Question

Discuss the main findings from research on the Chore Wars —the gendered division of household labor—as studied by Hochschild (1989, 2003) and Zelizer (2005), in detail.

Answer 1

According to the Feminist thinkers, family as a social institution reinforces a hegemonic division of labour by regulating a gendered circulation of power and money within the family. They argue that historically money was seen as a sign of power because only men made money. Even though in recent time both men and women make money, the income enervated by women tends to be devalued as it is spent on non-essential goods, while the income of the Male members of the same household is seen as ‘earned’ and vital for the family’s expenditure on essential commodities and services such as rent, paying mortgage, electricity bills etc.

In this regard, Hochschild( 1989, 2003) and Zeliger ( 2005) argued that a contemporary Feminist critique of power and money needs to be move beyond the space of professional work and anlayze the gender disparity in everyday chores within the households. Their works thus present a critical perspective on the gendered division of labour within the domestic spaces.

Hochschild found in the early 1960s that compared to men, women on an average put in about 15 more hours of housework a week (although, this number appears to be shrinking).

Zelizer on the other hand studied and reported the types of chores rather than the amount of work being done. She found that even when men participate in household activities, they are more likely to do chores that are more associated to masculinity (cooking meat) and occur less frequently (such as fixings the plumbing). Women are in charge of daily routine and they are more likely to do kitchen work related to cooking, baking, etc cleaning the dishes, and housecleaning in general.

This division of labor extends into the caregiving practices as well. Zeliger further noted that Women are more likely to spend time with children doing activities such as baths and meals, whereas men engage with children in outdoor activities such as going to the park. Moroever, Women are more likely to spend more time with children on weekdays and men are more likely to spend time with them only on the weekends. Then there are also gender differences with respect to geriatric care as female adults were more likely to become primary caregivers to their aging parents while Male children are likely to assist in financial care or household repair works.

Thus, what these studies have shown is that women on an average tend to do greater proportion of long term intensive work at home but it is normally not regarded as ‘labour’. Rather in the popular discourses, it is deemed as a non-essential, mundane ‘chore’ or ‘task’ only which trivialises the labour of women. Even when women become more active in the job market, they are expected to assume the role of a "super mother" and manage both the job requirements as well as the efficient running of domestic chores which can in th long run easily burn working women out.