Chores At Home Work Sociology

Whether it is the past or the present, there have always been gender roles in society. In most homes, it is the woman’s responsibility to take care of the house. This includes cleaning, meal preparations, raising and taking care of the children as well as the husband. Compared to the men who take care of the more physical activities, such as yard work. It was known throughout many years that it was a woman’s responsibility to stay in the house while the man would go out and look for work to provide money for his family. Although the intensity of gender roles has changed, it still exists.

The division of labor in the household hold depends on the environment. Society creates gender ideology that affects the roles women and men take on in the household. In The Second Shift by Arlie Russell, she states three different ideologies of gender. There is the traditional, transitional and egalitarian ideology that determines what sphere men and women want to identify with, home sphere or work sphere. However, it depends what kind on the time period and society you live in that determines the "norm" gender ideology, which affects the division of labor in a household. The society, which affected the Mendoza and Ortega family that I have observed and interviewed, constructs views of the appropriate

The father usually holds the dominant role and decision maker. According to quintessential website, it mentioned that the institution of family is the pinnacle of society. It also mentioned that the traditional Chinese family has a hierarchical order with the man as the head of the family. The father of the house is also responsible for housing and educating his children up until the time of their marriage.

Sociology considers family as a major agent of socialization in society especially when it pertains to teaching gender roles. Within this institution, the recurring social practices and behaviors cause individuals to internalize learned rules. Gender is very frequently policed, and society designates different behaviors for masculine and feminine individuals. To be viewed as a competent member of society, one must correctly display their gender to fit into preestablished roles. A large part of these roles in a family setting ties to expectations of housework for men and women. Specifically, women and the phenomena known as the second shift where they find themselves essentially working two jobs, both in their workplace and then housework. (Class

“Wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry” (Kincaid). A little girl is being told that she needs to do the jobs around the house now and when she’s older so her house is in tip-top shape. “Gender stereotypes begin the second a baby’s gender if found out.” (Brewer). They are taught at a young age to do work around the house to help the mother, to tend to their husbands and to be a homemaker (PBS). “Women are supposed to cook and do housework. Women are responsible for raising children” (Brewer). That is what

Referring to the late 1920s and early 1930s, women were seen as the common housewife. This image was depicted across many media platforms. The customary role of women, was to be in charge of running the household. This included polishing, vacuuming, dusting, dishes, laundry and other tasks which needed to be maintained on a weekly or daily basis. It became a full day workload, keeping her constantly busy as if she were employed. It was required for the women of the household to be prepared for anything her husband or family desired. Housework was typically expected to only include maintenance, however, this was not the case. Cooking, cleaning, and overall upkeep was all to be completed by the wife, while the man of the house brought in the money.

Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and other relatives moved into their own dwellings as the model for family became focused on a husband, wife, and their mutual children. Gender roles also changed. Women, who had enjoyed wartime jobs and a relative amount of independence while the men were away at war, were now encouraged to find their identity in caring for their families and homes. “The belief in family as the center of one’s life dictated that women accept their domestic role as the true expression of their womanhood (Larson 3).” Being a wife, and a mother, was all that a 1950s woman should desire. Women spent their days doting on their husbands and children, and doing housework. Despite the innovation of labor-saving appliances such as the washing machine or dishwasher, women spent more time doing chores than women of previous decades ever had. This was partially due to the increasingly demanding standards for cooking and cleaning, but also due to the recent lack of household help in 1950s homes. In the past, especially the Victorian era, many women had maids or nannies to lighten the burden of homemaking, but during the 50s housewives found themselves in charge of caring for both the family and the home (Larson

Similarly, in my culture gender norms were placed upon males needing to “man up,” and women were seen to be housewives. However, my grandmother wasn’t necessarily your average “house wife.” Indeed, she had children, and cooked for her husband but she also was provider as well. Like I mentioned before she worked at a fabric factory, but later applied to work for a hospital as maintenance. Here was a young mother of four stepping outside of the stereotypical norm to work and ensure stability for her family. Exposure to the workforce was very much embedded into the her children’s lives. Seeing both parents provide towards the household demonstrated a sense of equality among both male and female. As previously noted, my grandparents wanted their children to succeed in life so my grandfather always advised them to do more than he ever could. With money being low and my mom being the oldest she was forced to get a job at twelve. My grandfather helped her receive her first job working at a swat meet. With one child making some money, and two parents working they were able to save enough money to buy a house in the 1980’s.

Years ago, the father worked and provided whereas the mother usually with the service of a housekeeper cooked, maintained and cared for the children. Consequently, the norms of the era made roles clearly identifiable amongst men and women. Because of these arrangements, men and women knew what character roles to depict. I can relate to this; my father was the head of the home, he was the financial provider, in contrast, my mother cared for myself a younger and older brother with the assistance of a housekeeper. My mom would cook when not otherwise occupied with other responsibilities, and the housekeeper would cook and clean. I often felt I was living an installment of The Brady Bunch. Fast forward to the 1990’s, times are different.

As far as I know, generally most of the housework is done by the wife in a family.

From the early 19th century to now, there have been dramatic changes that altered the outlook on the way women of different class, ethnic background and status completed their form of housework. To identify the differences and similarities of the conditions and the type of work the working class housewives and the middle class suburban housewives did, I will first define what housework is. In addition, I will then further list out the most common forms of domestic labour which women were expected to do as well as the type of changes which occurred from the 1930s to the 1960s and finally to the 1970s.

Both parents work and they share parenting roles. The father is more of the disciplinarian, as the mother tends to pick favorites. The father says that everyone has their fair share of chores from the 19 year old to the six year old. The mother said that each of their children have different aspects of themselves and play different roles in their family. Their older daughter is pretty distant since she has moved out a few years ago, but does come around when needed. The second oldest daughter is the protector of the younger girls and decides who does what chores. The oldest so is the protector of the younger boys and is the man of the house when the father is not home. The middle girls are the brains of the family and the younger boys are the entertainers, as they are very active in sports.

Bianchi, S. et al. (2012) Housework: Who Did, Does or Will Do It, and How Much Does It Matter? USA: Oxford University Press.

Typically female role is taking care of house works, and Male’s role is to taking care of outdoor works. Female of the family cook, clean,