Canada was experiencing a change within its economic system in the 1900’s, as commercialization is started to become part of everyday culture. Running a business, for most of the country, was driven purely by the desire to increase profits to their highest level. The capitalist system was now the leading way to do business. In the case of the Mennonites, a people know for their self-sufficient farming, changed as they adapted their lifestyles to the mainstream culture. “Those who still farmed did so in ways that resembled capitalist business enterprises”.[1] Mennonites a people that generally tried to be isolated communities in the rural parts of Canada, were not subject to the changing environment around them, which was encouraging people to commercialize.[2] This was no different in other areas of Canada, where business did anything to make a product more desirable. In the car industry, companies commercialized women’s bodies in order to sell more cars. Most car advertisements would include a picture of a women and a car. Using the sexy body and sexy car ideal, cars were advertised in such a way that they seemed like eloquent and beautiful pieces of machinery. The sexual lure of the women’s bodies was intended to create a synonymous idea about cars. Having two objects in the same picture, the word of sexy could be used to describe both the women and the car, thus hopefully leading to greater sales in the male population.[3] The commercialization of women bodies was purely for capital gain of the company. Even through the media, companies targeted the market of kid’s toys such as; Pokémon and Power Rangers. Advertisements about the kid’s toys became part of media in order to raise interest and name brand appeal. These toys, due to popularity, became part of the childhood culture thus increasing sales, making it an almost necessary product for parents to buy for their kids.[4] Commercialization of Canada became the norm of society, as capitalist interests ran industries and forced others to follow suit like the Mennonites. Looking back at this period of time, Canada was in a place of converting to a commercialized state where everything businesses did was to turn a profit. The days of simpler, self-sufficiency were in the rear view mirror.
[1] Ens, Gerhard J. “Preparing for the World: The Modernist Romance Approach in Mennonites in Canada, 1939-1970.” Journal of Mennonite Studies 15 (1997). Accessed January 31, 2017. 130
[2] Ibid., 129
[3] Nicholas, Jane. Modern Girl: Feminine Modernities, the Body, and Commodities in the 1920’s. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2015. 187-190
[4] Sutherland, Neil. “Popular Media in the Culture of English-Canadian Children in the Twentieth Century.” Historical Studies in Education/Revue d’histoire de l’éducation, 2002. Accessed January 31, 2017. 3-5
