In The Reproduction of Motherhood, Nancy Chodorow argues that, "mothering," or nurturing children, has become a female term that perpetuates inequalities between men and women. I find her argument to be compelling and accurate. As she points out in her introduction, many of the extreme gender inequalities of modern times stem from the exclusivity of breastfeeding to women. Before the invention of breast pumps and formulas, most women truly had to remain with young infants. By binding most women to their homes, breastfeeding established gender separation, which grew into gender inequality.
I think a large part of Chodorow's theory is economic in nature. Before industrialization, families existed as individual economic units so men had a larger home presence. However, as factories drew workers away from homes, men were able to leave to home to make money while women with infants remained committed to the home. Thus, this separation established the idea of the nurturing mother and the breadwinning father. An increasingly money-oriented society favored the latter. History explains the gender roles that society has perpetuated.
As I read Chodorow's argument, I found myself considering the concept of child support. A single mother receiving child support from a child's father is an extreme example of the model of a nurturing mother and distant, money-earning father. However, this substitution of child support for a father's presence makes it seem entirely unfair to reduce the role of a father to simply the earner of money. In the same sense, it seems unfair to value a mother's capabilities of taking care of children without recognizing her ability to contribute to the family in other ways and to achieve different personal goals. Chodorow is right that assigning gendered roles to parents in a male/female relationship, particularly with regards to economic responsibilities, is detrimental to both parties.
Your connection to child support is really poignant. I thought a little about that too, along with low-income welfare. The mere presence of a man "capable of work" in a household significantly reduces the welfare that would be offered to a single mother. I feel like while the presence of that other parent does hopefully increase the financial stability of the household (assuming they are able to find employment), that system expects women to not step up as breadwinners and helps perpetuate the expectation that women mother by themselves.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your analysis and also liked how you mentioned the deep-rooted economic nature of the problem. It brings into question how history and nature have worked together to create the type of society we live in today.
ReplyDelete