2015, the 6th of January

Student: Patricia Constantinescu

Professor: Mihaela Precup

British Cultural Studies, MA 2

Communication in Media

Racializing domesticity
Soap advertising
During the Victorian era, soap was attributed a sacred image, representing the main part of
the 'sanctuary of domestic hygiene'. Various soap ads, throughout this period, were
actually an allegory for the regeneration of the body politic.
img.1 In the first frame, we can see two children in a bathroom a black boy who is
actually taking a bath, and a white boy standing next to him. Both are stereotypically
depicted, as the black boy seems pretty unacquainted with the entire process, while the
white child bends merciful towards him. The soap itself represents the so-called 'bridge'
that can be built between the two racially opposed sides. Through the use of these ads, the
imperial progress (which used to be only a faraway spectacle) comes closer to the
consumer, entering the domain of commodity. In the second frame of this ad, the black boy
becomes miraculously white, except for his face the rational individuality and selfconsciousness.
img. 2 This image offers another clear example of the association of domestic acts and
objects with the race-changing process. The subtle message of the present advert is, in fact,
not only a childish remark, but an actual suggestion that one should do something, in
order to change their situation, state of affairs, race, and so on.
The monkey
Another soap advertising campaign, during the 1880s, was centred on the monkey (+ its
frying pan and all other sorts of domestic elements). The Monkey Brand Soap was meant
to link the use of a particular brand not only with a regeneration of the race, but also with
the emancipation of women, thus suggesting that they would automatically be absolved of
any form of home labour through the mere use of that ordinary soap bar.
img. 3 In this ad, the monkey represents the perfect idea of a hybrid. It is on the
threshold between jungle and civilization, half animal half human, partly gentleman, but
also a street beggar.
The appearance of monkeys in soap advertising represented the perfect solution at the
time. It was one of the few ways (if not the only one) to promote the idea of domesticity
without actually showing images of women at work. Thus, the shift from the womenperforming-paid-work situation to that of stay-at-home, was gradually and subtly made.
Apes, in particular, were meant to send to the racial, cultural, and social differences
between particular classes.
Also, there is a contradiction between the masculinized representation of the soap, and the
feminine role the monkey is playing that of a housewife.
One of the subliminal messages of the soap-monkey ads was that of a transformation of
nature (dirt, waste, and disorder) into culture (cleanliness, rationality, and industry).

2015, the 6th of January

Student: Patricia Constantinescu
Professor: Mihaela Precup

British Cultural Studies, MA 2

Communication in Media

The mirror
Another leitmotif in this series of soap ads is that of the mirror-frying pan that the monkey
holds (img. 4). This also appears in a Brooke's Soap ad, although here we are dealing with a
more complex idea. A classical female ideal, with white skin and bare arms, wears a
vaporous dress. While her appearance is that of a goddess, embodying beauty, desire, and
leisure, from the cornucopia that she holds, flows a horrid river of ape-angels (img. 5). The
suggestion here, again, is that of an evolution process, from apelike to angelic.
Domesticating empire
Towards the end of the century, an invasion of imperial bric--brac made its way to the
heart of the Victorian homes. The scenes depicted in various ads for tea, biscuits, coconut,
and other traditional fetishes, were a mixture of imperial spectacle with homely features.
For example, a Huntley and Palmers' Biscuits ad (img. 6) clearly exemplifies this
combination. A group of colonials (all men, of course), sitting in the middle of the jungle,
are leisurely drinking tea, and enjoying some biscuits. Also, there can be seen a procession
of elephants, marching towards them, fully loaded with more biscuits, drinks, and tea. The
message is clear: women have no place within the affairs of the empire, and colonized men
are feminized by their being associated with domestic servitude.
Cleaning ads are another advertising field which makes room for more racism. A Chlorinol
Soda Bleach perfectly stands for this attitude. (img. 7) It shows three boys in a soda box
two are black, while the third is a 'whitened black'. The colours are strategically used, as
the message is written with white letters on a red background, while the blue water
completes the colours of the British flag. The bleaching soda is useless for the three naked
children, so that instead, they use it as a means of racial upliftment. The hybrid child
stands for social change, while the other two are only potential consumers of the
commodity. Africa's stains from the past can be thus easily washed away through military
subjugation, cultural coercion, and economic thuggery.
McClintock, Anne. Soft-Soaping Empire. Commodity, racism, and imperial
advertising, 2005. Web. pp. 511-517.