Comfort, modernity and gender equality at home. Discourses on the modernization of the family and household in Poland from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s.

This article analyzes expert and popular discourses on household modernization in Poland from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s, situating them within the broader socialist project of modernizing the family and everyday life. Using historical discourse analysis, it explores how sociological research and media such as household manuals, women's magazines, and print advertisements shaped public understanding of the modern socialist family, emphasizing gender roles, consumption, and the domestication of technology. The study highlights the critical reflection on persistent gender inequalities despite official claims of equality, focusing on concepts like the "double burden" of working women and the promotion of efficiency and partnership in household labor. It also examines socialist advertising as a unique cultural form aimed not at stimulating consumer demand but at educating citizens and legitimizing a vision of socialist modernity through visual narratives of comfort, technological progress, and changing family dynamics.