University of Mississippi SOC 101 Reading 29 “A New Generation Negotiates Gender, Work, and Family Change” Kathleen Gerson 1)Gerson refers to her respondents as “children of the gender revolution

University of Mississippi

SOC 101

Reading 29

“A New Generation Negotiates Gender, Work, and Family Change” Kathleen Gerson

1)Gerson refers to her respondents as “children of the gender revolution.” What does she mean by this?

1. 1. They grew up at a time when new forms of family, other than the two-parent, two- child, white picket fence, and a dog, were beginning to take hold.
   2. They grew up at a time when new opportunities for women, unimaginable by their grandmothers, were cropping up.
   3. They grew up at a time of uncertain economics, insecure about what kind of jobs they would be able to get, and how much money they would be able to make.
   4. All of the above.

2. Gerson claims that most of her respondents grew up at a time when they lived in “nontraditional” family forms before reaching the age of 18. Which of the following is NOT a sign of one of these new “nontraditional” forms of family life, as discussed by Gerson?

1. 1. A large number of them grew up in a household where divorce or parental separation existed.
   2. Most of these respondents grew up in households where both parents had to earn a living to meet the economic demands of the family.
   3. Many of these respondents were “only children,” meaning that they had no siblings.
   4. Many of her respondents felt that, if their mother did not work outside the home, it would have been better if she did.

3. It has long been argued that it is best for the family to stay together for the good of the kids. How did the respondents in Gerson’s study feel about this issue?

1. 1. Among those whose parents had broken up (or never married), a slight majority felt that they wished they had stayed together.
   2. A majority of the respondents whose parents did stay together wished that they had not.
   3. Even when divorced parents got back on their feet and were happy, about half of the respondents still felt negative about their parents split-up.
   4. These respondents practically unanimously felt that their parents did not have enough money to raise them in a style in which they were accustomed.

4. All families change over time. Some become more stable over the years, while others tend to go downhill and lose the sense of support they give their children. A surprising finding of Gerson’s study was that

1. 1. In families where there was a marital break-up, the sense of family support

actually got better over time.

1. 2. In families where there the traditional form remained in place, the sense of family support actually worsened over time.
   3. The feeling of family support over time did not seem to matter if gthe family was divorced, stayed together, or consisted to dual-earners or single-earners.
   4. The feeling of family support was much stronger among families where both parents worked and earned a living.

5. Generally speaking, in Gerson’s study, in two-parents families characterized by gender flexibility where the mother decided to take a job and pursue a career,

1. 1. less sharing of responsibilities and parental satisfaction was the result.
   2. the father became jealous of the mother’s earning potential and more family strife ensued.
   3. the mother was still left to do the household chores and resented the arrangement.
   4. Gerson did not mention any of the above in terms of these types of families.

6. Much has been written that the American family is broken. People cite rising divorce rates, unhappy marriages, and declining income to take care of the family. Given this, among the respondents in Gerson’s study, an overwhelming number of them see in their future

1. 1. No need to get married and to have a stable relationship.
   2. A life-long intimate bond with one individual.
   3. A need to live with another person for economic and emotional reasons, but no reason to get married.
   4. A desire to return to a more traditional marriage where women stay at home to take care of the children and men are the primary breadwinners.

7. Which is NOT a reason why young women of today in Gerson’s study are seeking a life of self-reliance?

1. 1. Given the fragility of the marital relationship, women see relying on a man for economic support as foolhardy.
   2. Women seek self-reliance because it gives them a strong identity in their ties to paid work.
   3. Women want to opt-out of the work world for marriage and workplace because that’s where they see their self-reliance most embedded.
   4. These women are concerned about the role of domesticity not providing them with enough of a sense of self-reliance.

8. For the men in Gerson’s study, they would feel best in a marital relationship that

1. 1. made them the only breadwinner and the power of the family unit.
   2. still included them as the primary breadwinner, but softened some of the boundaries of the traditional marriage so that they could also provide some