Nurture and work in the middle class?Imagery from women's magazines

Abstract

The mass entrance of mothers into the workforce has created a tremendous conflict for the middle class family. 2 The family described by Parsons, 3 consisting of breadwinner father and housewife mother cannot operate with Morn out to work. The middle classes worry about the consequences of mother's working on the marriage and more particularly on the children when mother is not the exclusive provider of care. 4 The middle class mother experiences guilt because her working violates the icon of the middle class MOTHER, i.e., "the nurturing force, spiritual and moral guide, comforter" as described by Letty Cottin Pogrebin. 5 Although these mothers may feel guilty, there is little possibility that decisive numbers of working mothers will return to the home. By becoming educated and by working, women experience autonomy, independence, and self-worth. These are benefits not easily relinquished. Moreover, working mothers help families achieve or maintain a higher standard of living. With Morn working, families can either enter the middle class or retain their middle class status during periods of recession. In is unlikely that the husband and children, the beneficiaries of Mom's hard work, would be willing to give up their lifestyle in order to have MOTHER back in the kitchen. However, the middle class does not have the confidence to fully reject its traditional familial values. It worries about its children. How will children fare if they are not raised exclusively by their mothers? What are the effects of group care on children? How does working change the relationship between the husband and wife, the children to the mother and father? What role does the "new father" or "new mother" play?