Discussion Post: Family Role Interview
Part I
Family is our first and most enduring social institution. It is the one we have the most interaction with and throughout every stage of life. Family is where we first begin to learn gender, and the roles and expectations. Gendered expectations and divisions of labor in the household also significantly impact how we spend our time as well as the opportunities available to us. This week we are examining this gendered impact and how societal conditions in the current pandemic have affected it.
Briefly interview at least one adult who lives with others in a family. This can be a friend or someone in your household. This person does not need to be in a married/cohabitating couple. You might choose to discuss how gender impacts family division of labor among siblings, single parents, extended family etc.
Write your discussion as a summary of your findings addressing the following aspects:
A. Find out what their household division of labor looked like according to gender before the pandemic. Were chores and responsibilities divided according to gender? Think about who was responsible for caretaking children/elders, cleaning, shopping, working outside the home, helping with homework, scheduling appointments, etc.
B. How has the division of labor in this household changed due to COVID-19? How has family and household responsibility been impacted in regard to gender/gender roles etc? Has responsibility or proportion of work for certain tasks shifted among family members?
C. Assign each interviewee's division of labor before and during with a label from the book: traditional, neotraditional, or egalitarian.
D. Discuss your thoughts and reactions to what you have found and how it relates to the material. Remember to consider and discuss intersections of race/class/ability.
Part II
For your response, respond to at least one classmate with your reactions and reflections on what they have shared. Connect your reaction by discussing examples from the book, the articles I posted, or your own sources that you think relates to their post.
A. Which concepts or ideas from the material do you think are relevant to the interview your classmate described? Choose at least one of these terms to describe in your own words and how it relates to your classmate's post:
a. The feminization of housework/childcare
b. The ideology of intensive motherhood
c. The mommy tax
d. The care chain
e. The feminization of poverty
B. Describe the second shift in your own words. Is there evidence of a second shift for anyone in this family? What is it and what effect do you think it has?
C. Based on your classmate's discussion, what do you think might be some of the long term impacts on these family members based on household gender expectations and division of labor?
D. What other conclusions can you draw about how divisions of labor in general impact expectations and the way we do gender in society?
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.