Comfort, modernity and gender equality at home. Discourses on the modernization of the family and household in Poland from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s

This article examines expert and popular discourses on modernizing the household in Poland from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s. They are presented as a part of a broader discourse on the new model of the modern socialist family that was developed from the mid-1960s onwards. Using the method of historical discourse analysis, the article examines textual and visual messages about the modernization of the household. It traces the connections between the expert discourse represented in the sociological literature and the popular discourse represented in household manuals, women’s, and lifestyle magazines. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of print advertisements as visual representations of household modernization. They are presented as a manifestation of the popular discourse, which contributed to the common understanding of the idea of the modern family and the modern household.