The Cultural Analysis of the Lawn Mower as a Suburban
Artifact
Summertime lawn sprinklers,
cool and misty, have refreshed various passers-by seeking haven from the
heat. Some of childhood's fondest memories are linked to sprinkling
lawns: the tickle of damp grass beneath bare feet, cooling off under the
sprinklers. The actual aesthetic quality of the sprinkler lies more in
the fruits of its tireless efforts. The coddled green lawn has become an
American standard.
Our love for lawns perhaps reflects a more recent
past.
Until
the last century our ancestors were mostly farmers, and it is no
coincidence that lawns took hold in the United States after the
Industrial Revolution had begun taking people away from their meadows and
pastures (American 46). Some experts
hypothesize that suburban lawn toil is really displaced agrarian
energy.
There is also the lawn-as-display hypothesis,
which holds that the modern lawn originated on the estates of the British
aristocracy and
was copied first by upper-class Americans, then by the middle class, and
finally by the working class. Even tiny cottages and bungalows feature
estate lawns shrunk in size (American 46).
A green, well-groomed lawn has come to represent a suburbanite's success,
status, and prosperity. Thorstien Veblen, author of The Theory of the
Leisure Class (1899), explained the lawn as an example of
"conscious consumption" (American 46).
In an age that valued land for its productivity, the lawn's
non-productivity advertised its owner as being rich enough to own land
that did not have to be put to practical use.
One weekend the suburbanite (Mr. Brown) walks to the
edge of
his property (perhaps by the street-side mailbox) and examines the latest
improvements to his almost quarter-acre lawn. He sees the droplets of
water which still linger on the inch long blade of grass and smiles to
himself. He has nourished this "baby" of his during its whole life. His
neighbor suburbanite (Mr. White) calls out, "Looking pretty good, Sam."
And he beams, but not too obviously. He proceeds to tell him of the new
oscillating sprinkler he just purchased, complete with automatic shut
off, and male bonding begins.
From the beginning of the suburbs, lawn
care has primarily been a male preserve. Gardening, on the other hand, was
a female pastime. Caring for the lawn quickly evolved through time into a
suburban
institution,
shaping weekend activity for several generations of men and teen-age
boys. Often times, boys became "men" through the rituals of lawn care.
This was a time for learning responsibility and for character building.
Furthermore, it provided for good relations (as well as poor) among
the community members. Great significance was placed on the appearance of
one's lawn. When new neighbors arrived, this was the one way they
could communicate to the existing residents without having met them.
Praise for a well-maintained
lawn never failed to
permeate conversations while entertaining, perhaps at a barbecue(Mandy Dainis).
Manifested among social
gatherings as a symbol of wealth or cultural appreciation, green lawns
were considered a social enhancement.