Investigating Family Labor in Communication Studies: Threading Across Historical and Contemporary Discourses

Medved, Caryn E.

doi:10.1080/15267430701392172

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For mothers such as Kim, Wanda, Lisa, and Yolanda, however, navigating work and parenting in contexts of poverty is much, much more complicated than for those of us living with adequate means. In the end, this study adds to the rich work-life literature in our field (e.g., Buzzanell, 2005;Medved, 2007;Tracy & Rivera, 2010). Although much of the work-life literature illustrates the complexities of work-life issues for middle-class Caucasian women, this study extends the conversation to reflect the experiences of working class, minority women and their adolescent children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“Your Kids or Your Job”

Miller-Day

2012

Qualitative Communication Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contexts of poverty seem to magnify vulnerabilities in mothers, especially women who have few resources for coping and little support in parenting. Adding to the challenges of poverty are government mandates to move women off of welfare into the workforce. Focusing on the experiences of four mothers who moved from welfare into the low-wage workforce and then back to unemployment, this study offers a description of how these mothers and their adolescent children navigate and make sense of low-wage work, family life, and cumulative disadvantage.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“Your Kids or Your Job”

Miller-Day

2012

Qualitative Communication Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While different arguments about the genesis of the WORKING MOTHERS AS JUGGLERS 15 ideology of domesticity exist (i.e., as a response to industrialization versus as a justification to further exclude women from participating in paid labor-see Medved, 2007, Ashcraft & Mumby, 2004, the ideology "prescribed ideals for femininity that glorified and extended women's duties at home" as "women were framed as uniquely qualified to perform domestic labor and the newly venerated duties of childrearing" (Medved, 2007, p. 228, emphasis added).…”

Section: Good Working Mothers and The Ideology(s) Of Domesticity/"trumentioning

confidence: 99%

Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Kirby

Riforgiate

Anderson

et al. 2016

Journal of Family Communication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examine the portrayals of two good working mothers in popular work-family balance films-Melanie in One Fine Day (1996) and Kate in I Don 't Know How She Does It (2011).Using a critical standpoint, we build on communication work-family/life scholarship to extend theoretical understanding of underlying ideological notions of the good working mother. In particular, we analyze Melanie and Kate's performances that reflect the underlying cultural ideologies of being an ideal worker, a true domestic woman, and an intensive mother. Further, we explicate how this juggling of identities portrays good working mothers as perpetually defensive. We go beyond the analysis of ideologies to lay out some of the consequences of the performance portrayals of the good working mother, in that she should (a) accept While the broadest definition of juggling is to "continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others," the second most common definition is to "cope with by adroitly balancing, i.e. she works full time, juggling her career with raising children" (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). Indeed, "juggling" language is also used by work-life scholars; as one example, Golden (2001) notes how "multiple role-identities associated with work and family require juggling conflicting demands" (p. 233). Women in particular "juggle responsibilities" as they strive to be good workers and good mothers, also known as good working mothers 1 Turner & Norwood, 2013). Notably, there is no parallel term of a good working father; since discourses of work-family/life issues often reflect gendered role expectations of work and private responsibilities, the personification of "balance" seems more targeted at working mothers, reflecting how work-family/life conflicts are sometimes viewed WORKING MOTHERS AS JUGGLERS 4 as merely a "women's issue" in the workplace (Drago, 2007;Kirby & Buzzanell, 2014).We critically examine how mediated portrayals of the "juggling act" of the good working mother reflect the underlying cultural ideologies of being an ideal worker, a true domestic woman, and an intensive mother. Further, we explicate how this juggling of identities portrays good working mothers as perpetually defensive, laying out how these portrayals to teach women to (a) accept "punishments" from children, (b) conceptualize fathers as secondary parents, (c) solve problems on their own, and (d) choose family over work. Leading in to this critical examination, it important to describe our varied positionalities as people and scholars.Our working relationship began in a five-day work/life course led by the first author at the National Communication Association Institute for Faculty Development. We spent a week immersing ourselves in the work/life literature, watching these work/life films, and discussing ways to integrate this research into our teaching and indeed our lives. From this experience, the five of us decided to work together on a deeper analysis of the films we referenced i...

show abstract

“…There is also a gendered trend in less women pursuing technology-related careers (Buche et al, 2007). Other researchers (e.g., Medved, 2007Medved, , 2010 explored the relationship between issues of routine domestic and family labor such as care labor and household work, and organizational life.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproducing work and family norms through daughter–parent communication

Daniels

Rittenour

2020

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study contributes to the literature on work and family socialization by examining the nature of daughter–parent (i.e., mothers vs. fathers) communication and daughters’ likelihood to transmit parents’ memorable messages regarding work and family. Results indicated that (a) daughters’ report of mothers’ and fathers’ respectful accommodation and self-disclosure positively predicts daughters’ relational satisfaction with the target parent and (b) daughters’ relational satisfaction with their parent positively relates to daughters’ likelihood to transmit their parent’s memorable messages about work or family. However, results held true for both fathers and mothers, with no support for the hypothesis that daughters would be more likely to transmit mothers’ messages more than fathers’ messages. The authors discuss practical implications, directions for future research, and limitations of the study.

show abstract

Investigating Family Labor in Communication Studies: Threading Across Historical and Contemporary Discourses

Cited by 15 publications

References 31 publications

“Your Kids or Your Job”

“Your Kids or Your Job”

Good Working Mothers as Jugglers: A Critical Look at Two Work–Family Balance Films

Reproducing work and family norms through daughter–parent communication

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About