In Modernizing Tradition, Adam C. Stanley explores how interwar French and German popular culture used commercial images to redefine femininity in a way that granted women some access to modern life without encouraging the assertion of female independence. Examining advertisements, articles, and cartoons, as well as department store publicity materials from the popular press of each nation, Stanley reveals how the media attempted to convince women thatwith the help of newly available consumer goods such as washing machines, refrigerators, and vacuum cleanersbeing a mother or a housewife could be empowering, even liberating.