Industrial Revolution’s Impact on the Sociology of the Domestic Toilet

Mar 14, 2021 | Research | 0 comments

1920s Residential Bathroom Design (Aposporos)

Abstract

The first phase of this research analyzed the sociological implications of the flushed toilet’s adoption during the Industrial Revolution in England. As the research developed, many of the findings revealed much of the gender role disparity that evolved through the flushed toilet entering the residential sphere. Much of this research applied to American households just as much as English families and even gave evidence that the toilet led to the development of the American housewife figure. The second phase of research looked specifically into the sociological effects of the flushed toilet entering residential design. This consists of an analysis of the residential bathroom design and what that evolution implied for the persevering gender roles that were created in reaction to the toilet. This research was conducted using largely secondary sources as well as analyzing floor plans associated with residential bathroom design. Through this research, it has been revealed how the flushed toilet caused women to be thrown deeper into the domestic sphere and the responsibility of sanitation was a leading point in keeping women out of the work force.

Sociology of Sanitation During the Industrial Revolution

With the growing integration of toilets and sewer systems across Europe and the Americas, the invention of the toilet began to cause unexpected sociological changes. More attention was given to food studies and diet, gender roles polarized, sanitation became an indicator of racial differences and class disparity, and sanitation became a culturally significant detail integrated within religious practices. This sociological significance shows just how groundbreaking and shocking the toilet was to Western cultures.

Toilets in Industrial Revolution England

In the history of defecation practices, an important moment that defined the design of today’s toilet was during the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution, or Sanitation Revolution, developed the innovations that helped to prevent disease and provide access to these sanitary inventions across classes and even into the residential setting. England was the heart of these innovations and the developments made during this time were the foundation to the modern porcelain toilet as well as water based sewer systems. Here is the collected research on the impact of the toilet on Industrial Revolution England.

Sociological Implications of the Residential Bathroom

After researching the evolution of the toilet from the perspective of the Industrial Revolution, questions have arisen on the development of the residential bathroom in Western society. From the first glimpses of the toilet in residential settings to the creation of the love centered glorified bathroom, how did one perspective evolve into the other? Digging deep into the post-industrial approach to toilet design in order to see the progression of the residential toilet will reveal the sociological implications of the restroom and how the residential bathroom has shifted the entire dynamic of the home.

Evolution of the Residential Bathroom: An Analysis on the Design and Social Implications of the American Domestic Toilet

Much is revealed through analysis on the post-industrial approach to toilet design and how that design impacted and was impacted by sociological gender roles of American society. Looking at the domestic toilet from the first adoption of the flushed toilet in the United States to its evolution through the 1980s, much can be said about how the toilet, and eventually the restroom, defined the roles and practices of domestic living. Here is the complete research into how the Industrial Revolution impacted the sociological reaction to the residential bathroom.

Vintage-60s-bathrooms-for-retro-home-decor-ideas

Bibliography

Gerling, Daniel Max. “Excrementalisms: Revaluing What We Have Only Ever Known as Waste.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 622-638., doi:10.1080/15528014.2019.1638126.

Lupton, Ellen, and J.Abbott Miller. The Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Aesthetics of Waste: a Process of Elimination. Princeton University Press, 1996.

Mitchell, Piers D. Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations. Ashgate, 2015.

Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Housework and Housewives in American Advertising: Married to the Mop. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Penner, Barbara. 2013. Bathroom. Objekt. London: Reaktion Books.

Image Sources

“60 Vintage ’60s Bathrooms: Retro Home Decorating Ideas.” Click Americana, 6 Mar. 2021, clickamericana.com/topics/home-garden/vintage-60s-bathrooms-decor-ideas.

Aposporos, Demetra. “Colorful Old-House Bathrooms.” Old House Journal Magazine, Old House Journal Magazine, 30 June 2011, www.oldhouseonline.com/kitchens-and-baths-articles/colorful-old-house-bathrooms.

Gerling, Daniel Max. “Excrementalisms: Revaluing What We Have Only Ever Known as Waste.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 622-638., doi:10.1080/15528014.2019.1638126.

“Industrial Revolution: Damaging Psychological ‘Imprint’ Persists in Today’s Populations.” University of Cambridge, 10 Dec. 2017, www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/industrial-revolution-damaging-psychological-imprint-persists-in-todays-populations.

Sixty-Five Years of American Homes 1900-1965, Old Imprints, 2016. https://www.oldimprints.com/images/upload/houseplans-2016.pdf?v=139264756057e980805f5e1

Vyas, Kashyap. “Facts About the Most Important European Countries of Industrial Revolution.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2019, interestingengineering.com/facts-about-the-most-important-european-countries-of-industrial-revolution.

Evolution of the Residential Bathroom: An Analysis on the Design and Social Implications of the American Domestic Toilet

Mar 13, 2021 | Research, United States | 0 comments

’60s American Bathroom Design, (Americana)

After researching the evolution of the toilet from the perspective of the Industrial Revolution, questions have arisen on the development of the residential bathroom in Western society. From the first glimpses of the toilet in residential settings to the creation of the colorful, glorified bathroom, how did one perspective evolve into the other? Much is revealed through analysis on the post-industrial approach to toilet design and how that design impacted and was impacted by sociological gender roles of American society. Looking at the domestic toilet from the first adoption of the flushed toilet in the United States to its evolution through the 1980s, much can be said about how the toilet, and eventually the restroom, defined the roles and practices of domestic living.

Home Plan from 1869, (Gerling)

The Adoption of the Flushed Toilet in the Residential Setting

As the adoption of sewer systems grew in large population and urban settings during the 1870s, the implementation of toilets in the home was a growing phenomenon. Since sanitation was a huge focus at this time, there was great concern with having a toilet inside the house; most toilets were then designed to be placed in a small water closet in the back of the house with an exterior entryway. Given that the flushed toilet was a new technology, only wealthy families were able to acquire the water closet ramifications to their homes; poorer families remained to dig holes in the ground and bury bodily waste away from the home (Gerling).

As the home was a sacred, clean space, there was much backlash to the domestic toilet. Even after the first sightings of the residential water closet, some families remained to follow the practices of disposing of excrement via digging holes, using chamber pots, or occasionally constructing an outhouse structure so the flushed toilet remained away from the sacred home space (Gerling). It took many more decades for the toilet to be a common household feature.

In the 1920s, American residences began to incorporate the flushed toilet as a separate room combined with the bathtub. This allowed for the water closet to evolve into the bathroom. With defecation and bodily cleaning being associated together, the toilet grew to be perceived as an important mode for sanitary practices (Lupton 5-8). As residential design evolved with the decades, so did the bathroom. By the 1950s, it became common practice to have more than one bathroom in the household, and by the 1960s, the floor plan of the bathroom grew in size to create the grand master bathroom. The flush toilet developed from an invention of fear and disgust to a grand, porcelain necessity of sanitation.

Left: Home Plan from 1928

Middle: Home Plan from 1934

Right: Home Plan from 1949

Sociological Implications of the Toilet

Toward the end of the Sanitation Revolution, the way the populations in both England and America adopted the sanitary systems into their day-to-day lives was through relating sanitation to religious practices. The phrase “cleanliness next to godliness” was coined soon after the implementation of the toilet into residences. The proper upkeep of toilets and home sewer systems became a religious obligation that was crucial to the ideals of western society. To defecate in dug up holes or to not maintain bodily cleanliness in relation to bowel health was considered ungodly and savage. These beliefs then grew to carry racist meaning as poorer communities and native cultures did not have access to these newer inventions and still practiced defecation methods that white populations had used only a few decades prior. The pressure to convert other cultures to a Christian lifestyle, and so therefore a sanitary lifestyle, became an aggressive behavioral trait in post Industrial Revolution populations (Gerling).

Continually, once toilets were incorporated in the residential setting, toilets and defecating processes became a domestic duty. Toilets quickly became the responsibility of women (Gerling). It was the woman’s obligation to maintain the cleanliness of the toilet and be sure the sewer line functioned properly, so excrement remained away from the home. By making toilet maintenance a domestic duty, women were further suppressed into the home and discouraged to enter into the work force. It was this association between defecation and female duty that drove females to the “American housewife” label and prevented movements of gender equality for generations. It was not until the later 80s that men began to take over some responsibility over the upkeep of the toilet (Neuhaus, 69-70).

The Colorful Bathroom

As the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era past and the bathroom evolved into the essential room that included the toilet as well as the bathtub, the residential bathroom was no longer a space for waste disposal, but a space for dwelling and promoting hygiene. As the bathroom became more of a dwelling space, bathroom personalization grew and marketing for these populations also grew. Since women were the central caretakers of the bathroom, these advertisements were directed solely to women. Bright patterned wallpapers and richly colored bathroom tiles grew in fashion so that women could make the bathroom a space of their own (Lupton, 5-8).

Pink Bathroom Design from the ’60’s, (Americana)

It was during the 1920’s that the colorful bathroom first began to come into being. With residual influence from the production methods of the Industrial Revolution, the use of mass production to create elaborate wallpaper and patterned decorative materials began to spread into the bathroom. Seeing the bathroom in full color changed the perception of the space from a clinical, sanitation room to a dwelling space. Particularly alluring was the pink porcelain bathroom that promoted a sexy atmosphere within the space. With the colorful bathroom came also the romanticization of the bathroom and the beginning of the “soft bathroom” aesthetic (Penner 164-7).

Although centered on the sexualized bathtub, the colorful bathroom drove the perceptions of the toilet away from its connotations of negativity and filth; the colorful, decorative nature of the bathroom allowed the toilet to be a vision of comfort. This feeling of comfort was further created through the adoption of softer toilet paper and innovations further focusing on connecting sanitation with pleasure (Penner, 165).

Home Plan 1952, (Old Prints)

Evolution of Gender Roles

During the 1970s and 80s, bathroom cleaning tools were on the rise in advertising. With the use of servants and housekeepers becoming obsolete, there was a need to find a way for every family to find ease in cleaning the bathroom. The responsibility of the bathroom still remained to be under the woman’s leadership. Advertisements first began to use mythical creatures as symbols on how the bathroom is cleaned in order to make the job more mysterious and whimsical for women. Toward the later 80s, there were even advertisements for cleaning products that were used by men; these were thrown amidst other images of men doing more manly tasks, but it was the first step in taking the bathroom responsibilities away from solely the women in the household (Neuhaus, 69-72).

From the beginning, the domestic restroom has proven to be a constant burden and obligation of women. As women were in charge of promoting sanitation, there grew to be more duties for females in the domestic sphere (Gerling). It took over a century since the adoption of the flushed toilet in the residential setting for men to even be considered for domestic toilet maintenance. In recent decades, the “housewife” stereotype and the responsibilities of women to be the sole leader in household sanitation is little by little being eradicated. Once there is an equality in toilet responsibility between both sexes, gender equality can spread into other spheres.

1920’s Bathroom Design, (Aposporos)

Conclusion

Since its adoption into the residential sphere during the 1800s, the toilet has undergone many stages of evolution. As a main drive for promoting sanitation and eradicating deadly diseases related to excrement, the domestic toilet created an unexpected effect of increased gender role disparity, becoming a leading element in the design details and creation of the renowned bathroom, and has now become the common household fixture of today. There is much evolution still necessary for the flushed toilet, but over the past century, the bathroom has undergone many drastic and unexpected changes to match the sociological needs of the times.

Bibliography

Gerling, Daniel Max. “Excrementalisms: Revaluing What We Have Only Ever Known as Waste.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 622-638., doi:10.1080/15528014.2019.1638126.

Lupton, Ellen, and J.Abbott Miller. The Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Aesthetics of Waste: a Process of Elimination. Princeton University Press, 1996.

Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Housework and Housewives in American Advertising: Married to the Mop. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Penner, Barbara. 2013. Bathroom. Objekt. London: Reaktion Books.

Image Sources

“60 Vintage ’60s Bathrooms: Retro Home Decorating Ideas.” Click Americana, 6 Mar. 2021, clickamericana.com/topics/home-garden/vintage-60s-bathrooms-decor-ideas.

Gerling, Daniel Max. “Excrementalisms: Revaluing What We Have Only Ever Known as Waste.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 622-638., doi:10.1080/15528014.2019.1638126.

Sixty-Five Years of American Homes 1900-1965, Old Imprints, 2016. https://www.oldimprints.com/images/upload/houseplans-2016.pdf?v=139264756057e980805f5e1

Sociological Implications of the Residential Bathroom

Feb 15, 2021 | Industrial Revolution, Research | 0 comments

1920s Residential Bathroom Design (Aposporos)

From the span of the 1800s through the 20th century, technology and the perceptions of hygiene have greatly evolved. Defecation practices consisted largely of digging a hole outside or the use of chamber pots in other communities. Bodily wastes were intended to leave the premises of the residence as quickly as possible and no evidence was to be found in the house. During the Industrial Revolution and the flush toilet came into public adoption, the toilet was placed in the home. Having the mode of excrement disposal within the residence was difficult for American and European households to accept. Many of the early residences had the toilet placed in small room attached to the exterior of the house with an entryway of its own. Since the toilet became an element of domestic life, the duties of maintenance and hygiene quickly became the responsibility of women.

Sources:

Lupton, Ellen, and J.Abbott Miller. The Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Aesthetics of Waste: a
Process of Elimination. Princeton University Press, 1996.

Neuhaus, Jessamyn. Housework and Housewives in American Advertising: Married to the Mop.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Image Source:

Aposporos, Demetra. “Colorful Old-House Bathrooms.” Old House Journal Magazine, Old House Journal Magazine, 30 June 2011, www.oldhouseonline.com/kitchens-and-baths-articles/colorful-old-house-bathrooms.

Sociology of Sanitation During the Industrial Revolution

Feb 1, 2021 | History, Industrial Revolution, Research | 3 comments

Image of the Garham Factory 1886 (Vyas)

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the topic of the toilet and the disposal of bodily waste was a growing issue. With the growing presence of cholera in Europe, the need for more sanitary forms of waste disposal was an ever-present discourse. The Industrial Revolution, often referred to also as the Sanitation Revolution, was able to bring forth designs of sewers and toilet systems within residential spaces. These inventions increased sanitation and overall helped limit the spread of disease.

Contextually, there was growing research during the Industrial Revolution regarding parasites, constipation, and other forms of deadly ailments related to defecating (Mitchell). This information truly pushed a desire for sanitation in European and American populations. With the onset of these sanitation inventions came a shift in societal habits unrelated to defecation processes such as diet disparity between classes, shift in gender roles, and even racist and religious undertones to the adoption of the flushed toilet and sewer systems.

Diet Disparity Between Classes

With the rise of conversations revolving around the discourse of sanitation, diet and bowel health also became a growing topic of interest. Given the growing awareness that the methods of defecation could be a cause for disease, there remained questions on what other causes of disease could be found within the topic of excrement. Discovered in the history of defecation was found the existence of parasites. Parasites were a largely caused by raw meats or other foods not prepared properly as well as the overall poor sanitation of how people would dispose of bodily waste (Mitchell). As awareness of parasites grew, people were more cautious in food preparation, and as sewers and toilet sanitation was on the rise, presence of parasites diminished. Continually, diseases of the bowels were still present. This was eventually determined in the early 1800s to be sourced from constipation (Gerling). Constipation and poor diet leading to constipation was a growing issue just prior to the Industrial/Sanitation Revolution.

This issue of constipation and parasitic bowels was strongly centered with the population of wealthy, upper class society. Particularly in the American populations, the consumption of fine floured, white bread was growing amidst wealthy populations. In comparison, wheat rich breads were given to poorer populations which allowed them to have healthier, nutrient rich diets. As the quality of the diet of the upper class declined, the use of human excrement as a recyclable material for farming became impossible; this then led to fewer backlash to the adoption of water sewers in American cities (Gerling). Once the output of excrement was taken care of, diet could be more carefully considered within the wealthy populations.

London Streets During the Industrial Revolution

Sanitation and Gender

As the adoption of sewer systems grew in large population and urban settings during the 1870s, the implementation of toilets in the home was a growing phenomenon. Since sanitation was a huge focus at this time, there was great concern with having a toilet inside the house; most toilets were then designed to be placed in a small water closet in the back of the house with an exterior entryway. Once toilets were a part of the house, toilets and defecating processes became a domestic duty. Toilets quickly became the responsibility of women (Gerling). It was the woman’s obligation to maintain the cleanliness of the toilet and be sure the sewer line functioned properly, so excrement remained away from the home.

Home plan from 1869 (Gerling)

A postcard of a French miner being washed by his wife at the turn of the 20th century. The Clean Body-A Modern History by Peter Ward

Postcard of French Miner

Religious Undertones of Hygiene

Conclusively, the adoption of the flushed toilet in the residence combined with the adoption of sewer systems led to a massive shift in sociological perceptions on sanitation. Diet disparity between classes became recognized and even the access to sanitary inventions created a growing disparity; women became the leaders of domestic sanitation which forced them further into the home; health and sanitation grew to be a religious obligation that was used as an aggressive force against indigenous cultures and their lifestyles regarding hygiene; as well as the creation of the societal illusion of the excrement-less individual. These sociological changes increased disparities between classes, genders, and races within Western society. Although disease was minimized, the sociological effects of sanitation brought forth a swarm of biases and divisions all under the goal of health and cleanliness.

Bibliography

Gerling, Daniel Max. “Excrementalisms: Revaluing What We Have Only Ever Known as Waste.” Food, Culture & Society, vol. 22, no. 5, 2019, pp. 622–638., doi:10.1080/15528014.2019.1638126.

Mitchell, Piers D. Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations. Ashgate, 2015.

Toilets in Industrial Revolution England

Jan 31, 2021 | History, Industrial Revolution, Research | 7 comments

Industrial Revolution England (University of Cambridge)

In the history of defecation practices, an important moment that defined the design of today’s toilet was during the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution, or Sanitation Revolution, developed the innovations that helped to prevent disease and provide access to these sanitary inventions across classes and even into the residential setting. England was the heart of these innovations and the developments made during this time were the foundation to the modern porcelain toilet as well as water based sewer systems. Many of these inentions stemmed from the Cholera outbreak across Europe in which there was a growing need for change in sanitation practices. This research covers these historical moments and the technological and sociological effects this time had on nineteenth century Western society.

MAP OF EVENTS

HISTORICAL CONTEXT TIMELINE

TOILET DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH AND READING SUMMARIES

The Victorian Era + the Toilet

During the Victorian Era, urban centers were becoming overcrowded, the streets filled with garbage and human waste. The government was not concerned with cleanliness and filth was the norm of everyday life. Epidemics of smallpox, cholera, and typhoid occurred in Europe and North America in the mid 1800s. The desperation of this situation led to sanitation improvements, but progress was slow because there was debate in the scientific community as to whether there was a connection between the two. In 1883, a scientist isolated the germ for cholera under a microscope, confirming the beliefs of sanitary reformers.

Innovation of The English Sanitation Infrastructure

During the Industrial Revolution of England, the way of life of many urban poor changed. Manufactured goods and tools meant that luxuries were more affordable, farmers were able to produce more food and as a consequence the population grew and food prices plummeted. This surplus population made its way to the city to work in factories and as a result urban infrastructure was in dire need of innovation. The Metamorphosis of Ajax, jakes, and early modern urban sanitation by Dolly Jorgenson examines how toilets and infrastructure in England evolved throughout the years. This article addresses the sanitary issues that affected everyday life. For example, homes smelled from the use of personal jacks which raised concern for spread of various diseases. Through the “Metamorphosis of Ajax”, Jorgenson analyzes how Harington uses cultural constructions for a push for urban sanitation reform.

Innovation and Mass Production of Toilets 1775-1895

The toilet has been rethought and redesigned since the day of the Egyptians. Rem Koolhaas lays out a series of events from 1775 to 1895 in consecutive order depicting the changes and the factors that led to the remodel of the water closet to the toilet. This evolution did not occur overnight and is still continually being improved upon in the modern day. Koolhaas’ work explains the necessity for innovation and even mass production of the toilet in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Sociology of Sanitation During the Industrial Revolution

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