The Second Shift
By:
Arlie Hochschild Anne Machung
Buy it now at Amazon.com!
Lowest New Price: $5.99
List Price: $16.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Description:
Fifteen years after its first publication, The Second Shift remains just as important and relevant today as it did then. As the majority of women entered the workforce, sociologist and Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild was one of the first to talk about what really happens in dual-career households. Many people were amazed to find that women still did the majority of childcare and housework even though they also worked outside the home. Now, in this updated edition with a new introduction from the author, we discover how much things have, or have not, changed for women today.
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Release Date: 2003-04-29
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
as always Hochschild reads wonderfully. - Hochschild makes a wonderful job in bringing us into the lives of these couples. Her insights and comments on why people act a certain way are really great. I can't help but lose myself in her writing- often with tears in my eyes about why patriarchy is so embedded within us.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
So Much Time. So Little Change - This book has been reissued with a new introduction to an old and important message. "A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done" is an adage older than any of us. Hochschild draws a bleak and accurate picture of the increasing number of women with two jobs. As the economy worsens, and as more women want to maintain their careers, this number grows. The number of men pitching in at home, Hochschild reminds us, has not grown. Women come home from work to a full set of responsibilities. Women take off for the sick child, the doctor's appointment, the school play.
Yes, some men stay home, and yes, some men do their fair share. But things cold get better. I'd like to see this as required reading in high school - let's see if we can create a new trend.
Customer Review: 1 out of 5
Polemics, not scholarship. - To reach her spurious conclusions, the author presents decades-old data on men and housework as if these studies came out last week. Credible research from the University of Michigan shows that men and women work about the same amount of time when you include both work done inside and outside the home. Ladies, if you want to read a great book that will help you earn more money, read "Why men earn more" by Warren Farrell. Studies show that the claims of feminism are questionable at best, and at worst misleading and damaging to women and all who earnestly seek the truth. "The second shift" is part of the backlash against equality that has been gradually building up steam in western culture since the Renaissance.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Everyone should read this - As a college-age male, one might think that I would have little reason to read a study about the struggles of working women. That is wrong.
This insightful, modest study of family life (witnessed by the capable Arlie Hochschild as a fly-on-the-wall) gives perspective on a dillemma everyone should think about before marriage: how to reconcile economic and personal needs with having children. This problem affects women and men, mothers and fathers.
Unfortunately, it is rarely talked about in our society. People are forced to muddle through using their parents as examples, or to try to construct new strategies from scratch. Hochschild provides a useful structure for discussing the problem and avoiding the emotional and marital cost of relying on "myths." Any serious couple should be able to talk about these subjects to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.
One problem with this book is the writing - the points do not always flow together, and sometimes the sentences are simply awkward. This study is also weighted toward middle class families, though it explores others as well. Despite being over a decade old, this book is still relevant.
Well worth reading, whether you are deciding on a career, getting married, or already trying to balance both.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Review of "The Second Shift" - Excellent examination of the Dual-Earner family and the changes this is causing to America's traditional familial structure. Hochschild brings attention to many of the tensions within the working family and discusses causes and solutions. Her idea of a stalled cultural revolution is riveting.
--> Find out more about "The Second Shift" at Amazon.com or Order Now
| 