Ever wonder why girls get so mad when boys leave their socks on the damn sofa?

In “City Cleansing” a chapter in Chasing Dirt, Suellen Hoy outlines the progression to the modern day assumption- a clean city is a successful city. She describes the waste that formerly encompassed the majority of America, not only physically, but socially as well. From garbage, to waste water, to prostitution, Hoy digs deep to find the root of the problem- human neglect. She gives credit for the cleaning up of cities to the outbreak of disease in the late 1800s, reformers who call themselves sanitarians, women claiming power and the manipulation of popular opinion, not fact.

The outbreak of disease forced the world to research the cause. Sanitation began as a solution to the problem [disease] and rather quickly turned into a method of prevention. From cure to prevention, the most interesting part of this “warfare against uncleanness” (59) is the mass spread of false assumptions that sparked it. The “greatest apostle of cleanliness” (66) himself,George E. Waring who built the sewers, at the same time spread fear of the gas they produce. Ironically, while bacteriology was scientifically “demonstrating that germs rather than filth were the true cause of disease”(70), the ignorance and gullibility of the people helped form a movement that has truly shaped who we are and how we live today.

This group of uneducated individuals targeted were “women and school children in the work of city cleansing”(71). A reasonable group to target at the time because of their lack of higher education. Again, this ignorance sparked the beginning of women involvement in politics and business outside the home. Cleanliness was seen as a woman’s duty because “women had certain intuitive convictions when it came to matter of order and cleanliness”(72). This belief opened the doors for not only women employment but leadership roles like never before. One could argue that this was a key factor in the beginning of the equal rights movement.

After the knowledge of bacteriology was released to the general public, the cleansing movement moved to aesthetic appeal for another form of motivation and retained the need in both highly populated communities and rural retreats. Maintaining this need was the prime ingredient in maintaining the drive for women to involve themselves in the world of business “without touching the sources of their inequality”(85).

Hoy’s writing teaches us that we must take advantage of every opportunity given in order to find success. Passion can be lead to great accomplishments even if our original inspiration proves to be false. Where would we be today if the general public knew that “germs rather than filth were the true cause of disease”(70)? Would our methods of cleanliness be compromised today? And what would have been the “in” for women in the workplace and positions of authority?