Chodorow and the Past

In The Reproduction of Mothering, Nancy Chodorow presents her argument for why specifically women mother. While mainly evidencing her feminist theory, I think she does a great job showing how the changes that occurred in the past led to a systematic structure in which women take responsibility for children and men assume public roles. This leads to a cyclical sex/gender system, where the men's location defines society itself as masculine, allowing them to create and enforce their own institutions. While I think this system is certainly manifests itself today, I think in the 30 years since she wrote it, it is more common for women to actively participate in the public sphere, and not rare to see men taking domestic positions. 

However, what I found most interesting of all was the role that the past played. Chodorow states, "Everyone interested in questions of gender and sexual inequality and how to change these today must recognize these tenacious, almost transhistorical facts." I thought this pertained to Beloved. Through the fluid transitions between the past and present, often using monologues from the past to emphasize the burdens that took place, Morrison clearly was trying to make a point on how the past carries over into the present and affects people's lives. While it was a clear theme in the book, I struggled to think of a response to that question. With an institution like slavery, how do you move past those experiences and break the structures that carry over into society today? I think these two systems relate to each other because, while women were never enslaved for being women, they've faced oppression throughout history that still persists today. 

There are a couple things I've thought about that I think could help eliminate the gender inequality system. First, it starts with the parents. In order to get rid of the traditional role of women being domestic housewives, parents shouldn't socialize their children into traditional gender roles. Additionally, I think that if the government could provide more funding for programs such as day-care, it would give women the chance to work outside the home if they so desire. While mutual recognition between men and women is vital to eliminating the "mother"role, these could also help.