tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post221427563936620861..comments2012-09-27T09:10:34.034-07:00Comments on Dusting The Corners Of My Mind: Stepford Wives to Labor Unions: Becoming the Dragons We Set Out to SlayKristiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18015859552545044416noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post-33189692231619166192012-05-07T14:32:52.808-07:002012-05-07T14:32:52.808-07:00I've thought of exploring the options on the b...I've thought of exploring the options on the blog to see if I can activate some sort of email notification for comments. It would help me to reply in a more timely manner! :)<br /><br />So true! Few "working fathers" have the same relentless workload as "working mothers"! I imagine that even if a woman is, say....a pediatric neurosurgeon, she is still expected (and expects of herself??) to come home and put dinner on the table, wash the dirty socks, and generally make life work for everyone else. I read a comment once, that a woman made, to the effect that the working woman needs a "wife" too- someone to make all the mundane details flow, so she can come home at the end of the work day and relax. :)Kristiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015859552545044416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post-75311142254281116142012-04-26T09:23:11.743-07:002012-04-26T09:23:11.743-07:00Hm, I guess this answers my question about my own ...Hm, I guess this answers my question about my own blog--I wasn't sure if people who wrote comments saw the reply. I guess not! Glad I came back and checked :)<br /><br />Yes, I definitely think that Sweden has a few things figured out. Too bad it takes a population crisis to motivate such measures! That's a great example about your mother. I can certainly understand why a gendered division of labor developed--when you think of hunter-gatherer societies, for example, that arrangement makes great sense. But gender systems haven't seemed to evolve to keep pace with other social changes--or at least not at the same pace.Photofreakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17500212578599582786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post-65010147856171894852012-04-22T02:40:14.209-07:002012-04-22T02:40:14.209-07:00Well said, Jasmine. :) I like the sound of Sweden...Well said, Jasmine. :) I like the sound of Sweden's system- giving support both to those mothers who choose to work, and to those who choose to be home with their young kids, and also supporting fathers in having an active role in their children's lives. Good point about the social class aspect also. There is so much judgment that goes on over this issue. <br /><br />I remembered another example of the gender role dichotomy that pre-dates the career woman situation. My mom grew up as the only daughter on a family farm. She would be outside helping with the work, alongside her dad and two older brothers. When they all came inside, the boys sat down to rest with dad, while sister kept on working, helping her mother with the inside work as well! <br /><br />Thanks for your comments. The book you mentioned sounds like an interesting read.Kristiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015859552545044416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post-35608237943184813642012-04-20T07:08:30.857-07:002012-04-20T07:08:30.857-07:00Thanks for this interesting and thought-provoking ...Thanks for this interesting and thought-provoking post! Have you read Arlie Hochschild's 1989 book The Second Shift? If not, you might like it--it talks about the double burden placed on working women, who are increasingly required to participate in the labor force as costs rise as sustaining a family on a single income becomes less and less feasible; however, since there has been a shift in gender equity in the public sphere without a concomitant shift in gender equity in the private sphere (i.e. wife works as many hours as the husband because working women are now seen to be socially acceptable and policies are in place to ensure that they can gain access to paid work, but husband doesn't change as many diapers, vacuum the floor, or wash as many dishes), women are stuck in this "supermom" role. <br /><br />I find this particularly interesting when you look at the alternative--countries like Sweden, where women and men are given equal family leave time, strong childcare laws ensure that families always have access to affordable, safe, reliable childcare in order to ensure that both parents can work, and even gender equity laws that entitle a woman to return to her job after up to 7 years of family leave--now, she obviously doesn't get paid for 7 years of leave, but imagine knowing that if you had a child, it didn't spend the end of your career. I think the problem with the separate spheres approach, and the subsequent swing to the second shift phenomenon/career woman vs. mother backlash is in the extremity of it all. I think there's often an implicit assumption that a woman must choose between career or family--why is it that having a child has a detrimental impact on a woman's career, but has a neutral or even positive impact on a man's career? <br /><br />I also think there is an interesting social class component that goes with the political/public rhetoric surround motherhood. While I agree that some of the rhetoric praising motherhood is lip service meant to gain political points rather than coming from a sincere place of praise and appreciation, I also think that it is much more socially acceptable for a middle class woman to stay home with her children than for a working class mother to do it. When a working class mother wants to stay home and raise her children, she's labeled a lazy welfare queen; when a middle class mother goes to work, she's criticized for not being invested enough in her children. Shouldn't motherhood be the same regardless of one's social class?Photofreakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17500212578599582786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2664086786774504556.post-72095212355558971432012-04-19T23:04:19.749-07:002012-04-19T23:04:19.749-07:00p.s. Just to reiterate: This not a judgment of car...p.s. Just to reiterate: This not a judgment of career women. It is an observation on the damaging effect this transition had on some women- specifically the female characters portrayed in the Stepford movie. This is by no means true of all, or even most, career women.Kristiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015859552545044416noreply@blogger.com