FAD 4 6 home Chapter 14 Families and the Work They Do 1 The Division of Household Labor Household Labor In general the unpaid work done to maintain family members and or a Routine Household Labor Nondiscretionary routine tasks that cannot be postponed such as cooking washing dishes or cleaning Occasional Labor Household tasks that are more time flexible and more discretionary such as household repairs yard care or paying bills 2 Father s report an extra hour or two of leisure compared to mothers 3 Explanations for the Gendered Division of Labor Time Availability Perspective Suggests the division of labor is largely determined by the need for household labor and each partner s availability to perform household tasks Relative Resources Perspective The greater the relative amount or value of resources contributed by a partner the greater is his or her power within the relationship which can then be translated into bargaining to avoid tasks such as housework that offer no pay and minimal social prestige Gender Perspective Doing Gender 4 Conflict Overload and Spillover Work Family Conflict A form of tension under which people feel that the pressures from paid work and family roles are incompatible in some way Role Overload Feeling overwhelmed by many different commitments and not having enough time to meet each commitment effectively Spillover An occurrence caused by the demands involved in one sphere of work carrying over into work in another sphere FAD 4 8 Juggling Work and Family Life 1 Work family conflict is common and is reported more often by men than women Expectations of father s have become higher Mother s nowadays seem to favor part time over full time work and stay at home mothers are increasingly satisfied with their arrangement 2 Who s Minding the Kids Daycare Centers Nonresidential facilities that provide childcare Family Childcare Providers Private homes other then the child s home where childcare is provided 3 School Age Children Nannies Babysitters Non relatives that provide childcare in the home Self Care Children who are unsupervised and taking care of themselves Despite the stereotypes to the contrary daycare center are among the safest place for children s care Family daycare is the most dangerous FAD 4 10 Chapter 15 Power and Violence in Marriages and Families 1 Types of Power Coercive Power based on the ability to achieve your will by force either psychological or physical Spanking a child and withholding a child s food are examples Reward Power comes from the ability to offer material or non marital benefit to achieve your goal Offering teenage concert tickets if they get all A s Expert Power stems from a person s special knowledge or ability Doctor has the power to tell you that you need a colonoscopy Informational Power comes from the information that a person may use to persuade another to do something he or she wouldn t otherwise do Women convince man to wear condom even though he doesn t want to by telling him about the consequences Referent Power stems from the emotional identification of the less dominant person towards the more dominant person A wife may attend a football game with husband not because she likes football but because he wants her to go Legitimate Power is based on a person s claim of authority or the right to exercise his or her will Fundamentalist Christians may take the biblical passage literally that men are the head of the household just like Jesus Christ was the head of the Church 2 Marital Power 3 Study Results Firs studied in 1950 s Blood and Wolfe interviewed wives only Resource hypothesis the spouse with more resources has more power in marriage What resources do spouses bring Most families 72 had relatively egalitarian decision making structure 25 Husbands made decisions 3 Wives made decisions 3 Criticisms of Study What domains men and women have power over Women food shipping cleaning Husbands where they live jobs finances Having the power to make trivial decisions is not he same as having the power to make important ones 4 Resources and Gender Women tend to be most equal with men at the beginning of marriage First pregnancy and birth diminishes women s resources o Females may take time off and lose income o Dependent on males to be father and earner o Have less energy to resist dominance of husband 5 Four Couple Types Heterosexual married Heterosexual cohabitating lesbian and gay Married and cohabitating heterosexuals least egalitarian Gay and Lesbian share domestic duties more including child rearing Gays more competitive Lesbians more relationally focused 6 Power and Intimacy Intimacy is greatest when power is equal No power equal power in a relationship Seek to negotiate and compromise not to win FAD 4 13 1 Power Politics How do spouses exert power in a marriage Power o Leaving threatening o Withholding distancing o Pouting sulking o Infidelity 2 Alternatives to Power Politics Partners take charge of separate domains o May decrease intimacy o Reinforces separateness Accumulation of power politics leads to loneliness and distance in marriage Subordinate spouse disengages from power struggles More powerful partner relinquishes some power to save or enhance the marriage best Sometimes dividing and conquering is fine but sharing and doing things together creates intimacy which is usually better for a relationship way 3 Family Violence All forms of abuse have at their center the exploitation of a power difference Child abuse elder abuse husband abuse Dating violence domestic violence and sexual coercion 4 Three phase Cycle of Violence Tension resulting from some minor altercation builds over a period of time Situation escalates exploding into another violence episode hitting kicking pushing throwing things breaking property verbal violence Violent person becomes contrite treating his her spouse or partner lovingly 5 Power and Control Wheel Under the sexual violence there is always more going on Spouse using children if you leave you ll never see our kids again Spouse using money if you leave where are you going to get money how are you going Spouse using emotional abuse playing mind games humiliating her and making her feel to support yourself guilty 6 Types of Violence Intimate partner violence violence committed by spouses ex spouses or current or former boyfriends or girlfriends including same sex partners Patriarchal terrorism controlling the partner through fear and intimidation Common couple violence mutual violence
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