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Defrosting the Freezer: From Novelty to Convenience

A Narrative of Normalization

Lancaster University, e.shove{at}lancaster.ac.uk

Dale Southerton

University of Manchester, Dale.Southerton{at}man.ac.uk

This article examines the ‘normalization’ of the British freezer. It defines three phases in this process: an initial period oriented around the utility of preserving home produce; a second stage marked by the development of a frozen food infrastructure and the establishment of the freezer as a part of the efficient domestic economy; and a third subtle but significant redefinition of the primary benefits of freezing in terms of convenience. Cast in their new role as ‘time machines’, freezers are sold as a means of managing contemporary pressures associated with the scheduling and co-ordination of domestic life. At one level, this is a story of the gradual acceptance of a relatively standardized object. Yet this narrative suggests that the freezer’s promised benefits and functions change along the way. Developing this point, we argue that the normalization of the chameleon-like freezer can only be understood in the context of similarly changing systems of food provisioning, patterns of domestic practice and allied technological devices.

Key Words: co-determination • convenience • domestic technology • everyday life • normalization

Journal of Material Culture, Vol. 5, No. 3, 301-319 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/135918350000500303


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