The nationalization of trivialities: How cleaning becomes an identity marker in the encounter of Swedes and Danes

Abstract

Modernity is often said to cause homogenization, but it creates new diversity as well. From the late nineteenth century, cleanliness became a central theme in the construction of modern society, and the same debates on cleanliness developed in Sweden and Denmark. Exploring dishwashing as an example, it becomes evident that very similar ways of approaching cleanliness are turned into differences: from the ways people do the dishes to the design of kitchens. As routines of every day life, dishwashing has become nationalized and naturalized in the post‐war period. Because of this, dishwashing is today not seen as a cultural phenomenon.