A (not so) surprising examination the origins of 'the pantry'
Are pantries rooted in sexism and racisms?
Are some pantries rooted in racist and sexist social structures? I recently considered this question after stumbling across a couple of articles examining the topic of ‘Pantry Porn.’ What a loaded question that perhaps wades into unexpected territory for a professional organizer.
Sometimes I like to get theoretical and look at things from a deeper critical place, taking time to slowly consider the history of spaces and the roles we "play" in the theater of our lives, especially regarding the role of white women since I am one.
Kitchens, as a whole, are steeped in gender-prescribed roles, as are other areas of domestic spaces. The objects and actions of kitchens are marketed towards women, who historically spent the most time in them. Therefore, it makes sense to me that gender and race are hugely consequential in domestic spaces, whether we are conscious of it or not.
For some of you, this topic and the articles that prompted this writing might be too pithy, critical, or theoretical, but I love topics that get to the heart of the spaces we live and work in! While in graduate school, I did a LOT of reading on the history of space, especially the structure of the Euro-American home as rooted in European history. The spaces we live (and work) in are manufactured, constructed, and forced, too formal, or downright uncomfortable for many of us.
I did a LOT of reading about domestic space during graduate school and recommend the following books if you’re inclined to learn more about how the modern-day space we call Home evolved into what we are now familiar with. Home: A Short History of an Idea by Witold Rybczynski and AT HOME: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson were both very enlightening.
A more recent Dilettant Army article, ‘Merchandising the Void,’ has me considering more about the space adjacent to or within the kitchen, which we call the pantry. Recently, social media influencers and celebrities share voyeuristic views of theirs, which is strange. Who wants to be in competition for the best-looking pantry space? Apparently, influencers, professional organizers (their clients), and some celebrities. If these spaces were actually interesting and not just replicas of what we see on supermarket shelves, I might be more inclined to pay attention. The SAMENESS of what is being shared has grabbed my attention.
Austere modern whiteness is rooted in classism and racism. In fact, in the 1930s, the era of stark architecture, a movement labeled by MOMA as “International Style,” was not meant to be lived in. Yet, we continue to try and conform ourselves to this uncomfortable aesthetic of clean, cold, and hard…aka “simple.”
I can’t deny that most of the organizers I follow are white women, and most of them are the ones repeating this stereotypical aesthetic. The performance of domestic spaces shared via social media to yield influence is twisted (and that’s the world we live in!). What was once considered ‘minimalist’ is no longer about simplicity or living without excess. It has become its own aesthetic, with a not-so-subtle marker of status.
"I suggest the design and contents of Khloé's pantry point to an evolution in the contemporary public role of the American kitchen and the role of the homemaker who labors and performs in this space. The ritualized stockpiling and organizing of goods, the oversized scale and format of the shelves and bins-this is a space where the performance of logistics is as important as the performance of domesticity."1
If your home or pantry looks like a warehouse, you might want to dial it back and ask yourself why. If it feels like labor to perform logistics acts to keep up with everything in your home, you probably need to reconsider your priorities, and, perhaps simplify (simplify is not the same as stage). Speaking of stages…
Pandemic hoarding had its time and place. For now, and for most of us, that time is over. I’m not going to delve into the privilege of ‘prepping,’ but dare I say; this topic extends to the one I’m discussing here and now.
"...organization is not just cleaning. It is design, a shift that allows the logistics and labor of contemporary homemaking to be revisioned as a hobby and a lifestyle."2
Does homemaking feel like a hobby to you? Yeah, me neither. I’ll be diving into this more in future posts.
I'm not attempting to perform domestic perfection for my clients or myself. I love when I get calls to come to help someone set up their newly moved into, or remodeled kitchen/pantry, but I kind of cringe when their focus is on buying new products to make everything look like a store (row-upon row of products, decanted to perfection). This is NOT what organizing is (or should be) about. I am not in the business of creating the illusion of perfection for my clients or more work for myself via revisiting overly manicured high-maintenance spaces.
I am questioning and asking each of us to consider WHY we feel we need to see perfectly decanted, row upon row of stockpiled household goods.
I appreciate an aesthetically pleasing environment. Yet, I do not strive for greige, gridded, decanted repetition and hoarded household goods - it is akin to filling every void like an empty spreadsheet! Is this kind of minimalism a matter of taste? Or is it more like a white cube-sterile, austere-institutional, and classist?
Can you see the irony here? Empty spaces, white walls, refilled with more consumable goods than we need? There is so much hypocrisy in the ‘staged minimalism’ of the luxuriously rich. The term minimalism has been co-opted from the art world, an aesthetic originally applied to art in institutional spaces that were never intended to be lived in.
‘minimalism presents the illusion of intellectual simplicity — morally good, anti-consumerist — while being just as complicit in the problems of capitalism as anything else. Empty interiors often end up only emphasizing what’s left over as more valuable, more desirable’.3
Ask yourself whose aesthetic you are striving for. Here are some questions that might help you decide what your priorities are.
Does living within a sterile white space make you happy?
Does hoarding materials make your life feel more abundant or simple?
Does taking the time to remove things from one container and put them into another simplify your life or make routines easier?
Containers, grids, and sparse aesthetics are not the solutions to simplifying our lives or bringing more joy.
Here are my takeaways:
Cleaning isn't organizing.
Organizing isn't design.
Homemaking is labor.
Cleaning and organizing are labor.
If creating a simple-looking lifestyle requires more labor, it’s not simple.
Overly manicured spaces are high-maintenance spaces.
Don't believe the hype.
Beware of the aesthetics you are consuming.
Clearly, I am NOT an organizing influencer!
Kelly Pendergrast, Merchandizing the Void. https://dilettantearmy.com/articles/merchandizing-the-void
Kelly Pendergrast
Kyle Chayka, Why Does Kim Kardashian's House Look Like...That?https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a30797108/kim-kardashian-house-minimalism/