Dr. Hochschild's Thoughts on the Future of the Disciplines and Feminism

In a review of one of Hochschild’s writings, the Commercialization of Intimate Life: Note from Home and Work, Barbara Risman states that within her book Hochschild’s is arguing that “feminism has been hijacked from its original goal of gender equality to provide the ideological legitimation to a commercialization of intimate relationships.” (Risman, 2). We also read that Hochschild is quoted as saying, ““feminism is to the commercial spirit of intimate life as Protestantism is to the spirit of capitalism.”(p.23).” (Risman, 2).
In all of her issues, Hochschild makes good arguments that persuade us and convince us that what we are partaking in is wrong, that we do spend too much time at work, and not enough with our own families. Along with proving that we need to do something to fix this horrible trend of dismissing our families for more time at work, to get ahead and be successful, she provides a possible solution. She suggests that we need to integrate work and family more often. Most importantly, in her writings, Hochschild suggests that we need to just “cut back on work to give more of themselves to intimate relationships…” (Risman, 2). We need to stop being so worried and concerned with work and being successful and more about our families and keeping them together.
From reading her work and reading other peoples reviews and interpretations of Hochschild’s work, I feel that it would be alright to assume a few things as to what she would want for the future of her discipline and for the future of feminism. One would have to be that Hochschild would desire that there be more women in the disciplines and more women in employment positions in general. I would also say that it would be safe to assume that with as much as Hochschild wants more women in the job field; she would want this to happen with these women having the ability to do so and keep her job as mother at the same time. Therefore, there would be more women who want to work, working, but also spending more time with their family and not being punished for wanting to do so. In an interview, Hochschild suggests that in order to accomplish this, a solution may be “to create generous care packages that allow for the care of children and sick members and give you-in Norway they have care salaries-but to have them equally used by men and women.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610). This solution may equal out the playing field.
Another assumption I have is that Hochschild would desire for the future, that women be given a break once in a while. I feel that she would in the future want men and women to share to household duties, rather then the women having sole responsibility of getting the chores done. Hochshild’s tells us in the interview that we have the ability to create change, “Freedom is in the context. So we’ve got to change the contexts. That’s why we need a feminist movement.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610).
Hochschild has been a pioneer for many events in the course of the sociology discipline. She has set many examples for those of us who choose to go into the field of sociology can follow. She states in the interview that “We older women have tried our best, but we’ve gotten only so far, and the young have to realize that they’re not the happy inheritors of a gender revolution, which has been accomplished, and so their only job is to live it. I think the more profound truth is that they have to carry on the unfinished job.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610).

Dr. Hochschild's Goals

Some of Dr. Hochschild’s personal goals for the future include “writing a book on empathy” which says “may turn into two projects, one more basic and long-term, and one more immediate.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610) In an interview Dr. Hochschild answers a question about what she plans to do in the long term, which she replies with; “…I have a number of other projects. I think I will circle back to The Managed Heart…and will circle back to the stalled revolution and feminism and to the question of equal to what? That is a basic question that underlies all of my work.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610). In the same interview she also expresses interest in the rapture and what goes on there. She explains it by claiming that the “rapture appeals to what they anxiously desire, and it’s kind of a religious substitute for what they can’t get in their real life. So I guess I want to go out and interview people and hang out in churches and kind of see if I can get inside that story.” (http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610).
One goal that Dr. Hochschild can not conquer on her own, but I feel would love to try and achieve is to create change. Creating change may not necessarily “fix” it, but it would spin an issue around to where we think about it in a different way and we change the way people think about it as well. She says that, “Freedom is in the context. So we’ve got to change the contexts.” Therefore, I feel that one of Hochschild’s goals to “change the contexts”. From my reasearch I gather that Hochschild is big on "being the change you wish to see in the world", which leads me to believe that she has a personal goal of being the change she urges us to take part in as well.

My Final Thoughts and Reflection

At the beginning of this project I was not real sure as to why I was assigned to do research on this specific women sociologist. After reading many of her works, other people’s reviews of her works, and many articles concerning her and what she is known for writing and researching, I started to see the connection. Much of what Arlie Hochschild has devoted her research and writing to is how people are too involved in work these days. She writes how people are workaholics and do not have enough time at home for their own family and end up hiring other people to care for their children or elderly relatives. I am a college student, with two jobs and do not really have much time for anything. Even though I do not have a family of my own or a mate to come home to, I do have roommates and have begun to replace “family time” issues in her articles with “room mate time” for me. I do work too much and by reading a brief article on and many reviews on Hochschild’s book, The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work, I see how this is a real issue that plagues our society.
Hochschild argues that much of lives today are dominated by work, the need for success, and achievement. I agree with this fully, we have discussed many times that society has pushed upon us the need to be successful in life and to do so we need to do whatever it takes to get there. If that means abandoning our children with a nanny that is in the U.S. on a work visa, then fine. I would have to go with this argument. I feel that Hochschild is arguing against this very thing, but I feel that at least a part of her would at least think of doing such a thing with her own children. She did manage to raise her own two children and make it in the male dominated world at UC Berkeley, but I would still beg to differ that she would still contemplate hiring a nanny.
Arlie Hochschild is a very well respected professor, researcher and author, as Barbara Risman said in her review of Hochschild’s, The Commercialization of Intimate Life, “As with all of Hochschild’s work, it is innovative, challenging, and thought provoking.” (Risman, 1). She is a very inspiring author and researcher; she has definitely made me re-think my goals in life and how to go about them. I think that Dr. Hochschild is a woman that I would love to meet and hear her speak, and express in person her thoughts on these issues. I would be honored to even take a class from her one day…wouldn’t that be inspiring! I feel that she would tell me that I am everything wrong that she writes about, thus I have learned how to prioritize my life and how not to make my home my work. I have realized that if and when I do have my own family that in today’s society it is not only important for our children, but for ourselves as well to have a good home life, and to keep somewhat sane.

Sources That are Cited

Useful Links

http://sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/hochschild/

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/dta.html

http://socsci.colorado.edu/SOC/SI/si-hochschild.htm

http://www.asanet.org/page.ww?section=Awards&name=Public+Understanding+of+Sociology+Award

http://0-www.galenet.com.library.uor.edu/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&OP=contains&locID=redl79824&srchtp=athr&ca=1&c=1&ste=6&tab=1&tbst=arp&ai=U14557139&n=10&docNum=H1000046077&ST=Arlie+Hochschild&bConts=2191

http://www.genderonline.cz/view.php?cisloclanku=2007010610
“Leaving Berkley After 35 Years: An Interview with Arlie Hochschild”

http://0-vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.library.uor.edu/hww/results/results_single_ftPES.jhtml
Atlantic Monthly 287 no2 62-3 F 2001. A Generation Without Public Passion.

http://0-vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.library.uor.edu/hww/results/results_single_ftPES.jhtml
American Prospect 11 no4 32-6 Ja 3 2000. The Nanny Chain.

http://0-vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.library.uor.edu/hww/results/results_single_ftPES.jhtml
American Prospect 13 no7 46-7 Ap 8 2002. Taking Care.

Essays:

Love and Gold: For Women, Power and Justice: A Global Perspective. By Arlie Hochschild. Edited by Luciana Ricciutelli. London, Toronto: Zed/Innana Books, 2005. (forthcoming)

The Commodity Frontier. Arlie Hochschild. UC Press, 2004.

Reviews:

The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Hoe and Home Becomes Work. by Arlie Hochschild
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0032-3195%28199821%29113%3A1%3C169%3ATTBWWB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J
review by Monica McDermott
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9602%28199903%29104%3A5%3C1563%3ATTBWWB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8
review by Jerry A. Jacobs

The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. by Arlie Hochschild
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-7732%28198509%2964%3A1%3C223%3ATMHCOH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
review by Julie V. Brown


Book Sources:

Are You Cold Yet? Have the Hot Family Value Wars Ended in Colder Families? Barbara J. Risman. Washington: Mar 2005. Vol. 34, Iss. 2; pg. 128-131.

Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. Edited by Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Hochschild. New York: Metropolitan Press. 2003.

The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and Work. David D. Franks. Chapel Hill: Dec. 2004. Vol. 83, Iss. 2; pg. 867-869.

Women’s Issues. Edited by Robin Brown. New York: H.W. Wilson Co. 1993.

Gender and the Academic Experience. Edited by Kathryn P. Meadows and Ruth A. Wallace. University of Nebraska Press. 1994.

Why I am interested in women's studies

Women's studies is interesting to me because I feel that it is very important to study the effects and impressions that women have made on our society and how they have changed the way society views certain subjects and ideas. In so many classes that we take today women are written out of the history of certain subjects and are seen as being not as relevant as men in that same category. Therefore it is necessary for us to look into women who had profound effects on areas of study that they are not currently a part of in today's society.