Women’s Hygiene: Body, Hair and Face Skin Care in Traditional Ukrainian Culture In Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

This article presents an approach to analysis of women’s hygiene and beauty practices in the traditional Ukrainian society. As a key message, the article discusses female hygiene and body care as a historically determined, complex process, affected by popular beliefs stemming from people’s living, natural and, more specifically, climatic conditions. The author presents the rules of society, especially taboos, which influenced women’s hygiene as a special practice. Hence hygiene, body care and beauty standards are recognized as a function of specific social and cultural norms established for woman’s body. In addition, the notion of bodily health, hygiene and beauty was most closely tied to the popular view of «proper» and «improper» days for body care. For instance, ritualistic washing of the body was mandatory on the eve of major calendar holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, however, bathing, washing or sprinkling, practiced during these periods, had as its object rather some sacred than any hygienic purpose. Accordingly, on the days of traditional Christian fasting (Wednesdays and Fridays), it was forbidden to bathe, the same goes for Sundays and the time during certain calendar periods: on the eve of Whit Sunday festivities, Midsummer Night, also after Elijah’s Day or the Feast of Transfiguration. The emphasis was put on hygiene, standards of beauty, care, etc. as a construct of cultural and social norms, where the age and marital status of women would be of great importance. As woman grew older, she had to become more inconspicuous: excessive primping, self-care, and adorning were strongly condemned by the society of that time. Thus, it appears that all hygienic procedures of body and hair care were under the scrutiny of society, with imposition of a significant number of taboos, restrictions and precautions. Women had to follow all those precepts because otherwise they would be accused of violating sacred traditions.