Stay-At-Home Moms in the U.S.
As Seen Through The Three Sociological Perspectives
Defining Stay-at-home moms
Mothers that do not work outside of their home, and takes care of most of the house work. In recent years the percentage of stay-at-home moms has increased to 29% since 2012
Functionalist and Gender
Functionalist argue that any pattern of behavior that does not benefit society will become unimportant. The division of responsibilities between males and females survived because it benefited human living.
Functionalism and stay-at-home moms
In every family the fathers role is to provide for the family and work while the mother stays at home and does house work, and because of this functionalists would say this is a function of society.
Symbolic Interactionist and Gender
Focuses on how boys and girls learn to act the way they are supposed to act. This process is called gender socialization.
Symbolic interactionism and stay-at-home moms
Symbolic interactionist analyzes the communication, verbal or non-verbal, between the stay-at-home mom and her family. They view the things that have been taught to kids and how their upbringing was.
Conflict Theory and Gender
According to conflict theory, it is to men's advantage to prevent women from gaining access to political, economic, and social resources. If men can prevent women from developing their potential, they can maintain the status quo. By keeping the traditional division of labor intact, men can preserve the privileges they enjoy.
Conflict theory and stay-at-home moms
A stay-at-home mom is under the power of the husband and the social relationship is often master or subordinate. A stay-at-home mom may be the result of false consciousness
US: Are we seeing return of stay-at-home mothers? BBC News