Divison of Unpaid Labor

The Second Shift: Joey’s Problem

The Holts’ have a Joey problem. No, not a baby kangaroo. Joey is their son. Joey is not going to bed at a healthy hour and he is not very attached to his father. Both parents hesitate to acknowledge this as a huge problem because they figure that little boys are normally more attached to their mothers. This Joey problem may be the result of how Mr. and Mrs. Holt divide unpaid household labor.
The author divides the parents’ labor into two shifts. The first shift is the paid work they perform to maintain their lifestyle. The second shift is the unpaid labor they perform to take care of the house and their son. Surprise, surprise: the mother unit performs more housework and family care than the father. The mother taking care of household duties and father doing little to no household/family duties is rooted in the gender ideologies imprinted on them from childhood.
Nancy Holt would like Evan Holt to take more responsibilities to have equal sharing of duties in the household. Evan convinced her to work half as much to pick up the slack at home. This can be viewed as Nancy giving in to decrease tension in the marriage. The Holts now divide the work by upstairs and downstairs, which sounds equal, but results in Evan only really taking care of the dog and garage, while Nancy doing most parenting and household duties. This was all to keep up the appearance of a “family myth” while not being equal or helpful to create a family atmosphere. The struggle between husband and wife continued to manifest itself in the hardship of putting Joey to bed.
Nancy went out her way to schedule her life and leisure so as not to compare her life and work to her husband’s. This was to decrease tension between them to maintain a face value of family life. She now compares her life to other woman instead to avoid resentment. Equality in her marriage and family life is so important to Nancy that she twisted her own perceptions in order to be at peace with her life situation, even though it has little overall. It is unequal, but she not miserable about it.
This example of family life can viewed out in the real world so I agree with the author. It’s unfortunate. We as a society value equality, however, when we really look into it, there is a lot less equality in our lives than we are led to believe by greeting cards and TV, etc. The chapter shows what one would go through to settle into their situations even if they are less than ideal. Not that that’s a bad thing. I feel the author paints it in a more negative light than it should be. It more seems like a regular function of our humanity to think our way through a situation that is troubling until we are okay with it. It would be nice to see the father as a more active participant in the life of the child. That seems like a necessary duty that the father owes to the child to maintain a healthier lifestyle and upbringing for him or her, of course there are exceptions to this rule.

The Division of Domestic Labor in Lesbigay Families

Lesbian and gay couples do not include members of both sexes in the domestic union, so they do not necessarily fall into the common gender roles. However, like heterosexual couples, one partner usually takes care of more household chores than the other. In the media, a myth has been created portraying the homosexual couples as a more progressive, egalitarian union not weighed by the sexism that may arise from heterosexuality. Unique situations, such as extreme wealth or poverty, are more determinant in equality of division of household labor than gender.
In lesbigay families, it is not uncommon to find that the partners work in sectors that would normally be considered female-oriented careers, such as teaching or nursing. However, many do strive for successful careers in law or business that may fall into the male-dominated sector. The one who puts more hours towards his/her career takes care of the house less. The division of labor is not equal. This leads to all sorts of tensions in the families. Homosexuals are trying to prove to the world that they can be just as good or better than the heterosexual couples, however they are faced with basically the same difficulties.
I’m not an expert on lesbigay culture. From what the article tells me, their situation is not different from the heterosexual couples. Division of house labor is unequal no matter what the gender is. Career choices seem to pay a larger role than gender. Or maybe gay couples, despite being the same sex, have on female-oriented partner and one male-oriented partner, gender-wise, and play out those gender roles according to what society has laid out for those gender roles. I wish the author had interviewed and discussed lesbigay that were raising children. Just a romantic couple does not seem to constitute a family to me.

Doing Housework

Housework is not the same as paid work. You don’t get paid! Unless you’re a maid and that’s your career! But we’re talking here about heterosexual, married couples with outside careers and inside the house family and homestead related tasks that are unpaid. However, despite the division, we apply terminology for outside work to household work, which limits the perception of it.
Work in the household is more complex than it appears and much of it invisible to the person due to the language we use and of course cultural perceptions. Feeding, for example, is not really perceived as work despite it actually being a lengthy process. The mother spends time, thought, and effort in order to prepare a meal that will nutritionally satisfy her family and also appeal to their own personal tastes. The mealtime also is important in establishing a family dynamic. This invisible work leads to harmony and the family which spreads out into the community.
I agree with the author. Meal preparation is tricky, time-consuming, hard, and underappreciated. Mothers, usually, put a lot effort into it and don’t realize that it’s work. Which may be a good, because if they viewed it as work they may get frustrated over the lack of appreciation an create tension in the family. This invisible work may not seem as work to the parents because they see it more as coming from love instead of duty.

Autonomy, Dependence, or Display?

The author feels that the prevailing views on the relationship between earnings and housework are defective. Women’s earning capacity is more central to their housework than their husbands. Does is it bring more stress or does it help ease the load? Women with higher earnings than husbands will spend more time on housework and men with lower earnings than wife will spend even less time on housework, possibly reinforce the gender stereotypes and maintain their femininity or masculinity respectively. Women’s earnings matter more than husband’s in relation to housework according to these findings.
The author uses research and very dry statistics in order to show that women’s earnings matter more than husband’s in relation to housework according to these findings. It makes sense. Women are in most cases in control of the housework. Their money would more likely than not be applied to that, while husband may take of bills and buy HDTVs, etc. Though I’m not entirely convinced. There are probably exceptions to this rule, where the gender roles are reversed, etc.

Time Bind

Overworked Individuals or Overworked Families

This article discusses the topic of the amount of time people spend at work. It seems that adults in today's world are working more hours than they used to, but this is more due to working more weeks per year instead of more hours per week. Americans may not be as overworked as public consciousness assumes. Leisure time and work time are both increasing.

Childhood

Children's Share in Household Tasks

Goldscheider and Waite discuss the role that children play in the performance of Household tasks. Children used to do more chors and work around the house, but due to the changes in philosphy on how to raise your child, they do not do work as much. The prevailing idea of more recent decades is that the parents should take on the responsibilities of housework in order to allow the children to perform other tasks, such as schoolwork or free play, in order to ensure their success in life. Roles in the household continue to be segregated by gender. It has been noted by the authors that girls spend about twice as much as on housework as boys, this falls in line with the future expectations of mothers being the main household workers. Children may do about as much housework as the fathers. Children are doing little to no housework currently. They are not developing the skills that they may have to perform later on when they start their own families. They have gone from useful to useless.
The authors make a good point. Kids are not doing as much as they use to. I blame technology for a lot of it. A lot of distractions distract from things they can do around the house. Parents like to put them in organized after school activities and ther things that they are supposed to benefit from. Nature is balance so if their time is filled up with other activities, then something else, housework participation will suffer. I do feel that this is turning children into useless parasites that don't know how to behave like adults when they grow up. So, I agree with the authors.

Children's Perspectives of Employed Mothers and Fathers

Galinsky has taken it upon herself to to study the opinions of children and parents on the state of their relationship. She notes and worries about the gap between what people debate about concerning family and work and what scientific studies show. Through the Ask the Children Study, she asked children from diverse backgrounds how THEY feel about their relationships with their parents. In debate one, she asks: Is having an employed mother good or bad for children? The majority agrees that a working mother can have as good a relationship w/ her kids than a nonworking. Most of the dissenters are employed fathers w/ unemployed wives. The children mostly agree, but would prefer to have more time with their mothers. Debate 2 asks: Is the importance on mothering or fathering? This study wonders how much of an impact working fathers have on the kids. The children for the most part wish that they could se their fathers more and that they were less stressed. Debate 3 asks: Is Child Care good or bad for children? Opinion on this is mixed. Good child care is good for children. Studies show that it does not effect the bond between child and parent. Debate 4: Is it quality time or quantity time? Children are spending more time with their fathers than before. They also wish that they weren't so stressed out and tired from their work.
It is hard to argue against any actual scientific study. So I won't. The debates will continue about how children are being raised until everyone is educated enough in the subject. In the future when everyone is grown out of tubes and the notion of parents become obsolete, the debates will cease to exist. However I am afraid of this future and believe through studies like this one we can preserve the mother-father-children family form that is dominant today. This is the best way to raise a child.

How to Succeed in Childhood

Child-rearing has changed much over the last century. Parents are less punitive and much more complimentary. This papers asks if this shift in approach has actually benefited the children. The author argues that a lot of what children learns comes not from imitating the parents, but from what they learn on the streets with their social groups. Parents influence how they behave at home and not how they behave in the real world. Children are compartmentalized. The group mindset is powerful in teaching the child.
I agree with the author. Children's social behavior is greatly effected not by parents as much as with peers. They are living in two different worlds with two different laws of social physics. When kids grow up, they immerse themselves in the social world outside of their parents and abide by the physics that have been imprinted in them after years of socialization.

From Useful to Useless and Back to Useless

Child labor laws are now in effect to prevent the injustices towards children in the work place. But wait? What are children now good for is they can't make any money? Children became sacred to the parents and eventually were not needed for work but raised to become successes. However, some kids can still support the 'rents, so to speak.

Look, I'm all for kids making money and helping out around the house, but not at the price of their innocence. Things are pretty good them in America right now, and I don't think it should be changed.

Fathering

The Absent Black Father

Dorothy Roberts in her chapters on the The Absent Black Father proposes that black culture is what many people consider to be the low mark of society, yo. She goes into specifically how black father's are seen as the cause of black poverty, instead of racism and unequal wealth distribution. Reinstating fatherhood in the black community will not solve all of their problems.
Fatherlessness is seen as a black problem. Currently, the female headed household is the dominant scheme in the black community. IN the media, black culture has been depicted negatively and uses family disintegration as a scapegoat to cover up racism.
Societla forces have been discouraging black fathers to take an active role in their children's lives. Unequal welfare distribution and the higher rate of imprisonment for black males are two of these negative factors. The discussion of the failure of black fathers to be proper role models does not serve the purpose of helping black poverty. It serves the purpose of reprimanding them.
Roberts makes a good argument. It appears that black fathers are viewed extremely negatively in society. They are not responsible for the entire black community's disadvantages. I do however think she is a little lenient on her opinion of them. Society can only be blamed for a situation to a point. A lot about being a father comes from being responsible, and if he is not filling this role, he should be criticized.

No Man's Land

Kathleen Gerson writes about the changing role and view on men and fathers in our society. There are a number of conflicting views on manhood. Some images show distant fathers and others show nurturing fathers. The male role as primary breadwinner has been in decline. Men's family involvement has not exactly increased with less emphasis on their outside work. Mother's are still doing a majority of the housework and child rearing.
The social world has molded the view on fathers and the view men have on their own masculinity and role as a father. Men's work and family commitments are fragile. Masculine culture has changed over time where it does not mean the complete opposite of femininity. Culture seems to value the of men as loners without any commitments.

I agree with Gerson's writings for the most part. Masculine culture does seem to be more feminized in a lot of ways. The traditional ways of viewing mother-father duties cannot describe what the world has today. I am not sure if the way things are moving is the correct way for society. If all of the differences between men and women fade away, then wouldn't that just be removing the things that make life interesting. That's kind of a broad point I derived from this but it is a concern I believ was implied in the reading.

Halving it All

In Francine Deutsch's article, she interviewed and number of men and women regarding how they as married couples divide up house work and family life duties. Society seems to be moving towards more equal divsion of labor duties between men and women.
The move towards more gender equality in the household is not limited to the highly affluent or educated. Middle and working class families have begun to divide up household duties out of necessity. Many need extra money, requiring housewives to work. Many couples will resort to alternating shifts n order to have both work and family. A number of couples are more resistant to the change and the desire to maintain gender identities is a factor. Idealogies and realities do not always line up properly.

Deutsch's findings can be confirmed by looking out the window or turning on the television. All around us men and women are dividing household an work duties in order to maintain happy lifestyles. Both of my parents worked when I was growing and up and both of them helped raise me. However, my mom was more nurturing and my father earned more money and worked longer hours, keeping with more traditional views.