Response Paper: The Second Shift

Response Paper: The Second Shift Student Name Institutional Affiliation Response Paper: The Second Shift Question #1 The second shift refers to the transformation in the family that has come up by two-income families (Hochschild & Machung, 2012). More women have entered the workforce. This has put pressure on them to devote more time to their work while at the same time adhering to the gender norms that it is their place to do the housework. The second shift indicates that women can work outside of the home as their husbands (Hochschild & Machung, 2012). However, it is critical to appreciate that there has not been a complete gender ideology shift. Although more women are working outside the home, men do not seem to appreciate that it is okay for them to work inside the home. The second shift has been brought about by the increase in the number of women contributing income to the family. Instead of gender ideologies, spouses use economic contributions as leverage to “negotiate” their responsibilities at home (Hochschild & Machung, 2012). Initially, women used to perform all the household chores because they have little or no income. Husbands were the breadwinners hence did not need to undertake any activity at home. However, as women earn as their counterpart males, there has been a consistent attempt to shift from the traditional approach to performing household chores. Women undertake less work housework as their earnings increase with more men performing more household chores than they used to do. In American society, couples are shifting away from the notion that the hu...