Caring and Gender

by Cancian, Francesca M.; Oliker, Stacey J.

• ISBN13: 9780761986867
• ISBN10: 0761986863
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Altamira Pr

Summary

Using engaging case studies and research findings, this lively new book from the Gender Lens Series challenges the notion that care-giving is a natural pattern and demonstrates how it is thoroughly social. Written in an inviting and readable style, the authors address complex issues about caring, making them accessible to undergraduate students and lay people.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Introduction	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
Caring and Gender	1	(12)
What Is Caring?	2	(1)
Why Study Caring and Gender?	3	(2)
Women's Caregiving in Families: Natural or Social?	5	(4)
The Devaluation of Caregiving	9	(1)
Caregiving and Inequality	10	(1)
Plan of the Book	11	(2)
Historical Glimpses	13	(24)
Colonial Contrasts	14	(7)
Work and Care Become ``Separate Spheres''	21	(6)
``Every Woman Is a Nurse'': Caregiving Becomes a Profession	27	(8)
Conclusion	35	(2)
Caring in Families	37	(34)
Families That Are Not Self-Sufficient	39	(6)
Parental Care for Children	45	(13)
Caring in Couples	58	(4)
Conflicts Between Paid Work and Family Caring	62	(3)
Family Care for People Who Are Chronically Ill or Severely Disabled	65	(4)
Conclusion	69	(2)
Paid Caregiving	71	(30)
Obstacles to Good Paid Care: Devaluing Caring, Profit-Making, Bureaucracy, and Hierarchy	72	(2)
Paid Care Can Be Good Care	74	(2)
Undermining the Quality of Paid Care: The Example of Nursing Homes	76	(11)
Separate, Gendered Spheres and the Devaluation of Caring	87	(4)
Caregivers' Autonomy and Nonmedical Standards of Care: Case Studies of Good Paid Care	91	(7)
The Care Receiver's Power	98	(1)
Conclusion	99	(2)
Governing Care	101	(34)
How Do Governments Support Care?	101	(4)
Gender, Care, and Welfare in the United States	105	(9)
Government and Caregiving in Other Industrial Countries	114	(7)
The Threat of ``Big Brother''	121	(6)
How Can Government Both Support Caregiving and Promote Gender Equality?	127	(6)
Conclusion	133	(2)
Caregiving in Communities	135	(14)
What Is Community Care?	136	(1)
What Are the Benefits of Care in Communities?	137	(4)
What Are the Limits of Caregiving in Communities?	141	(7)
Conclusion	148	(1)
The Future of Caregiving	149	(12)
Explaining Gendered Caring and Gender Inequality	150	(2)
Paths to Expanding Care and Gender Equality	152	(9)
Notes and References	161	(17)
Index	178	(5)
About the Authors	183