Gender Theories Used To Explain Division Of Household Labor

Front 1

Socialist-Feminist Theories

Back 1

View household work as oppressive to women. The sex role ideology stems from the dominance/submission relationship between the sexes and is rooted in the work that is assigned to each gender.

Front 2

Psychological and Socialization Theories

Back 2

emphasize that social expectations effect gender norms and gender differences, which lead to individual psychological experiences (e.g. household work and child care conflict – a psychological experience).

Front 3

Morality Theories

Back 3

Housework does not have to be done equally and is not drudgery as most scholars assume. On the other hand, family work is a service that is essential to physical, spiritual, and mental development.

Front 4

Gender Construction Theory

Back 4

This theory states that women perform household tasks in order to reinforce the gender roles that they are socially expected to perform. Gender role expectations come through gender ideology and are carried out through gender construction. Women and men “act out” their gender because they want to reinforce their gender identity.

Front 5

Institutional Influences (p. 135)

Back 5

Constraints are imposed on family work by the formal economy, informal markets, state services, and other institution.

Front 6

Economic and Exchange Perspectives (p. 134) –

Back 6

Resource-bargaining perspective focuses on family power. It views the division of household labor as an outcome of negotiation between people who use valued resources to strike the best deal based on self-interest. The provider “buys out” his time so that he does not have to do household work.

Front 7

Life-course factors (p. 136)

Back 7

– during the child rearing years the man may do less household work, but later he may do more. The distribution of household work changes throughout the life-course.