The Contradiction Between Public And Private Perceptions: Case Study
The advent of globalization has brought about the rise of a global care chain (Hochschild, 2000). From which, women from third world countries would migrate to first world countries to act as paid substitutes to first world mothers by becoming domestic helpers. Such a phenomenon is prevalent in Singapore. Since 2009, there has been a rising trend in the supply of domestic workers and as of end 2013; there has been 218300 domestic helpers in Singapore (Ministry of Manpower, 2014). This means that an average of one in five households have hired a domestic helper. Coupled with an increase in dual-income families (Department of Statistics, 2011) brought about by an upward trend in the number of women entering the workforce, the rise in demand
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Firstly, let us turn to the ‘normal’ family ideology. According to the state, the normal Singaporean family consists of a heterosexual couple who are legally married (Straughan, 1999). The ideal family also encompasses the traditional gender role ideology, where normal families are seen to follow a patriarchal structure. In which, men are regarded as heads of the household, while women take on the role of domestic managers. Following a functionalist perspective, this gendered division of labour is justified as something natural based on inherent instrumental and expressive traits possessed by husbands and wives respectively (Parsons, …show more content…
The rate of female participation in the workforce has in fact, risen significantly over the decade from 50.9% in 2003 to 58.1% in 2013 (Ministry of Manpower, 2013). As a result, dual-income families have now gradually replaced the Parsonian family structure. However, although gender perceptions of the public sphere have altered, those within the private sphere have not. Until today, women are still seen as being solely responsible for domestic work. This traditional gender role ideology - reinforced and supported by the state’s ‘normal’ family ideology - has imposed overwhelming stress on the Singapore women, resulting in the problem of the double burden caused by the second shift (Hochshild, 1989). As such, the prevalence of “Supermoms ” are in fact, laced with issues of gendered
Firstly, let us turn to the ‘normal’ family ideology. According to the state, the normal Singaporean family consists of a heterosexual couple who are legally married (Straughan, 1999). The ideal family also encompasses the traditional gender role ideology, where normal families are seen to follow a patriarchal structure. In which, men are regarded as heads of the household, while women take on the role of domestic managers. Following a functionalist perspective, this gendered division of labour is justified as something natural based on inherent instrumental and expressive traits possessed by husbands and wives respectively (Parsons, …show more content…
The rate of female participation in the workforce has in fact, risen significantly over the decade from 50.9% in 2003 to 58.1% in 2013 (Ministry of Manpower, 2013). As a result, dual-income families have now gradually replaced the Parsonian family structure. However, although gender perceptions of the public sphere have altered, those within the private sphere have not. Until today, women are still seen as being solely responsible for domestic work. This traditional gender role ideology - reinforced and supported by the state’s ‘normal’ family ideology - has imposed overwhelming stress on the Singapore women, resulting in the problem of the double burden caused by the second shift (Hochshild, 1989). As such, the prevalence of “Supermoms ” are in fact, laced with issues of gendered