From pathological to hygienic: the modern homes and the printed press in Brazil in the post-Second World War

This paper discusses pathologization of the Brazilian homes as a strategy of media advertising to convince housewives that manufactured products were the most efficient resources to deal with domestic insects. Appliances, insecticides and cleaning products were offered as being capable of turning “sick” houses into hygienic and healthy environments. From 1940s to 1960s Brazil tried to consolidate its industrial park. As part of this process a market of so-called modern consumer goods were supposed to replace homemade and traditional solutions. This study argues that those modern solutions aimed at maintaining a healthy house found a culture of hygiene already established among Brazilian urban middle classes.

Consumption; Hygiene; Press; Insecticides; Industrialization