Assignment 6

1. According to Hochshild, what is the “Second Shift?”

The "second shift" is a term used to describe the housework and childcare mothers and fathers endure after there professional jobs end. 

2. Briefly describe the story of Evan and Nancy Holt.

Evan and Nancy Holt are married with a 4 year old son, Joey. Nancy grew up in a home with a depressed mother and a father with a traditional mindset on marriage. Meaning that it is the wife's job to cook, clean, and care for the children. Nancy feared being in a marriage like that of her parents and valued her job as a social worker. Evan on the other hand had a traditional mindset and referred to Joey's attachment to Nancy as a result of the Oedipal complex. The Holts divided their house in half and divided the housework. This resulted in Nancy taking on most of the "second shift" yet fooling herself into believing that Evan is really helping. 

3. Hochschild argues that families create “myths” about their division of household labor. Describe the family myth created by Nancy and Evan Holt.

Nancy and Evan divided their house into two halves: upstairs and downstairs. Evans main jobs were the car, garage, and dog. While Nancy took care of all the rest. Because the couple divided the house, Nancy and Evan had the illusion that their problem of division of the "second shift" was equal, however Evan had far less work to take care of then Nancy. This false perspective on their marriage and labor is the myth created that provided the couple with a false sense of a solution.

4. According to Hochschild, what is the purpose of family myths?

Family myths provide families with a false sense of a solution. It allows families to believe that their particular way of life is the "right" way and provides family members with a type of security. 

5. Was this reading surprising to you and why? How do you imagine you will divide family work (including child care) in 
your own marriage or cohabitation

I really enjoyed this reading because not only did it identify problems within a family but it analyzed how the "solution" affected the family it other areas. One of the most important parts of this piece is when Hochschild comments on how Nancy became possessive over the home and Joey. This is something I will never want to have happen if I have a family. All labor and child care should be divided. I understand that maybe I would rather do laundry and my husband would rather cut grass. In that sense I feel it is okay to divide the labor. Also, if one of us works more than the other it is understandable that the other would take on more work because of the free time. If there is a chore like .... mopping the floors that we both do not want to do-- then I feel the chore should be alternated. Also, with regards to children, (being a future teacher) I have always wanted to home school my children. The one fear that I have is that my children will be closer to me than my future husband. I want my children to have two supportive roles not just one. Therefore it would be extremely important to have both myself and my husband taking on child care.