Gender, Class and the Household Economy in Scotland in the ‘Age of Affluence’

Cross, Hayley (2016) Gender, class and the household economy in Scotland in the ‘Age of affluence’. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7747/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Gender, Class and the Household Economy in Scotland in the ‘Age of Affluence’ Hayley Cross MA (hons) MSc Glas Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social and Political Sciences College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow November 2016 ii Abstract From early 1950s to the early 1970s Britain is said to have experienced an ‘age of affluence’. Whilst material conditions for many households improved in these decades, this detailed examination of budget management processes shows that for many working-class households, these gains were the product of hard work and careful money management. Using oral history methodology, this thesis explores lived experiences of the household economy to illuminate these qualifications to ‘affluence’. In so doing, this thesis advances analysis which considers the relationship between the macro-level economic conditions of affluence and the everyday economic realities of households in the post-war period. The thesis examines the operation of the household economy and shows how working-class households utilised domestic labour, budgeting, paid work, credit and thrift to make ends meet, as well as to achieve ‘affluence’. Further, by exploring these areas of the household economy, this thesis shows that gendered ideology continued to preserve power and material inequalities between men and women. Although considerable change did occur, particularly involvement in the paid labour market, domestic responsibilities continued to be an important focus of women’s identities and the effective performance of these duties by women remained central to the success of the household. This thesis represents a fresh focus on how the exploration of everyday life, including the salience of ideological continuities in shaping experience, can qualify and refine our understanding of twentieth century economic and social change, and contributes to socio-historical understandings of ‘affluence’ and its intersections with the household, gender, and class. iii Contents List of Tables v List of Figures vi Acknowledgments vii Author’s Declaration viii Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 I.1 Introduction to Thesis 1 I.1.1 Defining the ‘Age of Affluence’ 3 I.1.2 The Structure of Scottish Households, c.1950-1970s 8 I.2 Methodology 12 I.2.1 Reflexivity 14 I.2.2 Ethics 15 I.2.3 Oral History Participants 16 I.3 Other Sources 21 I.4 Thesis Structure 23 Chapter One: Household Managers and Household Work 24 1.1 Introduction 24 1.2 Gender Roles in Marriage 27 1.3 Continuity and Change in Post-War Household Management 36 1.3.1 Decline of Routine Maternal Sacrifice 37 1.3.2 Productive Domestic Labour 39 1.3.3 Cooking 42 1.4 Household Work and the Crucial Example of Laundry 46 1.4.1 Laundry: ‘Steamies’ to Automatics 48 1.4.2 Laundry: Domestic Technology and Domestic Work 54 1.4.3 Laundry in Cultural Memory 59 1.5 Conclusion 63 Chapter Two: Money in the Household 64 2.1 Introduction 64 2.2 Money Matters in Oral History 67 2.3 Responsibility for the Household Budget 74 2.3.1 Managing the Budget 75 2.3.2 Managing Children’s Earnings 81 2.4 Understanding Money in the Household: Language and Power 83 2.5 Gendered Ownership of Money 86 2.5.1 Gendered Ownership of State Benefits for Children 88 2.6 Conclusion 93 iv Chapter Three: Allocation Systems 95 3.1 Introduction 95 3.2. Systems of Allocation 97 3.2.1 Female Whole Wage System 98 3.2.2 Housekeeping Allowance System 105 3.2.3 Joint Management System 112 3.3 Decision Making 116 3.4 Conclusion 120 Chapter Four: Women’s Paid Work in the Household Economy 123 4.1 Introduction 123 4.2 Married Women’s Paid Work in the Domestic Economy 131 4.2.1 Economic Necessity to Choice 132 4.3 Women as Workers 142 4.3.1 Work and Household Management 147 4.4 Conclusion 152 Chapter Five: Household Budgeting Practices 153 5.1 Introduction 153 5.2 Economy and Thrift 156 5.2.1 Family, Friends and Community 158 5.2.2 Men’s Overtime 161 5.2.3 Special Circumstances 163 5.3 Credit 165 5.3.1 Tick 166 5.3.2 Pawnbroking 169 5.3.3 Check-Trading 173 5.3.4 Hire Purchase 176 5.4 Conclusion 182 Chapter Six: Attitudes towards Household Budgeting 183 6.1 Introduction 183 6.1.1 Budgeting and Composure 186 6.2 Maintaining Respectability 190 6.2.1 Applying Thrift to Credit 202 6.2.2 Co-operative Mutuality 208 6.3 Respectability, Class, and Home Ownership 210 6.3.1 Contemporary Economic Climate 216 6.4 Conclusion 218 Conclusion 220 Appendix I: Oral History Profiles 228 Appendix II: Recruitment Poster 236 Bibliography 237 v List of Tables Table I.1 Oral History Participants 17 Table I.2 Oral History Participants’ Family Size 17 Table I.3 Marriage Cohorts of Oral History Participants 18 Table I.4 Scottish Women’s Oral History Project Participants 21 Table 3.1 Number of Married Women Reporting Different Systems of Allocation, Scottish Women’s Oral History Project 96 Table 3.2 Reported Systems of Allocation by Class for Married Women, Scottish Women’s Oral History Project 96 Table 4.1 Married Women in Work, 1911-81 124 Table 5.1 Number of Pawnbrokers Enumerated in Scottish Cities, 1911-51 171 Table 5.2 Co-operative Retail Sales on Instalment Terms in Britain, 1957-71 182 vi List of Figures Figure I.1 Number of Marriages in Scotland, 1910-85 10 Figure I.2 Number of Births in Scotland by Age of Mother, 1945-85 11 Figure 1.1 Woman outside backcourt tenement washhouse, Glasgow, c.1930s 52 Figure 1.2 Garngad Washhouse, Glasgow Green, 1917 52 Figure 1.3 Women in Edinburgh Washhouse, 1977 52 Figure 1.4 ‘Washer Women’, Tapestry of Scotland 59 Figure 1.5 Still from The Steamie 60 Figure 1.6 Demonstration Against Washhouse Closures, outside Edinburgh City Chambers, 1981 63 Figure 2.1 Women Practise with Decimal Money, Edinburgh, 1971 74 Figure 2.2 Family Allowance poster Ministry of Insurance, 1945 89 Figure 5.1 ‘Wayfinding’ art and poem detail by Rachel Mimiec, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow 176 Figure 5.2 Outstanding Hire Purchase Credit and New Hire Purchase Extended in Britain, 1958-70 178 vii Acknowledgments I am grateful to both the ESRC and Economic and Social History subject area for supporting this thesis. I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Annmarie Hughes and Dr Jim Phillips for their support throughout my PhD journey. This thesis has benefitted from their rich historical knowledge and keen analytical insights. Moreover, I have benefitted from their understanding, patience and encouragement. I am grateful to Prof. Malcolm Nicolson for his kind support. Thank you also to my office buddy Dr Martha Kirby for her friendship. I wish to extend my very great thanks to the oral history volunteers who agreed to take part in this project. It was a privilege to be invited into the homes of men and women across Scotland and my time spent meeting them and listening to the stories they shared was the highlight of my PhD experience. I owe very great thanks to my mum and dad, without whom I would not have made it to the end of this journey. Your encouragement got me through the toughest days and this thesis is a testament to what a daughter can accomplish with the love and support of two great parents. To M, you softened the lows and heightened the highs; the tyranny of the blank page would have overcome me if it weren’t for your love, support and companionship. For everything – always – thank you viii Author’s Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree* at the University of Glasgow or any other institution. Signature _______________________________ Printed name _______________________________ *See ‘Introduction’ for details on primary source material used in my Masters dissertation, ‘Rationing in Glasgow, 1940-54: Black market trade and consumer experience’, completed in 2011 as part of the requirements of the degree ‘MSc Social History’ awarded by the University of Glasgow. ix Abbreviations SWOHP Scottish Women’s Oral History Project 1 Introduction I.1 Introduction to Thesis From the early 1950s until the 1970s, Britain is said to have experienced an ‘age of affluence’ characterised by buoyant economic conditions and improving standards of living including rising real incomes and the increased acquisition of consumer goods. Whilst material conditions for many households improved during this period, examination of budget management processes shows that for many working-class households, these gains were the product of hard-work and careful money management. By exploring the relationship between the macro-level economic conditions of affluence and the everyday economic realities of households in the post-war period, this thesis illuminates these qualifications to ‘affluence’.

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