The Sociology of Housework

by Ann Oakley

In this groundbreaking book, acclaimed sociologist Ann Oakley undertook one of the first serious sociological studies to examine women’s work in the home. She interviewed forty urban housewives and analyzed their perceptions of housework, their feelings of monotony and fragmentation, the length of their working week, the importance of standards and routines, and their attitudes to different household tasks. Most women, irrespective of social class, were dissatisfied with housework, an important finding which contrasted with prevailing views. Importantly, too, she showed how the neglect of research on domestic work was linked to the inbuilt sexism of sociology. This classic book challenged the hitherto neglect of housework as a topic worthy of study and paved the way for the sociological study of many more aspects of women’s lives.

Genres: Sociology, Feminism, Labor, Gender, History

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[albie_of_nonfic]

Based on interviews conducted in England in 1971, this is a study of an almost extinct occupation (stay-at-home homemaker) under a defunct title ('housewife').

Although its current relevance is questionable - indeed, even the author suggested that many of the opinions and attitudes of the subjects may have changed by the time the book was first published in 1974 - it is still valuable for its subtle and nuanced distinctions between the subjects' indentification (or not) with the role of 'housewife' and their feelings about the activity of housework (too often conflated by earlier researchers), between the subjects ostensible attitudes and those perhaps revealed by follow-up statements, and the way it held the assumptions of earlier researchers up to scrutiny. It also has a worthwhile (if heavy) section on how the assumptions of then-contemporary sociology normalised men and regarded differences in women's attitudes / opinions as defects.

[Sarah Hamilton]

As relevant as ever.

[Lili]

Glad to see the consideration of intersectionality here, still relevant, they’re not far away yet

[delievi]

oh dear lord this could have been an article, that's all I'm gonna say about it