Blog entry #1

“Feminism, Children, and the New Families” analyzes the shift of women from the home to the workplace. The authors attribute this shift to several changes that occurred during the 20^th century- most notably postponement or rejection of marriage altogether, increased access to birth control and low fertility rates, and increased rates and acceptance of divorce. Birth control and divorce used to be concepts looked down on within our society, but during the 1960s and 1970s these became more acceptable, with nearly half of first marriages resulting in divorce (Dornbusch et. al). Public policy has also accepted these new shifts. The authors believe that the increased divorce rates and low fertility trends will level off or sink back down, but there is no proof in these beliefs. This article asserts that the shift in women from home to the workplace has some biological influences- extension of life and low fertility rates. Also, by delaying marriage, women work for sometime before getting married and aren’t as willing to give up their job once married. This article asserts the new trend towards women working is a combination of biological forces and choice- for men and women. Men feel increasingly pressured to be sole breadwinners for the families, and shy away from the heavy responsibilities. A question I had was, is there a specific economic class in which the men viewed it acceptable for their wives to work outside of the home, or was it uniform throughout economic classes? According to these authors, several factors affect the shift of women out of the home and to workplace.

“From Marriage to the Market” also tries to explain the historical shift of women from the home to the workplace during the 20^th century. The surge of women into the workplace became in the first two decades after World War II, and continued thereafter. The notion that women entered the workplace mostly in times of economic hardship is incorrect, as the economy was booming after World War II when women first entered the workplace in large numbers. Also, beginning in the 1950s, with electrical appliances and the growing middle class, women didn’t need to work as many hours in the home, and while some still chose to work more time in their home, others chose to spend that free time elsewhere. Similar to the previous reading, access birth control as well as rising divorce rates made being responsible for raising a family a choice for women. One question I had after both of the readings was- is the shift of women from the home to family responsible for the high divorce rates and increased use of birth control, or the opposite? Public policy and laws represented this shift of women, with laws legalizing abortion, creating maternity leave, abolishing the “marriage bar”, and making it illegal to fire pregnant women. Another factor the author cites is the shift of marriage seen as something that people had to do to something to fulfill emotional and sexual desires. Women no longer looked for men that could be financially responsible for them and a future family, but instead for someone they love. Men also felt this shift too, looking for mates that they would love and not to fit into a perfect image of a future family. This author asserts that a variety of reasons are responsible for the shift of women out of the home, including those in the previous reading, but also the new electrical appliances, changing laws about women in the workplace, and the search for emotional fulfillment in a partner.