Spark Joy? Compulsory Happiness and the Feminist Politics of Decluttering
Spark Joy? Compulsory Happiness and the Feminist Politics of Decluttering By Laurie Ouellette Abstract This essay analyzes the Marie Kondo brand as a set of neoliberal techniques for managing cultural anxieties around over-consumption, clutter and the family. Drawing from critical discussions of consumer culture and waste, as well as fe- minist scholarship on compulsory happiness and women’s labor in the home, it argues that Marie Kondo’s “joyful” approach to “tidying up” presents pared-down, curated consumption as a lifestyle choice that depends on women’s work, even as it promises to mitigate the stresses of daily life and facilitate greater well-being. Keywords: Marie Kondo, happiness, clutter, over-consumption, neoliberalism, post-feminism, housework, danshari Ouellette, Laurie: “Spark Joy? Compulory Happiness and the Feminist Politics of Decluttering”, Culture Unbound, Volume 11, issue X, 2019: XX–XX. Published by Linköping University Electronic Press: http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se Culture Unbound Journal of Current Cultural Research “The ideal of happiness has always taken material form in the house . .” --Simone de Beauvoir In the debut episode of the Netflix series Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, we meet the Friend family in their suburban, one-story bungalow on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Kevin is a sales manager for a restaurant supply company who works 50-60 hours per week and “then some on the weekends.” Rachel works part-time from home three days a week, while also caring for their two toddlers, Jaxon and Ryan, who is still nursing. The parents confess to fighting constantly about money and housework. Rachel is overwhelmed by the “chaos” of everyday life: With small children to watch over as well as waged labor to perform, dishes go unwashed, toys overflow the playroom, and dirty clothes pile up.
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