Rosanna Hertz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195179903
- eISBN:
- 9780199944118
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179903.003.0103
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
This chapter concludes Part III of the book. Unable to leave the workforce, the women in the interviews settle for resting the measure of motherhood not on being there every moment but on being ...
More
This chapter concludes Part III of the book. Unable to leave the workforce, the women in the interviews settle for resting the measure of motherhood not on being there every moment but on being visible at key moments and logging what many call “family time.” Streamlining employment is the compromise for these women, and their success in this attempt depends on their skill sets. Women are giving up their personal time, social life, and outside hobbies so that they can be home on time for day care pickups or in time for dinner, things that are essential to them. Crucial to these women's survival on this fault line is help with child care. Besides surrounding their child with people who care, the final test of good mothering for these women is providing the social capital for middle-class citizenship.Less
This chapter concludes Part III of the book. Unable to leave the workforce, the women in the interviews settle for resting the measure of motherhood not on being there every moment but on being visible at key moments and logging what many call “family time.” Streamlining employment is the compromise for these women, and their success in this attempt depends on their skill sets. Women are giving up their personal time, social life, and outside hobbies so that they can be home on time for day care pickups or in time for dinner, things that are essential to them. Crucial to these women's survival on this fault line is help with child care. Besides surrounding their child with people who care, the final test of good mothering for these women is providing the social capital for middle-class citizenship.
Rosanna Hertz
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195179903
- eISBN:
- 9780199944118
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179903.003.0027
- Subject:
- Sociology, Marriage and the Family
The stories of the interviewed women illuminated much, much more than expected. One of the biggest surprises was how the women had “completed” their families. This chapter notes that it was in the ...
More
The stories of the interviewed women illuminated much, much more than expected. One of the biggest surprises was how the women had “completed” their families. This chapter notes that it was in the telling and retelling of their stories that each woman recasts her humanity. That is to say, their own rewriting of their master plan, especially their agenda to resequence children and marriage, shows the very inconsistencies and changes that bring them once again to life. Their children had transformed their lives as parenthood took center stage. Women adjusted their personal lives and streamlined their employment, and often were surprised to discover that having children energized them. This chapter discusses the dilution of the mother-child family; celebrating entanglement in woven families; exploding and shrinking careers; and empty nest or life after children.Less
The stories of the interviewed women illuminated much, much more than expected. One of the biggest surprises was how the women had “completed” their families. This chapter notes that it was in the telling and retelling of their stories that each woman recasts her humanity. That is to say, their own rewriting of their master plan, especially their agenda to resequence children and marriage, shows the very inconsistencies and changes that bring them once again to life. Their children had transformed their lives as parenthood took center stage. Women adjusted their personal lives and streamlined their employment, and often were surprised to discover that having children energized them. This chapter discusses the dilution of the mother-child family; celebrating entanglement in woven families; exploding and shrinking careers; and empty nest or life after children.
