Family and Work

1. Briefly explain the egalitarian myth that Hochschild documents in her chapter. What is emotion work and how is it related to this myth? Compare Holts' situation with your observations on the division of labor in your family or those of your friends.
Hothschild embarks on the egalitarian myth that both the husband and wife in a marriage can work and take care of the household equally. Although this may be true in some cases, often times the woman is found to take on a 'second shift' at home, where she cooks, cleans, does the laundry, and takes care of the children. As a result, egalitarianism disappears and the husband only helps when asked. Housework is seen as a task that should be performed by the woman due to roots in history. In today's society, the 'upstairs-downstairs' myth has been seen a solution where the husband or wife take care of either the upstairs or downstairs, or inside or outside to split up tasks and workload. The couple saw it as a fair division of labor, not because it actually was, but because they needed to believe that it was in order to survive their marriage and avoid conflict.
Emotion work is balancing acceptable emotions between "child, spouse, home, and outside job (Hothschild, 37). It is seen as work and related to the egalitarian myth because it is stressful enough to manage a career, family, and housework and often impossible to provide each with equal positive emotions. In fact, the belief that each should be equal causes more stress making it more difficult to achieve.
The Holts' situation is different than mine at home, however, I have witnessed similiar situations in friends' homes and have learned that it is very stressful. In my family, my father runs a business and my mother would stay home and take care of me, my three siblings(until we moved to Boston), and my grandmother. She does all of the housework, bills, and would have dinner ready for my father. In her mind, and also mine, being a housewife is a job in itself. She is extremely happy with her life, as if my father, and all of my sisters and brother. When I am older and I marry I hope to do the same.
2. Explain the concept of the “ideology of domesticity” described by Williams. What are the three constraints that domesticity places on the organization of work in our society? Based on what you learned from lectures and movies, did ideology of domesticity exist in hunters and gatherers societies? In colonial America? Use specific examples to support your answers.
Williams describes the ideology of domesticity as a belief that "men 'naturally' belong in the market because they are competetive and aggressive; women belong in the home because of their 'natural' focus on relationships, children, and an ethic of care" (Williams, 1). It focuses on the male breadwinner and housewife roles and claims that for the most part, this system still exists despite the fact that women are unhappy sacrificing their careers and staying at home. Unfortunately, those mothers that do work outside the home, whether single or married, face marginalization in the workface refuting the myth of equality.
Domesticity places constraints on the organization of work in our society by affecting women, men, children, emotional life, and employers. The first constraint is that "employers are entitled to ideal workers with immunity from family work," (20). Secondly, domesticity "minimizes family involvement" (Williams, 3) because the mother spends the most time with the child while the father is at work. This is dangerous because it equally important for both the mother and father to raise the child. Domesticity also places extreme stress on the father to be a breadwinner and raise enough money to support the family. Often times the father is working long hours or working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Domesticity aslo affects politics in a negative way because it makes childrearing a private act instead of a public act causing children to develop private virtues instead of public virtues. Lastly, domesticity proposes that women have an emotional obligation to provide enough love and time as possible. This places immense strain on the mother and develops "a symbolic separation of home and work, the material conditions of motherhood, and the linkage of class formation and gender roles," (31).
The ideology of domesticity was present in the hunter and gatherer society and also in Colonial America. In both societies, the male would go out and hunt for food to feed the family and the female would stay around the house and garden, cook, clean, and take care of the children. However, in the movie we watched in class the woman was a midwife, nurse, and mother taking care of a large portion of society. She was highly valued in her career and also in her society. She taught her children at an early age how to take care of the household so that she would be able to continue with her career.
3. Explain Williams’s argument about sex discrimination and the “free choice.” Do you agree with her?
In her article, "Is Domesticity Dead?" Williams argues that "sex differences in labor force participation patterns are not themselves caused by discrimination, sex differences in occupations and wages are thus the result of free choices made by men and women," (14). Employers report that women's work may be affected by their family life, which would in turn, affect their performance at work causing them to be less desirable to hire. On the other hand, women report taking jobs that they do not have to perform ideally but do not necessarily perform worse than men. Williams argues that "free choice" is defined as making choices within certain constraints and that women are discriminated against by making the choice to work and be marginalized.
I am undecided whether or not I agree with Williams in her argument about sex discrimination and "free choice." I do not believe that women should be discriminated against because they choose to work instead of staying home and taking care of the house and the children and in turn, should not be paid less money than a man working the same job.

4. According to Carrington, how does the household division of labor in lesbigay families compare to that in heterosexual families? In his view, what are the reasons for these differences or similarities?
The household division of labor in lesbigay families are similar to that in heterosexual families because the same egalitarian myth still exists. However, instead of defining actual tasks that a husband and wife would take in a heterosexual family those of a lesbigay family would instead describes the workload as '50-50.' They would argue that the workload was equal and in the same breath call it fair. In fact, the two words are used interchangably when describing the househould division of labor.
Carrington explains this difference based on the fact that lesbigay families try "to avoid the stigma associated with violating gender expecations" and to avoid conflict.