Project Director

Kuby, William, 1982-

Department Examiner

Thompson, Michael D. (Michael David), 1979-

Department

Dept. of History

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

As urban migration expanded throughout the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, a greater number of women entered the workforce. Predetermined hours for working meant that women now had predetermined hours for leisure, something that was hard to come by in the traditional female roles within the sphere of domesticity. As a result, women began to dominate spaces outside of the domestic sphere, such as department stores, as both workers and consumers. Female consumerism, then, necessitated the rise of the advertising industry, subsequently playing a major role in the creation of power struggles between sellers and female consumers. The female consumers' autonomy, found in ideas of natural beauty and personal style, was constantly pitted against department store curated ensembles and the ad industry's creation of an idyllic and desirable female image. Interestingly, the role of women as walking advertisements further complicates these dynamics. Thus, the turn of the twentieth century resulted in a symbiosis between the advertising industry and female shoppers: women spread the word about a company's product through their sociable habits, which subsequently helped and/or hindered the success of that product, while companies reaped the benefits and the drawbacks from the free advertising done on behalf of their indirectly-employed "employees."

Acknowledgments

A BIG thanks to Dr. Kuby and Dr. Thompson for helping me and challenging me with all the research and writing things! Their feedback was invaluable. I would also like to thank my family for their continued support, love, and patience...especially after listening to me talk through my ideas, triumphs, and frustrations throughout this entire process!

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2025

Subject

Advertising--Fashion--United States--History--19th century; Advertising--Fashion--United States--History--20th century; Women consumers--United States--History--19th century; Women consumers--United States--History--20th century

Keyword

Fashion; Advertising; Women; Consumption; Manipulation; Shopping

Discipline

Social History

Document Type

Theses

Extent

ii, 46 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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