The Sociology of Housework by Oakley Ann

Author:Oakley, Ann [Oakley, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sociology
ISBN: 9780631139249
Google: P8SrDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 11106381
Publisher: Policy Press
Published: 1974-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

There are no social class differences in this crucial area. Very similar childhood experiences are recalled by the forty women as influential in the formation of housework attitudes; this similarity is illustrated in the following two quotations, one from a ‘working-class’, and one from a ‘middle-class’ interview:

Anything my mother did was fine by me. Kids get idols – well, my mother was mine, and I’m not ashamed to say she still is, and she can’t do anything wrong in my book. She’s all for the finishing touches on everything. She’s a fantastic cook, which I’ve followed in her footsteps. She does everything right; when I was young I helped with my small sister – she was born when I was fourteen – and I helped with the housework of course. From about the age of ten I remember that. I was scruffy until then – after that I was houseproud! I get on well with my mother. I’d love to be like my mother. (Lorry driver’s wife)

My mother was very particular. She still is. You could eat off the floor in her house. When I was fourteen I can remember being constantly nagged by her – our bedrooms were always untidy. It’s terrible but I find I do exactly the same with my children now: they come in from school and everything is dropped and I say ‘pick them up’ and I try to stop nagging them because I remember how much I hated it. But I think it does influence you ... I remember coming home from school and before you could do homework or go out to play there were always chores to do – you know, our own set of chores. We knew it had to be done and we used to accept it. She was a hard worker, and I call myself a hard worker and I know that some days I push myself too hard and my mother’s done that all her life. (Food technologist’s wife)

The conclusion that middle- and working-class women share similar levels of domestic role-identification provokes an important question. How is it compatible with other findings of social class differences in domesticity – both those discussed in Chapter 4 and those suggested by other writers?6 One explanation is that there are social class differences of a more superficial kind which overlay the similarity in role-identification patterns. In discussing (below) answers given by the women in my sample to a test of self-attitudes, I shall present some evidence in favour of this interpretation.

There are also indications from other sources that women’s basic allegiance to the housewife role is not class-dependent. One American study of primary school girls found a class similarity in the range of behaviours, including domestic behaviours, perceived as feminine.7 Although some social class differences in preferences for certain domestic activities were found – middle-class women were more likely to dislike domestic service activities such as washing floors and dishes – the more fundamental sense of these as a feminine responsibility persisted.

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