The Body as Utensil: Framing Occupational Skin Diseases

Although skin conditions gained significant scientific and public attention during the Victorian era, work-related skin injuries and diseases—a significant problem for Victorian workers—received scant media attention. However, the limited representations that exist provide insights into how newspapers framed occupational dermatology, especially the skin conditions affecting miners and chimney sweepers, within the broader contexts of industrialisation, urbanisation, and efforts at legislative reform. The first part of the chapter will outline the historical background of occupational dermatology in Britain and examine examples of coverage of occupational health in British newspapers. The second part will analyse media depictions of the skin injuries sustained by miners and chimney sweepers, highlighting ambiguities and contradictions in the coverage. Particular focus will be on the portrayals of hardened, calloused skin versus soft, delicate skin, and the ideological underpinnings of this dichotomy.