A study on good mothering: Expectations of Parenting by Gender and Relationship Status Among College Students

Naeema Khatun Author
10/06/2020 Added
60 Plays

Description

In the past few decades, the mothering ideology has become contradictory (Hays, 1998), anomic (Smithey, 2019) and continues as a prime contributor to the cultural and economic inequality of women (Crittenden, 2001; Doucet, 2000; Hochschild, 1989, 1997; LaRossa, 1986). Consequently, the behavioral content of what makes a “good mother” has become unclear although the vague expectations that a women should be a good mother are increasingly consequential and rigid. This paper examines the normative, behavioral expectations of “good mothering” and the effect of conversation about children as a primary factor in the cultural transmission of the ideology. Data from over 400 college students enrolled in classes at two universities located in the southwestern region of the United States were collected on individual beliefs and expectations of mothers. The analysis examines these expectations as they vary by gender, race/ethnicity, social class, religion, number of children, and marital status.


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