I have online access to The British Newspapers Archive, which lets me read original newspapers dating back to the 1700s.
Imagine my surprise when I found a weekly column called ‘Home Notes’, in Pearson’s Weekly, published from 1890-1913, whereby “Isobel will be glad to answer questions of general interest upon household matters”, and, as I dislike housework, I was fascinated by Isobel’s claims that housework is a great exercise for women!
“A woman who does her own housework may console herself with the reflection that she is taking a part of her daily gymnastics. The muscles of the spine, shoulder blades, arms and body generally are all brought into play in sweeping, dusting and bed making and these are a great substitute for the costly course of lessons in physical culture.” Physical culture was a 1900’s muscles exercise programme to improve health upon which many of today’s exercise training programmes are based on.
Women would have accomplished a rigorous workout doing their daily chores. Washing day was extremely arduous, carrying the hot water buckets and hand scrubbing, rinsing and wringing the clothes. I have occasionally done my washing in the bath and it was extremely hard and heavy work.
Isobel believed sweeping to be one of the best exercises, providing it is done “intelligently, otherwise the woman may strain her back as she grasps the broom at the top and makes circular motions, thereby wrenching the body above the hip”. Very true, as I always get a backache from sweeping. I must be doing it wrongly!
To effectively sweep, you must first “put all the large pieces of furniture out of the room”. Well, that would injure my back, but I suppose it is the equivalent of a weight-lifting session. “Then hold the broom with both hands several inches below the top and perform even brush strokes. This will exercise the arms and shoulders.”
According to Isobel, arms are “seldom round and firm upon a woman that has passed her thirty fifth year, but it is not necessary to lose your beauty so early!” She said we must beautify our arms through exercises and scrubbing the floors and washing the windows will take “the flat, flabby arm without any shape and make it round and symmetrical”.
Window frames should be washed every other day (right!), and windowpanes should be dusted every morning (sure!) and be washed once a week with a moist cloth. With 23 windows, each with 16 panes of glass, in my house, if I did this, my arms would be toned, but I would have no time for anything else!
Isobel continues, “housework in moderation is one of the best ways of cultivating beauty.” Try telling me that as I am red faced and sweating from the exertion of scrubbing the floors! Bed making is a “magnificent exercise for the figure. Shoulders, body and limbs are all brought into play and developed by mattress turning.” Yes, perhaps twice a year, if I can be bothered when the seasons change. “The folding of sheets and blankets and the spreading of them on the bed all give the arms just the right exercise to develop the muscles in the soft roundness and pretty curves which are the chief beauty of a woman’s arm.” Does flipping the duvet up and down a couple of times each morning count?
Another “admirable exercise for the arms, fingers and wrists is the washing and wiping of teacups and saucers, for the warm water combined with the exercise is valuable in giving suppleness to the joints.” There is some truth in this, but my crockery dries naturally on the draining board! Putting it away in the cupboards does, however, involve some stretching.
“Housework in moderation is one of the best ways of cultivating beauty.”
Isobel was not the only one who believed housework to be good for us women. The Empire News, July 16, 1905, said that “for girls unable to indulge in open air sports and pastimes, active exercise is a necessity and what they perhaps regard as the drudgery of housework is really a blessing in disguise.” I do not think so! “Bodily inertia is fatal to health and much of the anaemia, lung trouble, headaches, hysteria, low spiritedness and other departures from the normal that young women suffer from are due to their neglect of wholesome exercise. All healthily minded girls desire to look well and one of those things most essential to good looks is good works, the natural field for which is in the case of all good women, the home.”
Jeanne de Maury in her article ‘Beauty and the Broom’ in The Evening Dispatch, January 17, 1933, said that “If the housework is done in the right way, it is a very healthful occupation and can be performed without undue fatigue. It is extremely good for the figure and takes off superfluous flesh with astonishing rapidity. Housework stimulates the liver and cures a fit of the blues quicker than almost anything and sudden irritability will often find a way of expending itself on beating carpets!” In my case, I get the blues having to do the housework! However, Jeanne suggested, “say to yourself that housework is exercise and that you are going to make it of as much benefit to you as any exercise done in physical culture classes.” A very good idea that I will attempt from now on!
Midlothian Advertiser, December 18, 1925, said “a busy woman who does her housework provides herself with all the physical culture she needs for securing her health and good looks. The work that makes her pant strengthens the lungs but to aid this result it is necessary to breathe deeply and inhale pure air. To get the full benefit from housework however a woman should rest for an hour each day for this is the best remedy for jaded nerves and wrinkles.”
It all sounds very convincing and perhaps I should do more housework and worry less about using gym equipment.
However, my favourite recommendation comes in The News, May 5, 1939. It claimed that “housework is one of the best exercises in the world for keeping the figure well-proportioned and supple.” For the work, you should wear a house frock and suitable foundation garments. “High heels will tire the spine and are only meant for light service.” Also, it is not necessary to wear your corset for “a strong young woman should be able to do her housework with nothing more rigorous than a suspender belt…”
So now you know!
Footnote: content provided by THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk).
By Isobel Costa
|| features@algarveresident.com
Isobel Costa works full time and lives on a farm with a variety of pet animals! In her spare time, she enjoys photography, researching and writing.
