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A review by zararah
The Second Shift by Arlie Russell Hochschild
5.0
I love Hochschild's style of writing, storytelling, and research approach, and this book combines all of those things wonderfully. Even though this was first written in 1989, and within the context of the US, it was a fascinating read and written in a really compelling way.
The book focuses on labour division within heterosexual relationships in the US, and she dives into the ins and outs of a few specific relationships in detail, providing both of the partners' perspectives, the people they outsource that labour to when relevant, and her own analysis - all making for a truly thought-provoking combination. Things that stood out to me were the myths that 'feminist' women tell themselves to help them avoid confrontation with their male partners who aren't contributing to household labour; the way in which masculinity and manhood hasn't transformed at anything like the rate that women's roles have in terms of cultural/social norms (ie. now women can work + be mothers + 'do it all', which is a big shift from 'just' being housewives; but expectations + representations of men have stayed mostly the same); and the incredibly low standards that (most!) women have for men in their relationships.
All in all, I'm not sure quite how much of it is relevant today (I hope not so much, but I fear probably more than that) - nor how much is relevant outside of the US, given their complete lack of family-oriented policies - but Hochschild's writing and research approach means that this is a really compelling read, regardless of applicability.
The book focuses on labour division within heterosexual relationships in the US, and she dives into the ins and outs of a few specific relationships in detail, providing both of the partners' perspectives, the people they outsource that labour to when relevant, and her own analysis - all making for a truly thought-provoking combination. Things that stood out to me were the myths that 'feminist' women tell themselves to help them avoid confrontation with their male partners who aren't contributing to household labour; the way in which masculinity and manhood hasn't transformed at anything like the rate that women's roles have in terms of cultural/social norms (ie. now women can work + be mothers + 'do it all', which is a big shift from 'just' being housewives; but expectations + representations of men have stayed mostly the same); and the incredibly low standards that (most!) women have for men in their relationships.
All in all, I'm not sure quite how much of it is relevant today (I hope not so much, but I fear probably more than that) - nor how much is relevant outside of the US, given their complete lack of family-oriented policies - but Hochschild's writing and research approach means that this is a really compelling read, regardless of applicability.