# Sociological Appreach
* Sociology looks more at "Family problems"
	* Conflicts between individuals
	* Sees how the organization of society supports certain types of amiles _and_ creates challenges for them.
	* How does gender play a role in this conflict?
# Changing Families
* "High point" of the nuclear family in the 1950s:
	* Constructed _ideal_ type that people thought they would achieve
	* "The Natural Family", think white picket fence
	* The end game
* Maternal and child morality rates dropped
	* Better access to medicine
	* Created a more stable family with less fear (of disease)
* Death rates dropped leaving fewer widows
	* Men generally had lower life expectancy during WWII
	* 1950s was a source of economic prosperity
* Think of television back then
	* Leave it to beaver
	* Nostaligc for the ideal type of family
* In the 1960s and on, saw a great change to this "ideal" type.
	* Many types of families exits
# The Changes past 1960
* Higher divorce rates
* Delayed first marriages (people weighted longer)
	* Usually common back then to get married in teenage years.
	* (25 unmarried seemed like an old age)
	* Weighting until late 20s-30s
* Fewer children per family
	* Uncommon to see more than 8-10 kids
	* 2 or fewer
	* Perhaps a cause of child morality rates decreasing
		* Having 10 kids because 4 would die :(
* Delayed childbirth
	* Not often seening first child at 16
	* Many women now are waiting until after college, financially ready, etc
* Higher rates of cohabitation
	* People living together before getting married
	* To Be Continued
* Gay and Lesbian families
	* Sure they existed before, but they were invisbible
	* Only in the last decade has gay rights (adoption, marriage) really taken off
	* To Be Continued
* In 2010 Census
	* The number of married couple Households with at least one child reached an ALL TIME low in the U.S
	* These households account for about 24% of all households compared to 45% in the 1960s
	* The number of single parent familes has also grown, faster than married couple familes
		* This is because of less stigma, people marrying less in general
	* Cohabitation has also increased. Number of unmarried straight couple doubles between 1990 and 2000 (10 years)
		* Use to be thought that living together before marriage wasn't good
# Cohabitation
* About 2/3 of married couples today say they lived together before marriage
* This represents more than tenfold increase since 1970
	* It wa something then that you just didn't do before this time period
* Consider your own plans for the future: Are you likely to cohabit with a partner? Why or why not?
	* Might be good, to see if you're actually compatible
	* Take living with roommates for example
# Single parenting
* 1 in 3 families with children under 18 had only one parent in the hosuehold, a share that has doubles since 1970
* Half of US Children will live with a single parent at some point before reaching 18.
* Obviously most children raised by a single parent turn out "just fine"
	* Having no parents is not guarantee of a "healthy" family life
		* Abuse in the family but staying together --> Might be worse than divorce?
		* Could actually improve the quality of life for the child.
* The biggest problem confronting 1 parent families
	* 73% of single parent households are headed by women
	* Most of these families are in poverty.
	* This can lead to less education and eventual lower income for the child.
# Till Death Do us Part
* Typical wedding vows
* But in the US about HALF of all marriages end in divorce, not death.
* Today's divorce rate is about 10 times what it was a century ago
	* Well we are living longer. (Living longer to realize you don't like each other)
* By 1985 we had a "nofault divorce"
## No Fault Divorce
* Prior to these laws, in order for a divorce to be granted
	* Someone had to be of something like: abandondment, adultery or abuse
* Now couples can decalre "irreconcilable differences" basically they just aren't getting along or don't love each other anymore
	* No one is "at fault" just dont' like each other anymore
# Changing Families (Continued)
* One of the major reasons for these changes is the changes in women's righs and new ideas about a "woman's place"
* While people mourn high divorce rates, remember that beofre 1970, filing for divorce for women was extremely difficult and they didn't have economic protection after the divorce.
	* "We had no moral backbone" is the thought as these divorce rates increased.
	* It was easier for men to get a divorce than women
	* Little oppurtunity to get a job
* The changing family does not have to represent a breakdown of the US "moral fabric" but may represent new attitudes about gender.
* "If people are actually unhappy for a long period of time, then they should be able to get a divorce"
## Gay Families
= Now the same sex couples are allowed to marry in certain states, the idea of gay parents is now a huge topic in the news.
* Think about the construction of this asa a social problem from two different viewpoints
	* It's a problem that gay/lesbian families want to eaise children
	* It's a problem that so many barriers exist for gay/lesbian parents
# Power within households
* How do we measure power?
	* Sociologists usually measure power within marriages in terms of decision-making
		* Big decisions -> Moving for someone's job, refinancing the house, etc
* Studies show that the more money women earn relative to their husbands, the more power they have
* Full time work-at-home mothers generally have the least power.
	* Stay at home, tending to the house, house chores in general
	* Less say, contributing less
* Money plays a role in power dynamics between people
# Household Labor
* Formal employment and income also affects the division of labor within households
	* The closer a husband and wife's earnings, the more likely they are to share housework
		* Not equally, but these husbands share more
	* When husbands are laid off, most do _less_ housework than before.
		* Masculinity issues (not winning bread, bread winner)
	* Husbands who earn less than their wives they do the least housework
		* Emasculated, feeling like less of a man.
		* Doens't want to play "Mr. Mom"
	* Overall, women do about 80% of all housework (anyway)
		* In general, this is in married heterosexual relationships.
		* Most people wouldn't want to scrub the floors
* Wives who put in 8-hour day of working for wages average 7 and 1/2 hours of housework than husbands (11 hours with childcare) per week.
* This is what Arlie Hochschild calls the "Second Shift"
	* Go to work for a shift, get paid. Go home and do more work (the second shift) and remain unpaid
* When mothers who work outsidie home have children, some husbands cut down on their commitment to carreer.
	* Others may cut back spent on hobbies, with friends, etc. to help out
## According to Hochschild
* She found that most husbands do not contribute equally to household labor.
* Four "strategies of resistance" to avoid doing housework. (Married, heterosexual)
	* 1. Wait it out: Don't volunteer to do housework.
		* Many women report not wanting to ask, because they feel as if they are "begging" or "nagging"
		* Wants to avoid a fight
		* Some men even more effective when show irritation or glumness when asked, which discourages wife from asking again
			* Having an attitude
	* 2. Playing it dumb: Some men when asked to do something became incompentnt
		* Burned dinner, forgot grocery list, broke the vacuum
		* Hochschild did NOT claim that men really couldn't do these chores: Rather, by mentally withdrawing they got "credit for trying" from their wives. But they were not asked to help again
	*3. Needs Reduction: Some fathers said that they never shopped because they "didn't need anything".
		* Didn't iron clothes because they didn't "mind wrinkles"
		* Didn't cook because didn't "mind eating cereal"
		* But! As a culture, we make many women feel guilty if her husban is wearing wrinkled shirts or there isn't food in the house, or she doesn't cook family (and nutricious) meals.)
		* In other words, she then does all these things anyway, but he doesn't, because they don't "need" to be done
	* 4. Substitute Offerings: Expressing appreciation to wife for being so organized, than she can work and "do the second shift"
		* "I'm the luckiest guy ever"
		* This subtle encouragement to keep going and not complain.
## Invisible Labor
* Household labor is often not considered "real work"
	* Even by those who do it!?
* This is because:
	* Unpaid
	* No fixed schedule, no holidays
		* Just because it's a holiday, dishes still need to be done
	* Done in the "privacy" of the home
		* No one sees it
	* It is repetitive and never ends
		* Housework is ALWAYS there
	* Intertwined with feelings of love and care
		* By taking care of the home, I'm taking care of the family
		* A clean home is a happy family
	* It is unspecialized: Includes about 80 difference tasks.
		* We specialize in things in our country
	* Husbands and wives usually have a gendered division of labor
		* Women: Cook clean, take care of the kids. *Feminine*
		* Men: Mow lawns, household repairs, take out the trash *Masculine*
	* Because couples often divide labor this way, many feel as if they split the domestic chores
	* However, women's chores thend to be much more repetative (Cooking twice a day, mowing lawn twice a month)
	* Studies indicate that when men and woen get married:
		* The amount of time a woman spends on housework increases by 17%
		* While men's decreased by 33%
	* When men do housework, often seen as "helping out"
	* Additionally, much of the work women do requires a "Great deal of unrecognized labor"
		* Example: Researches have found that a recent trend is for couples to "share cooking duties"
			* One cook, one clean
		* Cooking (expanded):
			* It's not just about preparing the meal
				* You have to plan the menu
				* Know everyone's nutritional needs (gluten free, etc)
				* Know everyone's likes and dislikes
				* Shop for the food
				* Trime the meal correctly: For everyone to get home (managing everyone's schedules)
				* Some women also tend to clean up as they go (so many dishes already washed)
	* Another example is children's extra curricular activities:
		* Most couples say they are equally involved
		* Men sometimes said to be "more" involved because they do coaching.
		* Women usually do the work: Driving to/from, fundraisers, snacks, knowing the clothes, supplies, etc
	* These are some of the ways we can see the family as a gendered institution as well as a changing institution.
		* The text covoers more isses relayed to the family!