F*** Housework

This poster (left) was made by Virtue Hathaway (the pseudonym for Shirly Boccaccio) in 1971. Hathaway was an active feminist in the United States during the women’s liberation movement. The design became very popular amongst feminists all over North America. If you were part of the network and were able to get her email, Hathaway would send a poster to you for $25 plus shipping (VFA Recommended Books, n.d.). Since Hathaway’s passing at her home in Mexico in 2019, her granddaughter has been selling the posters (Clayton, 2023). 

Hathaway’s design speaks to the anti-authoritarian and radical mood of the women’s liberation movement. Women were ready to shout and curse and not be the lady that society expected them to be. There is a wonderful juxtaposition of refined and crude in the design of the poster. The old-style lettering and intricate floral border evocative of embroidery and lace, or "womens’ work", are a stark contrast against the jarring language used, the rough pencil sketch of a witch-like woman holding a broken broom, and her wild appearance with free-flowing hair and dress. It is a contrast of the proper establishment to the unbound freedom of the liberation movement. Compare this to the strong statement of the Women’s Day poster that featured a woman in shackles.

Hathaway continued to create for the rest of her life, drawing more posters and writing novels. This image (right) is of Hathaway signing her famous Fuck Housework poster and is on the back cover of her second novel: Buying the Ranch - Book II: Escaping Real Life (Hathaway, 2018).

The sequel to the Fuck Housework poster is the Fuck Officework poster (left) that Hathaway made in 1972. The style is almost identical to the refined and crude elements in the housework iteration, but it is even more radical. The free-flowing hair of the featured woman extends farther and is curlier, and the woman’s robe is completely transparent, revealing one of her nipples. She wears a large pendant of the female symbol around her neck, and she holds a hammer in her hands that she had just used to smash the typewriter in front of her. The juxtaposition remains, yet the content moved to further anti-authoritarian themes related to women’s labour in the workforce.

In 1974 Hathaway made The Househusband poster (right) that depicts a man attempting to do housework as three small children cling to him (Elalouf, 2011). In large text across the poster, it reads “If It's So Easy You Do It.” This is another commentary on the underappreciated work that women were forced to do. This poster takes patriarchal authority and subverts it by directly implanting it into forced house labour, a position with no authority.

Many other posters and ephemeral material were made during this time of the women’s liberation movement in order to share information and support all of the people involved. Click here to read more about feminist art collectives in the 1970s.

References

Clayton, G. (2023, May 24). The “fuck housework” poster. Gabi Clayton: Olympia,  Washington. https://gabiclayton.com/the-fuck-housework-poster/

Elalouf, J. (2011, December 5). Its so easy - the househusband 1974 by virtue hathaway. OOF. https://oof.cx/collection/psychedelic-art/its-so-easy-the-househusband-1974-by-virtue-hathaway-565x435/

GLBT Historical Society. (2023). Poster collection. GLBT Historical Society: Museum & Archives. https://www.glbthistory.org/poster-collection 

Hathaway, V. (2018). Buying the Ranch – Book II: Escaping Real Life. La Hacienda Publications. Fourth Cover.

Hathaway, V. (1971) Fuck Housework. [Poster] City of Edmonton Archives, Edmonton, Alberta. https://cityarchives.edmonton.ca/fuck-housework

Hathaway, V. (1972) Fuck Officework. [Poster] GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco, California. https://www.glbthistory.org/poster-collection

Hathaway, V. (1974) The Househusband. [Poster] Oof Digital Blog. https://oof.cx/collection/psychedelic-art/its-so-easy-the-househusband-1974-by-virtue-hathaway-565x435/

Oakland Museum of California Collections. (2023). Virtue Hathaway ~ artist. OMCA Collections. https://collections.museumca.org/?q=collection-item%2F201054658

VFA Recommended Books. (n.d.). Shirley Boccaccio. VFA recommended books. https://www.veteranfeministsofamerica.org/legacy/Shirley%20Boccaccio.htm