - the
for example, Heidi Hartmann, home, andfor the wrongmarket- the family.11
"Capitalism,PatriarchyandJob Segre- So, one resultof the interactionof patriarchyanddesignis the

Design Issues: Vol. III, No. 2 5

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 gation by Sex," in Martha Blaxall and establishmentof a hierarchyof valueandskillbasedon sex. Thisis
Barbara Regan, Women and the Work-
place: The Implications of Occupational
legitimizedideologicallyby dominantnotions of femininityand
Segregation (Chicago: University of materiallyby institutionalpractice.Britishart and designeduca-
Chicago Press, 1976), 137-169. Also, tion at degreelevel, for example,reinforcesthis hierarchicaland
Rowbotham, "The Trouble with Patriar-
chy," 970-971.
sexist split betweenmaleandfemaledesignactivities.Becauseof
10) Sherry B. Ortner, "Is Female to Male as sexismfew womenindustrialdesignstudentssurviveto the endof
Nature is to Culture?"Feminist Studies 2
(Fall 1972): 5-31.
their courseswhich areoutsidethe femalestereotype.They suc-
11) See Parker and Pollock, Old Mistresses, ceedwell with fashionandtextilecourseswhichareconsideredto
68-71, for an interesting account of how
women's domestic designs can be
be suitedto femaleabilities,but farebadlywith industrialdesign,
upgraded to fine art status by dissociat- whichis consideredmale.12
ing them from home production and the
gender of the maker.
Design historians play an important role in maintaining
12) Fewer than one percent of industrial assumptionsaboutthe roles and abilitiesof women designersby
designers working in Britain today are theirfailureto acknowledgethe governanceof patriarchyandits
women. From research carried out by
the Design Innovation Group, Open operationhistorically.As a result,women'sdesignis ignoredand
University, Milton Keynes, Britain,
from 1979 onward.
unrepresentedin the historybooks. Clearly,then, one of the main
issuesfor historiansto tackle,if they areto accountadequatelyfor
the role of women designers,is patriarchyandits valuesystems.
First, the terms by which inferiorstatus is assignedto certain
designactivitiesmustbe analyzedandchallenged.Theideological
natureof termssuch as feminine,delicate,anddecorativeshould
be acknowledgedwithin the contextof women'sdesign.Second,
it is crucialthatdesignhistoriansrecognizethe patriarchal basisof
the sexualdivision of labor,which attributesto women certain
design skills on the basisof biology. Third, they must acknowl-
edgethatwomen andtheirdesignsfulfilla criticalstructuringrole
in designhistoryin thattheyprovidethenegativeto themaleposi-
tive- they occupythe spaceleft by men. If, for instance,historians
describe men's designs as bold, assertive, calculated, then
women'sdesignsare describedas weak, spontaneous,or lacking
in rationale.Design historians,then, should recognizethat "be-
causeof the economic,social,andideologicaleffectsof sexualdif-
ferencein a western,patriarchal culture,womenhavespokenand
13) Parker and Pollock, Old Mistresses,49. actedfroma differentplacewithinthatsocietyandculture."13By
their failureto acknowledgepatriarchy,designhistoriansignore
the realnatureof women'srolein design,bothfor womendesign-
ing outsideof mainstreamindustrialdesignandfor thosefew who
havefound employmentwithin it. Both producedesignsformed
within patriarchy.Fourth,historiansmust takenote of the value
system which gives privilegeto exchange-valueover use-value,
becauseat a very simplelevel, as ElizabethBirdhas pointedout,
"theobjectswomenproducehavebeenconsumedby beingused,
ratherthanpreservedasa storeof exchange-value.Potsgetbroken
14) Elizabeth Bird, "Threading the Beads: andtextileswearout."14
Women Designers and the Glasgow Style
Historiansmust also bewareof regardingthe professionalsite
1890-1920," unpublished conference
paper, 1983. of productionmore highly thanthe domesticsite of production,
becausethis inevitablyleadsto a focus on the valueof designas it
contributesto the capitalistsystem.This is problematic,irrespec-
tive of the sex of the designer,as it excludesan importantareaof

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 design production from history. Finally, historians should heed
Sheila Rowbotham's point, in Hidden From History: "[U]nbiased
history simply makes no declaration of its bias, which is deeply
rooted in existing society reflecting the views of the people of
15) Rowbotham, Hidden From History, influence. n15
xvii.
Central to a feminist critique of design history is a redefinition
16) Attributed to Penny Sparke in Anne
Massey's review of the 1983 Women in of what constitutes design. To date, design historians have
Design conference at the Institute of esteemed more highly and deemed more worthy of analysis the
Contemporary Arts, London, in Design
History Society Newsletter 20 January creators of mass-produced objects. Subsequently, they have
1984): 8. This view has been reinforced argued that "design history ... is a study of mass-produced
by Stephen Bayley, director of the
Boilerhouse project at the Victoria and objects. "16Feminists have challenged this definition as prejudging
Albert Museum, London, and is quoted the nature of design by emphasizing only one mode of production
by Judy Attfield in "Feminist Designs on
and thereby excluding craft production. This challenge is compli-
Design History," Feminist Art News 2
(No. 3): 22. More recently, Clive Dilnot cated by the development of craft history as an academicdiscipline
has addressed the issue of the diversity of
distinct from design history, although, to date, craft historians
meanings of design and the designer. See
"The State of Design History, Part I: have not dealt adequately with women's craftwork.17In fact, it has
Mapping the Field," Design Issues I/1 been dealt with in a cursory way and mirrors the approach of
(Spring 1984): 4-23, and "The State of
Design History, Part II: Problems and design historians by seizing upon a few famous names.18 Argu-
Possibilities," Design Issues 1/2 (Fall
ably, if a feminist approach to women's design production is to be
1984): 3-20.
17) In his discussion of craft history, Philip articulated, it must cut across these exclusive definitions of design
Wood does not consider the issue of gen- and craft to show that women used craft modes of production for
der. See Philip Wood, "Defining Craft
History," Design History Society News- specific reasons, not merely because they were biologically predis-
letter 24 (February 1985): 27-31. posed toward them. To exclude craft from design history is, in
18)This can be seen in two ways. First,
Edward Lucie-Smith, in his survey book
effect, to exclude from design history much of what women
The Story of Craft (London: Phaidon, designed. For many women, craft modes of production were the
1981) makes few references to women
only means of production available, because they had access
beyond the usual handful, for example,
Vanessa Bell, Marion Dorn, Elizabeth neither to the factories of the new industrial system nor to the
Fritsch, Jessie Newberry. Second, some
craft historians, like their colleagues in
training offered by the new design schools. Indeed, craft allowed
women an opportunity to express their creative and artistic skills
design history, have written monographs
of major women craftpersons. For exam- outside of the male-dominated design profession. As a mode of
ple, see Margot Coatts, A Weaver'sLife:
Ethel Mairet 1872-1952 (London: Crafts production, it was easily adapted to the domestic setting and
Council, 1983). Although such a mono- therefore compatible with traditional female roles.19
graph is informative and provides a much
needed account of the work of an impor-
tant woman craftworker,as I explainlater, Women as consumers and objects
the monograph is a problematic vehicle To date, most historical analysis has dealt solely with the role of
for writing design or craft history.
19) This is especially true of textiles (knitted, women designers, even though women interact with design in a
woven, quilted, appliqued, and embroi- variety of ways. Feminist design historians have thereby adopted
dered). Some women, however, such as
Katherine Pleydell Bouverie and Norah the methodologies of mainstream design history, which esteems
Bradon (contemporaries of Michael the activities of designers and emphasizes their role as agents of
Cardew and Bernard Leach in the British
studio pottery movement) or Jessie history. (As I describe in the next section, there are serious prob-
Newberry and May Morris, developed lems inherent in this methodological technique.) Most important
craft modes of production for
for this discussion is the point that design is a collective process
philosophical reasons. These women had
the financial independence, social back- involving groups of people beside the designer. In order to deter-
ground, and educationaltrainingto do so. mine the meaning of a given design at a specific historical moment,
it is necessary to examine these other groups.
Probably the most historically neglected group is the consumer;
indeed, it can be no accident that the consumer is often perceived
by design organizations, retailers, and advertisers to be female.

Design Issues: Vol. III, No. 2 7

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 Just as patriarchy informs the historian's assumptions about
women designers' skills, so it defines the designer'sperceptions of
women's needs as consumers. Two basic ideas inform the
designer's assumptions about women consumers. First, women's
primary role is in domestic service to husband, children, and
home; and second, domestic appliances make women's lives
easier. The first assumption stems from the central classification
of patriarchy - the sexual division of labor. As Heidi Hartmann
has argued, "the sexual division of labor is ... the underpinning
of sexual subcultures in which men and women experience life dif-
ferently; it is the material base of male power which is exercised
(in our society), not just in not doing housework and in securing
20) Heidi Hartmann, "The Unhappy Mar- superior employment, but psychologically as well."20 According
riage of Marxism and Feminism: Toward to Hartmann, the sexual division of labor is not static, but in a state
a More Progressive Union," in Lydia
Sargent, Women and Revolution. The
of flux, changing as required by economic, political, and social
Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and
Feminism (London: Pluto Press, 1981),
developments.21 A relatively constant feature of the sexual divi-
16. sion of labor, however, is the delineation of women's role as
21) A good illustration of this process of flux housewives and as carers for the family. This role is basically the
can be seen during wartime when female
labor is required to meet the shortages
same one that the Victorian social critic John Ruskin identified
resulting from male conscription. and glorified in his writings.22As a result of this sexual division of
Women are employed in work normally
considered the preserve of men, for
labor, designers assume that women are the sole users of home
example engineering, ship-building, appliances. Product advertising presents women as housewives
munitions. In peacetime this process is who use domestic appliances and family-oriented products. When
reversed, and women are encouraged
back into the traditional female roles of British advertisersmake the rare representation of women driving
housewives and mothers as prescribed by motorcars, it is significant that they are not shown speeding along
patriarchy.
22) For example, John Ruskin, Sesame and
in a Porsche. Rather, they are shown parking their modest and
Lilies, (London: Collins, 1913). More convenient hatchback near the supermarket.
recently, successive British governments
have reiterated the importance of the Design historians have played their part in reinforcing women's
woman's role in the preservation of the position in the sexual division of labor. In Reyner Banham'swell-
family. For example, the Conservative known celebration of the first machine age, he identified two sexes
party social services spokesman, Patrick
Jenkin, told the Conservative annual - men and housewives. Banham defined the female sex as house-
conference in 1977, "the pressure on wives whose lives are transformed by "woman-controlled
young wives to go out to work devalues
motherhood itself .... Parenthood is a machinery," such as vacuum cleaners.23Informing this paean to
very skilled task indeed, and it must be woman-controlled appliances is the belief that these products
our aim to restore it to the place of hon-
our it deserves." Quoted from Anna make women's lives easier. Banham, like other historians and
Coote and Beatrix Campbell, Sweet theorists of design, fails to acknowledge that designs take on dif-
Freedom: The Strugglefor Women'sLib-
eration (London: Picador, 1982), 85.
ferent meanings for the consumer than those designated by the
23) Banham, Theory and Design in the First designer, the manufacturer, and the advertiser. Philippa Goodall
Machine Age, 10.
has outlined the reasons for these shifts of meaning.24She cites the
24) Philippa Goodall, "Design and Gender,"
Block 9 (1983): 50-61. microwave oven and freezer as products designed ostensibly to
lighten household chores but which have ultimately created more
work. Both products have been widely introduced into the home
under the pretext of convenience. The question, however, is con-
venience for whom - the housewife or the family? Convenience to
the family means having rapid access to food at all times. To the
housewife, this is not convenience. It is instead a duty, a duty to
provide food at all times, even when the shops are shut or the mar-
ket closed and most of the family has already eaten. Goodall

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 arguesthat, "Innumeroussuchways women'swork is increased,
the qualitativedemandsraised.The tyrannyof the whiter-than-
white-washis now for many a daily event, ratherthan a weekly
one. 'Simplicity,''convenience,''servingthe lovedones better'are
slogans motivatingand directingour work as consumersand
25) Goodall, "Design and Gender", 53. producers. "25
Advertisingservesto enforcethe meaningof designas defined
by the designer or manufacturer.It stereotypes women as
mothers,cleaners,cooks, andnursesin orderto defineanddirect
the market.In effect, the categorywoman, as constitutedin pat-
riarchy,is appropriatedby advertising.Womanis eitherthe sub-
ject of patriarchalassumptionsabout women'srole and needs as
consumers,or the objectin sexist advertising.As Jane Root has
arguedin relationto representations of womenin TV advertising,
"Womenare often made absurdlyecstaticby very simpleprod-
ucts, as though a new brandof floor cleaneror deodorantreally
26) Jane Root, Pictures of Women:Sexuality could makeall the differenceto a lifetime."26Advertisingcreates
(London: Pandora Press, 1984), 55. both an idealuse for a productandan idealuser.The actualityof
the use anduserareunimportantwhen confrontedwith a power-
ful fantasy- the immaculatedesignerkitchenwith superwomanin
control, combiningwith ease the roles of careeristand perfect
wife. Like television and cinema, advertising appropriates
women's bodies. Women are objects to be viewed; they are
sexualizedthingswhose statusis determinedby how they look.
"Theseadvertisements help to endorsethe powerfulmaleattitude
that women arepassivebodies to be endlesslylooked at, waiting
to havetheirsexualattractiveness matchedwith activemalesexual
27) Root, Pictures of Women: Sexuality, 68. desire. "27
It is clearthatanalysesof patriarchyandthe issueof genderare
28) See Millet, Sexual Politics, 29-31, for dis- centralto the debateconcerningwomen'srole in design.28Histo-
cussion of gender.
riansshouldmapout the operationof patriarchyandmakegender
as a social constructdistinctfrom sex as a biologicalcondition.
Genderis embodiedin historicaland contemporaryrepresenta-
tions of women as consumers,objects,anddesigners;but it does
not remain fixed, having changed historically. They must
rememberthatas a consequenceof patriarchy,the experiencesof
male andfemaledesignersandconsumershavebeenquitediffer-
ent. Designhistoriansshouldoutlinethe way thatpatriarchal def-
initionsof women'srolesanddesignneeds,whichhaveoriginated
in the sexualdivisionof labor,haveshapeddesignin the pastand
present.A feministcritiqueof designhistory must confrontthe
problemof patriarchy,at the same time addressingitself to the
exclusion of women in the historiographicmethods used by
designhistorians.Thoughmanyof thesemethodsareproblematic
for design history in general,not just a feministdesignhistory,
feministintervention,as in other disciplines,has demarcatedthe
29) Quoted by Pollock in "Vision, Voice and
basic ones. Rozsika Parkerdescribedthem as "the rules of the
Power," 5. game."29

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 The rules of the game
Methodologically,the pivot of contemporarydesignhistoryis the
designer,whose centralrole has beenlegitimizedby arthistorical
precedentin which the figureof the artistis all-important.Some
art historians,such as Nicos Hadjinicolaou,T. J. Clark, and
GriseldaPollock,havedoneso; the lastwrote, "Thecentralfigure
of arthistoricaldiscourseis the artist,who is presentedasanineff-
ableidealwhich complementsthe bourgeoismyth of a universal,
classlessman . . . our generalcultureis furthermorepermeated
with ideas about the individualnatureof creativity,how genius
30) Pollock, "Vision, Voice and Power," 3. will alwaysovercomesocialobstacles."30
Numerous biographiesof designershave focusedthe produc-
tion andmeaningof designon the contributionof the individual.
In this approach,designhistory mirrorsart historyin its role as
attributorandauthenticator.First,it attachesmeaningto a name,
thereby simplifyingthe historicalprocess (by de-emphasizing
productionand consumption)and at the same time makingthe
role of the individualall-important(by aiding and simplifying
attribution).Second,as a directconsequenceof this firststrategy,
historianshaveanalyzedthe designin termsof the designers'ideas
andintentionsandin termsof the formalarrangement of elements
(just as formalist art a or
history analyzes painting sculpture),
ratherthanasa socialproduct.Thedesignis therebyisolatedfrom
its materialoriginsand function, and if it conformsto dominant
definitionsof "good"design,it andits designerareobviouscandi-
dates for the history books. At this point, the design has been
firmlypositionedwithin the confinesof the individualdesigner's
oeuvre, aidingattributionand authenticationof the designas art
31) Note the saleroom prices of design objectandsimplifyinghistoricalanalysis.31The historyof design
objects, especially the "classics," such as is reducedto a history of the designer,and the designis seen to
furniture by Charles R. Mackintosh or
pottery by Keith Murray. mean and representwhat the designeridentifies.Extraordinary
designsarejudgedin termsof creativityandindividualextraordi-
nariness.This is problematicfor women, because"creativityhas
been appropriatedas an ideologicalcomponentof masculinity,
while femininityhasbeenconstructedasman'sand,therefore,the
-32) Pollock, 'Vision, Voice and Power," 4. artist'snegative. "32
The notion thatthe meaningof designobjectsis singularandis
determinedby the designeris simplistic,ignoringthe fact that
design is a process of representation.It representspolitical,
economic, and culturalpower and values within the different
spacesoccupied,throughengagementwith differentsubjects.Its
meaningis thereforepolysemic and involves the interactionof
designandrecipient.Designs,asculturalproducts,havemeanings
encoded in them which are decoded by producers,advertisers,
and consumersaccordingto theirown culturalcodes. "Allthese
codes andsubcodesareappliedto the messagein the lightof gen-
33) Janet Wolff, The Social Production ofArt
eralframeworkof culturalreferences;in otherwords, the way the
(London: Macmillan, 1981), 109. messageis readdependson the receiver'sown culturalcodes."33

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 Theseculturalcodesarenot absoluteandarenot controlledby the
designer'sintentions.Indeed,theseintentionsareconstrainedby
the existingcodes of form and representation,which shapecul-
turalproducts.In effect, the designerhas to use these to design.
The dominantcodes of design are both estheticand social; the
former "operateas mediatinginfluencesbetween ideology and
particularworks by interposingthemselvesas sets of rules and
conventionswhich shape culturalproductsand which must be
34)Wolff, The Social Production of Art, used by artistsand culturalproducers;"34 the latteraregoverned
64-65.
by modes of production,circulation,and use within a specific
socialsituation.The codesor signsby whichdesignis understood
and constituted,in an industrial,capitalistsociety such as our
own, are the product of bourgeois, patriarchalideology. This
ideology seeks to obscureits codes by presentingits designsas
neutralandideology-freeandthe receiverof thesecodesasuniver-
sally constituted,that is, the singularandunproblematicuser or
producer. "[T]he reluctanceto declare its codes characterizes
bourgeoissociety and the cultureissuing from it; both demand
35)Roland Barthes, "Introduction to the signs which do not look like signs."35This obscurenesspresents
Structural Analysis of Narratives,"
Image, Music, Text (New York: Hill and
problemsfor the historianwho attemptsto take accountof the
Wang, 1977), 116. designeror consumeras genderedindividualswith specificclass
allegianceswho thenbringparticularsets of meaningto designs.
The focus on the designeras the personwho assignsmeaningto
design is seriously challengedby developmentsin the fields of
sociology, film studies,andlinguistics,wheredebateson author-
shiphavearisen.Thesecritiqueshavequestionedthe centralityof
the authoras a fixedpoint of meaning.As RolandBarthesput it,
"A text'sunity lies not in its originsbut in its destination. .. the
36)Barthes, "The Death of the Author," birthof the readermustbe atthe cost of the deathof the author."36
Image, Music, Text, 148. The centralityof the designerasthepersonwho determinesmean-
ing in design is underminedby the complex natureof design
development,production,andconsumption,a processinvolving
numerouspeoplewho precedethe act of production,otherswho
mediatebetweenproductionandconsumption,andthosewho use
the design. The success or failureof a designer'sinitialconcept
dependson the existenceof agenciesandorganizationswhichcan
facilitatethe development,manufacture,andretailingof a specific
designfor a distinctmarket.Design, then, is a collectiveprocess;
its meaningcan only be determinedby an examinationof the
interactionof individuals,groups,and organizationswithin spe-
cific societalstructures.
The monograph,the primarymethod used by historiansto
focus on the designer,is an inadequatevehiclefor exploringthe
complexityof designproductionandconsumption.It is especially
inadequatefor feministdesignhistoriansin thatthe concentration
on an individualdesignerexcludesfrom the history books un-
named,unattributed,or collectivelyproduceddesign.Historical
casualtiesof thisexclusionarethe numerouscraftworksproduced

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 by women in theirown homes, often in collaborationwith other
37) This type of craftwork is still produced women.37Nor canwomen'srelationshipwith designas consum-
by women today; note particularly the ers and as objectsof representationfigurein the constructionof
production of knitted textiles in Britain.
the monograph.The recentcritiquesof authorshiphaveproved
usefulto feministdesignhistoriansby highlightingthe inadequacy
of the monographasamethodof analyzingdesignandby showing
that designersdo not designmerelyby courtesyof innategenius,
but that they have been constitutedin language,ideology, and
socialrelations.Thedesignercanusefullybe consideredasthefirst
38) Here I do not intend to deny the possibil- of manywho will affixmeaningto design.38
ity of an autonomous realm of creativity; From this discussionemergetwo other importantpoints for
rather, I want to suggest that the design-
ers' meanings are combined with a series analyzingwomen'srelationshipto design.First,women'scultural
of meanings gained from the interaction codes areproducedwithinthe contextof patriarchy.Theirexpec-
of the design with other groups and agen-
cies. To understand design at a specific tations, needs, and desiresas both designersand consumersare
historical moment requires rather more constructedwithin a patriarchywhich, as I have argued,pre-
from the historian than an analysis of
what the designer thought. scribesa subservientanddependentroleto women.Theotherside
of that point is that the codes of design, as used by the designer,
areproducedwithinpatriarchyto expressthe needsof the domin-
ant group. They are, therefore,malecodes. As PhilippaGoodall
has observed,"Welive in a world designedby men. It is not for
nothingthat the expression'man-made'refersto a vast rangeof
39) Goodall, "Design and Gender," 50. objects that have been fashionedfrom physical material."39In
Making Space: Womenand the Man-MadeEnvironment,the
Matrixgroupof feministarchitectsarguethatmalearchitectsand
plannersdesignurbananddomesticspacesusinga languagewhich
defineswomen'sroleaccordingto patriarchal values:"[T]hephys-
icalpatterningof this 'natural'settingcontainsmanyassumptions
about women'srole outside the home. It leads, for instance,to
housing layouts basedon 'rural'meanderingpathswhich imply
that the journeysof women ... are without presence .... The
implicationis thatjourneysthatarenot fastor in straightlinesare
40) Matrix, Making Space: Women and the not really going anywhere."40Matrixpoint out that this patri-
Man-Made Environment (London:
Pluto Press, 1984), 47.
archaldesignlanguagehas implicationsfor women trainingto be
architects, as well as for those who use buildings. Women
architectsareexpectedto adoptvaluesandcodesof formandrep-
resentationformulatedwithinthe contextof patriarchy.They are
expectedto "acquirean outlook similarto that of middle-class
41) Matrix, Making Space, 11. males,the dominantgroupin the architectural profession."41
The second point is this: to legitimizethis processof cultural
coding, the languageof design is presentedas a universaltruth.
Exclusivedefinitionsof good and bad design are constructed,
basedalmostentirelyon esthetics.Thesedefinitionsserveto iso-
late designproductsfrom the materialandideologicalconditions
of productionandconsumption.Inevitably,thesedefinitionsalso
servethe interestsof the dominantgroup, which attemptsto dis-
guiseits interestswith the maskof universality.Designhistorians
haveplayeda centralrolein the acceptanceandreiterationof these
definitionsof good design,presentingthemas unproblematic.As

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 Rosalind Coward explained, these are in fact "nothing other than
the individual expression of general class taste and the particular
42) Rosalind Coward, Female Desire: ideas promoted in that class."42Pierre Bourdieu has argued that
Women's Sexuality Today (London:
taste is determined through specific social conditions, such as edu-
Virago, 1984), 65.
43) See, for example, Pierre Bourdieu, 'The cation level, social class, and gender.43He has shown that domin-
Aristocracy of Culture," Media, Culture ant groups retain their positions of power and enhance their status
and Society 2 (1980): 225-254; also,
Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction (London: by specific mechanisms, one of which is to invent the "esthetic"
Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979). category as a universal entity.
The esthetic theory which informed these dominant notions of
good design and good taste, and which legitimized the analysis of
design as distinct objects, was modernism. The theory of moder-
nism has had an enormous impact on design history by emphasiz-
ing both formal and technical innovation and experimentation as
the significant features of design. Although designers now operate
in a postmodernist context, many design historians unconsciously
adopt modernist criteriawhen deciding what should enter the his-
tory books. The concept of differentness is still privileged by his-
torians, thus revealing the structural relationship between histo-
rians and the designs they promote within capitalism. Innovative
and new designs have a crucialrole to play in capitalistproduction,
a system that demands greater production and consumption
stimulated by designer-created difference and codified by design
historians and theorists.
The theory of modernism has had significant implications for
44) This type of historical account does exist historical evaluations of both mass-produced design, which is
at the level of doctoral theses. Unfortu-
nately, they rarely seem to get published.
traditional in style, form, material, or production techniques, and
More recently, there is some evidence for craft. These evaluations are largely nonexistent because design
that things are changing, for example
Fran Hannah's book Ceramics (London: that is not innovative and experimental has rarely been analyzed
Bell and Hyman, 1986). by design historians.44 Women's design, which often falls under
45) Consider, for example, the work of the the label of traditional, has been especially ignored.45 Another
women designers at Josiah Wedgwood
and Sons in the 1920s and 1930s. These area of design associated with women to have fared badly in the
designers produced work ranging in its hands of modernist design historians is fashion design, arguably
style of decoration and shape from tradi-
tional to moderne. Most historians have the most extreme manifestation of modernism, in that throughout
given these designers little acknowledg- the twentieth century it has been continuously innovative and
ment in the history books, choosing
instead to concentrate on the formally experimental. Like modernist art and design, its meaning is tied to
and technically innovative work of the that of its predecessors. It is therefore possible (though highly
designer Keith Murray, whose work fits
neatly into a modernist analysis of pot- undesirable) to analyze fashion in purely formal terms, and here
tery design. the problem lies. Unlike other modernist cultural forms, fashion
46) This point must be qualified in that sev- makes no claims to represent universal truth and good taste.46
eral designers - notably Yves Saint
Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld - have Indeed, the converse is true, in that fashion subverts dominant
declared themselves to be uninterested in notions of good design by eagerly accepting what was previously
fashion and more interested in "classic" considered ugly. It undermines universal concepts of quality and
style. See the Metropolitan Museum of
Art catalog, Yves Saint Laurent (New taste, and it foregrounds the relativism in notions of beauty. Fur-
York, 1983), 17. The implications of this thermore, fashion as an important area of design is trivialized
are clear: These designers are distancing
themselves from the transitory nature of because of its association with women. It is seen as a marginal
fashion and are instead aligning them-
design activity because it caters to women's socially constructed
selves with universalstyle and good taste.
47)See Elizabeth Wilson, Adorned in
needs and desires.47 For these reasons, design historians have
Dreams: Fashion and Modernity (Lon- tended to avoid the study of fashion.48

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 don: Virago, 1985), for a full discussion Womenand designas a subjectof study highlightsa whole set
of these issues.
of issues andproblemsthatmust be confrontedby historiansif a
48) Note that fashion design is not included
in any of the basic surveys of nineteenth- feminist design history is to be articulated.The desire for a
and twentieth-century design history, feministdesignhistorygrowsincreasinglyurgentas we acknowl-
even though it is undoubtedly the prod-
uct of social, technical, political, and cul- edgethe paucityof historiesof women anddesignthathavetaken
tural developments which parallel other
areas of design.
properaccountof patriarchalnotionsof women'sskillsas design-
ers, the stereotypedperceptionsof women'sneedsas consumers,
andthe exploitativerepresentationof women'sbodiesin advertis-
ing. It is crucialthatthesehistoricalanalysesof women andtheir
relationshipwith designarebasedon feminism.Withoutrecourse
to feministtheoryto delineatethe operationof patriarchy,andto
feminist history to map out women's past, it is impossibleto
understandfully the way womeninteractwith designandtheway
historianshave recordedthat interaction.Attempts to analyze
women'sinvolvementin designthatdo not takeissuewith gender,
the sexualdivisionof labor,assumptionsaboutfemininity,andthe
49) See Isabelle Anscombe, A Woman's hierarchythatexistsin design,aredoomedto failure.49
Touch. Womenin Design from 1860 to the
Present Day (London: Virago, 1984).
Feministdesignhistoriansmust advanceon two fronts. First,
This is an example of such an account. we mustanalyzethe materialandideologicaloperationof patriar-
See my review in Art History.Journal of
the Association of Art Historians Vol. 9,
chy in relationto women and design. This effort must be com-
No. 3 (September 1986): 400-403. binedwith an examinationof the relationshipbetweencapitalism
(if we arediscussingdesignin capitalistsocieties)andpatriarchyat
specific historicalconjuncturesto reveal how women's role in
designis defined. Second, we must criticallyassess"therulesof
the game"to understandwhy design historianshave excluded
womenfromthe historybooks, andthento enableus to developa
historythatdoes not automaticallyexcludewomen. This history
must acknowledgethe variouslocaleswheredesignoperatedand
thevariousgroupsinvolvedwith its productionandconsumption.
It mustrejectthe temptationto analyzethe individualdesigneras
sole determinerof meaningin design.Finally,historiansmustnot
lose sight of their centralobjective:To develop and expandthe
body of historicalresearchwhich seeks to accountfor women's
relationshipto design and then set this researchfirmly within a
historicalframeworkof feministdesign.

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