In current thinking, hygiene is synonymous with cleanliness. However, this was not always the case. Today, the terms hygienism and hygienist are often used dismissively, since hygiene came to mean a centralized and authoritarian intervention, with the State wielding social control over individuals.
Hygeia, Goddess of Health. Peter Paul Rubens, circa 1615. Detroit Instititute of Arts
The historical research shows that what was defended as hygiene and public hygiene practices varied greatly according to the thinking of that time and local political aspirations. They ranged from understanding hygiene as a careful diet and temperance to the need to alleviate the effects of poverty and even cleanliness.
The notion evolved from an individual method for organizing daily life and prolonging the lifespan to serve as a concept for actions the State could take to govern society as a biological entity. This concept acquired scientific legitimacy at the turn of the nineteenth century and circulated widely among the European states, spreading an ideal of “hygienic” behavior that was legitimized by various treatises on public hygiene.
