The Second Shift Essays - Gender Studies, Arlie Russell Hochschild

The Second Shift ? Arlie Russell Hochschild The term second shift applies to the idea that there is work to be done by a wife far beyond a 9-5 job while men are simply expected to work their jobs and bring home a pay check and they have fulfilled their husbandly obligations. While this is not true 100% of the time, we know that this is very true for many married couples. We hear the constant complaints. As I was listening to a conversation between a Dowling Professor and her coworker I saw it as perfect material for my paper on book the Second Shift. ?After a long day of working, I returned home to tend to my second shift and was greeted by my husband who immediately had to tell me all about his day, as if it was somehow more important then the long I had dealing with my students. I had to cook as well ? I asked him to please take out a couple of dishes and set the table, which he did ? with just plates. I have learned in the 50 some odd years, that with men you get what you ask for and you must be very clear with my expectati ons. Nancy did not want to have the sort of relationship her mother and father had. ?As long as Evan doesn?t do the housework, I feel it means he?s going to be like my father- coming home, putting his feet up, and hollering at my mom to serve him.? Pg. 42 Nancy wanted a partner who was going to help her around the house and not just be the bread winner. Evan felt that he was making her happy because he was there for her sexually but that was not all their relationship needed. He was feeling that was taking in ?the second shift? and was not being carter to. Carmen was old fashion; she made herself not like her job. She felt that by doing that her marriage and home would be better because that meant she was spending more time making her husband happy. She felt that ?Frank lose his job or take a cut in pay, she would not blame things on him they would face them together? pg.65. Nancy loved working she was not bothered by it like Carmen was. Carmen let it be known that she was not working because she wanted to. She felt that women that were ambitious were making her look like what she was doing was wrong. Perhaps you are saying to yourself "I already knew this but couldn't prove it." Whether or not you could have guessed this information or have possibly lived to tell your own stories about juggling the responsibilities of family-life and work, the underlying and disturbing question is, how can this be so today? How can it be that modern women who have seemingly come so far in becoming recognized as thriving active members of business, politics, and society in general still be struggling with the same gender roles with which their grandmothers dealt? How is it that women have broken out of many of the confines holding them back from the public sphere, but women are still expected to fulfill traditional roles within the family. It is true that a happy marriage is one that does not have roles on a wife or husband. They both should contribute. The roles should be shared. Rotate whatever it is that should be done in their home or within in the family. It should feel as they are in a team and they want make each other happier and better at whatever it is there are doing.