ABSTRACT

This article examines the role of female electrical appliance ‘demonstrators’ in interwar Scotland. During this period, manufacturers launched a variety of domestic electrical appliances into a consumer market already saturated with solid fuel and gas-fired equivalents. To tackle the fierce competition the electrical industry deployed female demonstrators, originally trained in domestic science, to entertain and educate audiences across Scotland. Notably, Glasgow-based demonstrators, and representatives at Scotland’s domestic science colleges, expressed an early interest in working with the Electrical Association for Women, to benefit from the organisation’s modern and empowering image. This article compares demonstrators’ understanding of the purpose of their role with the views of consumers, domestic science experts and those working in the electrical industry. An insight into the vital, yet forgotten, ‘mediating’ role which demonstrators performed between the electrical industry and consumers adds to the wider discussion about women and their participation in a male-dominated workplace throughout the interwar years.

摘要

本文考察了女性电器“示威者”在两次世界大战期间苏格兰的作用。在此期间，制造商将各种家用电器投放到已经饱和的固体燃料和燃气等价物的消费市场。为了应对激烈的竞争，电气行业部署了最初接受过国内科学培训的女性示威者来娱乐和教育苏格兰各地的观众。值得注意的是，格拉斯哥的示威者和苏格兰国内科学学院的代表很早就表达了与女性电气协会合作的兴趣，以从该组织的现代和赋权形象中受益。本文将示威者对其角色目的的理解与消费者的观点进行比较，国内科学专家和电气行业从业人员。深入了解示威者在电气行业和消费者之间扮演的重要但被遗忘的“调解”角色，增加了关于女性及其在整个两次世界大战期间参与男性主导的工作场所的更广泛讨论。