From The Second Shift Analysis

Women feel more obligated to stay at home or work part time if they have children. Even if they share household chores with their spouses, many women still prefer to work less in order to sustain the home. However, women who are single mothers do not have the luxury to stay at home, and working part time may be the only option they have. For single mothers working is imperative in order to keep the family afloat financially, but with all of the commitments they have, they cannot balance everything. Childcare is essential, because while single mothers are working they need a reliable place to send their young children; the same with single fathers as well. Most women in the work force have children to take care of, and families to provide for, which many take as a decrease of masculinity, and the increase of femininity. On the contrary, many studies show that although the labor force is divided, the household is not and do a lot to maintain the household as well. According to Hertz and Marshall (2001), “Men who participate in more companionate activities with their children (such as play, leisure activities, and TV watching) are no more likely to take on other household chores than less-involved fathers. It is only men who participate in nurturing, are more nearly partners in family work. Men are also more likely to

It was a common understanding prior to this time period, that a family was only successful if each member fulfilled their independent and significant role. Men were expected to work outside of the home, their support for their family came from their labor and toil. Women were expected to work inside of the home, and their support for their family came from doing things such as housework, raising children, and fulfilling their wifely duties. Women’s work was often considered less valuable than a man’s, but it would not be until now, that women and men’s work and their skills both become trivial. The traditional customs that have been followed and practiced for so long have abruptly come to a halt since capitalism has been incorporated into American

As the ideal of a perfect woman changes, the image of a stay-home housewife is slowly disappearing as well. Many women are seeking out outside employment, trying to support themselves and their family. Rather than tending to the hearth like women used to, the women of today are standing up in order to prove how strong we can be. Flappers like me are respected by some for being so fun-loving and free. I am no longer trapped in the corset that my mother told me to

Moreover, this unexplained misery the women in the 1900s felt, all had one thing in common, they were all housewives. Similarly, in The Americans textbook (2006), it is shown that a significant portion of the women in college share the same idea, in the end. In an interview with women from Stanford University, it is shown that, “Of graduates in 1965, 70 percent planned not to work at all when their children were of preschool

The situation and view of women has greatly improved over the years in America. Women now have equal access to education, increased participation in politics and the labor market, access to birth control, resources against domestic violence, and other equal rights. Women now have the freedom to decide on the role and impact they want to have to society, which was decided for them in the past. Women can work to gain financial independence or decide to get married and have income to support her family. Families that are earning two salaries can afford the better education for their children and enjoy a higher standard of living. One drawback of a woman and father both working is how it may affect their children. In some situation when both parents become career driven, they will have less time to take on the parenting role. This could have a negative impact the children if proper child care services is not provided for them. To prevent this many married adults who both have desires to advance in their occupation, the decision to have kids will often be postponed until each parent finds a more stable position in

Women have to encounter many different hardships to survive in society. Our own society places obstacles in front of women to have a capitalist country that men control everything. The theme is presented in the assigned readings are the reality that many individuals are facing in making a home, and working all at the same time. However, in one assigned reading, The Mommy Tax states the decision making that mothers have to do to be mothers in the United States. Mothers have to try to find a balance in being a good mother and having a successful career. “American women, in particular, are stunningly unaware that their “choices” between a career and a family are much more limited than those of women in many European counties…”(Crittenden pg.349).

Mohanty also stated how, in India, women’s “definition as housewives make possible the definition of men as 'breadwinners'” (13). We see that in Nasarpur, India the woman’s role in society is somewhat restricted. Her restricted role of being a housewife increased the man’s status in that society as the sole provider and the hardest worker. Although this concept of men’s and women’s roles in society is not totally true in America, I still think it occurs in our society. I feel that most men accept women working outside the home in America because it has become a norm over the years, but I do not think all men are comfortable with the idea of women working outside the home. The fact that women are no longer just simply housewives makes some men feel as if they are being robbed of part of their masculinity, which is tied to being a sole provider for a family. Women have proven during the past few decades that they can be housewives and manage to handle an outside job as well. I think this proves that women are strong dependable laborers. A good worker is one who can handle multiple tasks such as managing a household and having an outside job.

Similar to the last question, Acker outlines the fact that women who are stay-at-home moms are thought of as people who don’t work, when in reality, they just aren’t paid for the work they do. On the other hand, men are encouraged to have paying jobs, which, again, proves the thought that men ought to be of higher power/dominance in a family.

Women have constantly been told that their worlds should revolve around their femininity which is in direct relation to how they handle their responsibilities. Although their roles should not be seen as responsibilities but rather privileges that they should accept with open arms. Those who were thinking that they wanted more than their simple mundane left were left feeling ashamed as they felt that they should be grateful for having the stability that comes with having a husband and a home. As more mothers began to slowly open up about their pressures they began to realize that they were not completely alone. However, despite finding someone who could relate to their pain, the suppression continued as many husbands would add salt to the wound by exclaiming that their wives should feel blessed that she has the ideal job. Obviously, this constant reminder from husbands did not make the situations any easier and would often lead housewives to resent their partners, children, and even their lives. By playing the roles of mother, wife, and upstanding female, women were not given an opportunity to discover who they truly were. Without a proper knowledge of their identities, there was no way that these homemakers would not feel isolated as they were simply a shadow of their former selves. By constantly

The job that most women are pressured to have is motherhood. Only recently has it became socially acceptable for husbands to stay home and take care of the children. Due to the fact that women were not allowed to participate in the affairs of men like work, school, and politics, they have been pigeonholed into the stay at home category. In fact, according to Beauvoir “a man would feel that he was lowering himself by helping with tasks hitherto assigned to women” (Beauvoir). Contemporary Women’s Issues Database is active in educating the world on gender inequality. They believe that, “gender feminists believe that the husband-wife relationship is inherently oppressive to women and that the traditional family propagates this ‘oppression’… gender feminists envision a brave new world in which reproduction is socially-constructed, rather than biologically-determined” (Contemporary Women’s Issues Database). Women have broken that hold in the last five years and are pushing forward. There are still gains that need to be made, but the world is in that

Arile Russell Hochschild in one of her works “The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home” attends to the issue of the gender role within household after increased female labor force participation rate and the unchanged attitude of men towards household contribution through the second shift in a stalled revolution. She addresses the issue of gender ideology where the male acts as the only financial contributor to the family and hence identifies himself as the head of the household. On the other hand the female

Robert Dorment’s summary from his article talked about that women always complained about men did wrong but men who worked so hard for their family and work-life balance. Richard used that word “castigate” for men that means women scold men, but they did not realize men worked so hard. Other quote about the castigation of men, “…person whose husband, by her own admission, sacrificed much in his own academic career to do other heavy lifting with their children, all so she could pursue her dream job and then complain about it, bitterly, in the pages of a national magazine” (Dorment 708). Anne-Marie Slaughter explained that women who get promotion from other positions that they realized they do not have spent time with their family and some women who leave their jobs because of their family reasons. The quote said, “It is unthinkable that an official would actually step down to spend time with his or her family that this must be a cover for something else” (Slaughter 682). Third article called Women, work and work/life balance: Research roundup talked about the wage inequality and unequal responsibilities between men and women. Women have more family responsibilities than men do because some women are staying at home while taking care of their kids. Last article, Work-Life Balance – An integrated Approach: The case for joint and several responsibility talked about the

The number of women in the workforce has never been as high as it is now. In the 1920’s it was often thought that a woman’s only role was as a mother and housewife. They were perceived as only being able to take

The division of responsibilities of labor is evident in a married-couples household, whereas the percentage is lower with families with children under the age of 5 years old. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild author of The Second Shift, illustrates that some couples roles and responsibilities may not reflect their preferred arrangement, or their beliefs about what women and men ought to do. The difference in primary roles between husband and wife affects the most basic tasks in a traditional home; women remain responsible for the day-to-day tasks regardless if they are employed outside the residence.

Mothers are very passionate about their choice to work or stay at home with their children. This is a heated debate about what is best for children and who is the better mother. Just in the last generation more mothers are choosing to work, which is also sparking some conflict in families where grandparents felt it was important to stay at home with their children. This paper compares and contrasts both sides of working and being a stay at home mother. While there is no right or wrong answer to the work and family dilemma, it’s important to understand both sides.