“Fashion is fashion, but our current collective nostalgia and domesticity-mania speak to deep cultural longings and a profound shift in the way Americans view life. I call this phenomenon ‘New Domesticity.’”

All of us probably consider quitting our jobs at some point. Historically, however, most who did would simply go look for another job. Today, Matchar argues, young people, particularly women, are starting to pursue a different option.

That option is New Domesticity. It is going back to the domestic activities of a century ago, making jam from scratch, knitting, making crafts and selling them on Etsy, blogging from home about household issues, and urban homesteading. It’s about looking for fulfillment at home, doing things yourself, instead of in the workforce, doing as you’re told. Young people today, Matchar suggests, are looking for a “more authentic, meaningful life in an economically and environmentally uncertain world.” She worries, though, that such a movement, thought it has many advantages, may disenfranchise the (mainly female) people who pursue it as they take on economically marginal activities, no matter how fulfilling they may be.

The book is interesting, and if a few chapters feel like they bite off more than they can chew, attempting to address subjects like women in the workforce that would require a book of their own, overall it is excellent. Vaguely aware of Pinterest as I may have been, I had no idea of the immense scale of home-focused blogs, or how little money people were prepared to live on in order to sell their products on Etsy or grow their own food. I also found her broader question profound: is there a tradeoff between fulfilling and economically powerful jobs? Does it matter which you select?

In some ways, the book reflects what to me is a human constant: a desire for agency, or choice. When women were forced to remain in the home, the fight was for the ability to choose the workplace: now that working is increasingly becoming the default, the appeal of choosing to work at home is growing. Being forced to do something can put us off something we might have enjoyed had we chosen it on our own, whether we’re schoolchildren or in the workforce.

Matchar is convinced New Domesticity represents a deep cultural longing, and not a passing trend, and if I’m not yet quite convinced, I’m certainly interested to hear more about it. The book is also a fairly light read, largely focused on relating stories and experiences, while still managing to ask the right questions. It’s well worth picking up; you can get it here (or in the UK or Canada).