Assignment #8 The Second Shift

1.)According to Hochshild, what is the “Second Shift?”
The "Second Shift" is the idea that most women work one shift at their outside jobs and a "second shift" at home. So most women who are working to make an income are also at the same time coming back home and have to maintain the household are in reality having two jobs not just one.

2.)Briefly describe the story of Evan and Nancy Holt.
Evan and Nancy are married. Nancy describes herself has an ardent feminist and egalitarian who wants a similar balance of spheres and equal power. Unfortunately the distribution of household chores is not equal within the Holt’s home. Nancy often found herself Coming home from a full day of work just like her husband but was still doing mostly all the household work. Even after Nancy talks to her husband about helping her out and he agrees. Evan’s lack of responsibility within the household, proved how he felt it was acceptable for Nancy to do the majority of the housework because she was the woman in the house.
3. Hochschild argues that families create “myths” about their division of household labor. Describe the family myth created by Nancy and Evan Holt.
The family myth created by Nancy and Evan Holt was that women take a deeper interest than men in the problems of juggling work with family life which results in stress that women take out on their husbands. Most men unfortunately suffer the severe repercussion of what is a transitional phase of American family life. Because Nancy (Evan's wife and mother of their child) did so much work because she felt an obligation to, while Evan on the other hand did very little housework and played with his four-year old son Joey, at his convenience it created a and uneven platform in which Nancy did much more work then Evan did. Juggling the demands of work with family created much more stress for Nancy than Evan in that she did much more since she cared.


4. According to Hochschild, what is the purpose of family myths?
The purpose of family myths is so that couples can live with fairness in their relationships and to minimize conflict. Hoschschild shows how couples create family myths to live with inequality in their lives.


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?
This reading wasn’t too surprising to me because it fits right into the social construct of how woman should be the primary caregivers and maintain the maintenance of the house instead of men and women have an equal share in the amount of work that needs to be done within the household.
When I start a family I plan to divide household labor and child care 50/50. On days I work more hours than my husband he will do the household chores and take care of the children and on days where he works more I will do the household work and take care of the children. If we happen to need outside help we will hire a nanny. On the weekends when we are off we will both spend times with the children and each other.