ABSTRACT
The myth of home automation represents one of the dominant technological fixes for the contemporary crisis of social reproduction. The myth speculates that the labor of life-making, which is larger than and underpins wage labor, can be completely brought into the orbit of the capitalist market. However, since a society that installs oppressive gender norms in technology is unlikely to overcome this oppression with the same technology, the smart home is unlikely to free women from domestic labor. Instead, it will likely raise expectations and standards of cleanliness, create new tasks, and reify the ideological image of the perfect housewife and mother.
