Discussion Questions
Chapter 1
Dill
Why did the slave family represent a tension in the master-slave relationship?
What particular burdens did Chinese women face in split-household families? What did U.S. laws at the time have to do with these burdens?
Dill argues that traditional Chicano culture faced several assaults in 19th Century. What were these assaults? How did compagrazgo strengthen Chicano culture in this period?
Why does Dill argue that women of color faced a "double bind" in 19th Century America? How did middle-class white women escape this double bind?
Chapter 2
Adams
How did school officials attempt to "Americanize" Native American children?
What signs of American Indian culture did schools find especially threatening? Why?
How and why did American Indian parents resist enrolling their children in schools? How did government agents counter their resistance?
What similarities and contrasts do you see between the forced assimilation of American Indian children Adams describes and the debate about the assimilation of immigrants in the United States today?
Chapter 3
Jones
How did planters use the "threat of sale" to control the labor and social relationships of African-American slaves?
What survival strategies did African-American families develop to withstand the physical and symbolic oppression of slavery?
In what ways did "fictive kin" relationships help African-American slaves mitigate the effects of the threat of sale?
After reading Rayan Rapp's article, discuss the different points of view that people might have on whether marriage is an institution of social control.
Chapter 4
Nakano Glenn
Why is it problematic to explain Chinese-American family outcomes in terms of culture instead of structure, according to Nakano Glenn? How does an institutional approach solve these problems?
What are split-household families? Why did they occur with such frequency among Chinese immigrants in the 19th Century?
What social, economic, and political factors explain the transition from split-household, to small-producer, to dual-earner families among Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans?
In your opinion, do we explain the current "model minority" status of Asian Americans primarily through culture or structure? Why does the manner of explanation matter?
Chapter 5
Mintz
How did the Industrial Revolution change the relationship between middle-class parents and their children? Between working-class parents and their children?
What freedoms did urban working-class youth experience after the decline of the apprenticeship system? What social vulnerabilities came along with this freedom?
Imagine you are a child laborer in the Industrial Revolution. Of the jobs that Mintz describes, which would you prefer, and why?
What additional hardships did immigrant children face as workers?
Chapter 6
Sanchez
Sanchez criticizes previous scholars for treating the Mexican-American family as unidimensional. How does his analysis get around this problem?
What did a move to East Lost Angeles after marriage symbolize for Chicanas?
How did the immigration reform of 1921 change patterns of circular migration for male immigrants from Mexico?
Gender norms often summarize the tensions between acculturation and retention of traditional culture in immigrant families. What evidence of this tension do you see in Sanchez's account?
Chapter 7
Moran
How did antimiscegenation laws reinforce the racial hierarchy between blacks and whites in the slavery-era South?
Why was the "one drop rule" created, according to Moran?
How did Robert Wright's father "make" him white? What were the limits of Robert Wright's whiteness?
Moran shows that federal laws treated Asian immigrants differently and thus "racialized" each group in a distinctive way. How did racialization strategies vary for Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrants? How did each group respond to these strategies?
Chapter 8
Solinger
What assumptions about race informed adoption policies in post-WWII America, according to Solinger?
Abortion is an issue that arouses strong moral passions, for and against, but there are many other moral issues facing Americans as well. Leaving aside your own views for a few minutes, can you think of any social or structural changes in family life that might have made abortion especially contentious in the late 10th century and today?
How did the Hyde Amendment shape abortion policy?
After reading Solinger's argument, do you think abortion should be covered under federal Medicaid programs? Why or why not?
Chapter 9
Franklin
What particular hardships did African-American women face as they attempted to enter wartime industries?
Why were the modest economic and occupational gains made by African-American women undermined after the war?
How does Franklin explain the surge in births to unmarried African-American adolescents in the 1940s?
What evidence does Franklin give to show that blacks did not benefit from the economic gains made by whites in WWII-era America?
Many people believe that contemporary African-American family patterns are holdovers from the legacy of slavery. How does Franklin's information support or challenge that interpretation?
Chapter 10
Collins
What problem does Collins see with the public/private dichotomy common in second-wave feminist theory? How does her concept of "motherwork" sidestep this problem?
How does placing women of color's motherwork at the center of feminist analysis change its focus? What otherwise hidden issues does such a shift reveal?
What are the three areas in which women of color have struggled for maternal power, according to Collins?
How do racial-ethnic mothers prepare their children to survive a "white world?" What are some of the positive and negative consequences of their efforts, according to their children?
Chapter 11
Rapp
Why does Rapp argue that the concept of family is a "socially necessary illusion?"
Rapp uses the term "ideology" in several places in her analysis. What does she mean by this term?
What major differences between working-class, middle-class, and upper-class families do you see in Rapp's article?
Chapter 12
Sacks
Sacks argues that class consciousness is experienced in racially specific, gender-specific, and kinship-specific ways. What examples does she use to substantiate this argument?
Why does Sacks contend that women imagine class struggle more broadly than men?
Why would concerns over homosexuality develop around the same time as women began to be able to support themselves on their own earnings, according to Sacks?
In what ways do you think contemporary family studies integrate race, class, and gender into their theories? Do they go far enough?
Chapter 13
Pyke
What are some of the main differences in background between current immigrants and previous generations of immigrants to the U.S.?
How does segmented assimilation theory differ from straight-line assimilation theory?
Why do some immigrant groups see traditional gender relationships as crucial to the maintenance of their ethnicity? How are these gender relationships complicated by women's participation in paid employment?
What factors explain the often complicated relationship between first- and second-generation immigrants?
What are some of the distinctive issues facing elderly first generation immigrants?
Chapter 14
Baca Zinn and Wells
Baca Zinn and Wells argue that people of the same national origin may have radically different experiences of their family. What explains these differences?
Describe the unique histories, employment patterns, and geographical destinations of Mexican-, Puerto Rican-, and Cubans-Americans. What are the drawbacks of condensing these diverse experiences under the umbrella term "Latino?"
How have Latino ethnic groups been differently affected by increasingly global production?
Do you think "Latino" is still a useful concept to use in social research?
Chapter 15
Marks and Leslie
What do Marks and Leslie mean by "intersectionality?" What intersecting social categories do you inhabit?
What are the main differences to the study of intersectionality in Butler, Collins, and McCall? Which approach do you find most convincing, and why?
How would an analysis of intersectionality incorporating race, gender, class, household type, and sexual orientation improve current scholarship on work-family issues? What evidence do Marks and Leslie give to show an intersectionality approach is superior to the more traditional approach to work-family studies?
Chapter 16
Ryan
Why does Ryan think the reorganization of work is not simply a by-product of globalization?
Which of the seven aspects of the reorganization of work Ryan discusses do you think has the most critical effect on workers' families?
What is "permanent downward mobility?"
In what ways does the increase in temporary jobs hurt workers in general? How does such an increase benefit companies?
Chapter 17
Rubin
Why do upper-class and working-class Americans respond so differently to the topic of immigration, according to Rubin?
What "paradox" does Rubin see in how native-born Americans view black and Asian workers?
How does Rubin explain the recent tendency for whites to reclaim their ethnic roots?
Rubin argues that economic stresses often spur white workers' racial bias. In your opinion, are the racist sentiments often expressed by white workers better explained by their racism or by the economic stress they face? How does Rubin's article tie in with the distinction that Coontz makes between "privilege" and "leverage" in the introduction?
Chapter 18
Salazar Parrenas
Explain Salazar Parrenas's three-tier transfer of reproductive power.
What is the "international transfer of caretaking?" What does this have to do with the globalization of the market economy?
Why does Salazar Parrenas argue that migrant Filipina domestic workers experience conflicting class mobility?
How do workers deal with the pain of separation from their own families, according to Salazar Parrenas?
Chapter 19
Zhou and Lee
Why do many Asian Americans resist this pan-ethnic term, according to Zhou and Lee?
How do first-generation Asian Americans view their investment in their children's education? How do their children view it?
What problems with the "model minority" label do Zhou and Lee identify?
Chapter 20
Hondagneu-Sotelo and Messner
Why is a narrow focus on the style of masculine gender displays problematic, according to the authors?
What challenges to their sense of masculinity do Mexican immigrant men often experience upon migration to the U.S.?
According to Hondagneu-Sotelo and Messner, in what ways do public displays of sensitivity among privileged men (such as General Schwartzkopf crying) actually obscure the power these men enjoy?
How do Hondagneu-Sotelo and Messner encourage us to evaluate displays of "machismo" among Mexican immigrant or other disadvantaged men?
Do you think the image of the "New Man" is a myth? What changes have you seen in men's values and behavior within your own family or network of acquaintances?
Chapter 21
Kibria
What positives and negatives does Kibria see in the "adaptation" approach to studying immigrant ethnic institutions?
How did migration to the U.S. affect economic opportunities for Vietnamese-American men? For Vietnamese-American women?
What strategies do Vietnamese-American women use to try to extend their familial power when in the U.S.?
Can you think of other instances when groups of women support "traditionalist" gender roles or family strategies in order to increase their own leverage? What are the pros and cons of this strategy?
Chapter 22
Sugrue - Underclass Family
How does Sugrue explain the worsening economic situation of urban residents since the mid 1970s?
Why was the approach of TANF legislation misguided, according to Surgrue?
Surgrue argues that both conservatives and liberals emphasize values and culture in explaining inner-city poverty. What evidence does he give to undermine such an explanation?
Why does Surgrue call TANF an anti-welfare, rather than anti-poverty, program? Do you agree?
Chapter 23
Raley
What evidence does Raley give that welfare does not cause unmarried childbearing?
Why does Raley argue that the higher rate of teen childbearing among poor racial-ethnic teens cannot be explained solely by race-ethnicity or a "culture of poverty"?
How does inequality in school funding contribute to high rates of teenage pregnancy?
Why does Raley call teenage childbearing an "avenue to adulthood" for poor teens?
Chapter 24
Roy and Burton
How do mothers "recruit" fathers and father figures for their children? What are some of the barriers to recruitment mothers experience?
What prompted the mothers Roy and Burton studied to compromise (often significantly) on what they expected from intimate relationships with the fathers of their kids? How did this differ for their relationships with non-biological fathers?
What positives and negatives do mothers experience in the recruitment of parental kin?
Chapter 25
Pugh
Why do poor parents often spend a greater percentage of their income on their children than wealthier parents do on theirs?
How did kids of low-income parents think about or explain the money their parents did or didn't have? What does Pugh mean when she says that poverty and racism affect how luck is experienced?
What are some of the behavioral disadvantages Pugh sees to windfall child rearing?
Pugh describes an instance where a low-income neighbor paid for a child to have a treat when the child's own mother refused the child's request. Pugh argues that such an instance would have been perceived very differently in a middle-class environment. Why?
Chapter 26
Cotter, England, and Hermsen
Which women are most likely to stay home with their children? Why is this finding surprising?
Why do the authors disagree with the assertion that mothers are "opting out" of paid employment?
What factors account for the rise in women's employment since 1960?
Why do Cotter, England, and Hermsen argue that the theory that women will stay home with their kids when they are financially able to is misguided? What evidence do they use to support their argument?
Chapter 27
Kimmel
Why does Kimmel argue that the imbalance between "problem" boys and "problem" girls is a "deceptive distinction?"
Kimmel argues that many gender trends are actually about race and class. What is an example of a social issue popularly attributed to gender that is actually better explained by race and/or class?
What is the actual reason boys are not motivated to pursue subjects in the humanities, according to Kimmel?
Why does Kimmel advocate asking "which boys?" when we evaluate the current "crisis" among boys?
Chapter 28
Gates
Gates argues that several myths dominate our perceptions of gays and lesbians with children in the U.S. What are some of these myths? What evidence does Gates use to challenge these perceptions?
What region of the country has experienced the greatest increases in same-sex couples since 2000?
How does the lack of marriage and adoption rights affect lesbian and gay families in particular?
Chapter 29
Lareau
How do children's leisure activities contribute to their future class location?
What does Lareau mean by the terms "cultural repertoire" and "cultural logic?"
What skills are middle-class parents trying to instill in their children through "concerted cultivation?" What assumptions about how the world works underlie this child rearing strategy?
Lareau argues that kids raised with concerted cultivation gain a sense of entitlement in regards to institutions, while children raised with the "natural growth" viewpoint develop a sense of constraint in institutions. Why? Explain her argument.
Why does Lareau think that many parents feel so much pressure to engage in "concerted cultivation." Can you bring forward any evidence from other readings in the book to support or challenge her argument?
Chapter 30
Richie
According to Richie, what have been some of the unintended consequences of the "it can happen to anyone" framing of the antiviolence movement?
Why does relying on law enforcement to counter gender violence disadvantage poor women and women of color in particular?
Do you agree that having greater racial equality in leadership would change the strategy of the antiviolence movement? Why or why not?
Chapter 31
Nemoto
Why does Nemoto argue that traditional gender roles are "racialized" in many relationships between Asian-American women and white-American men?
How do the Asian-American women Nemoto interviews react to boyfriends idealizing Asian culture? Why do these women feel this way?
Nemoto argues that we use intimacy to form our identities. What does she mean by this? How do race, ethnicity, immigration, and class affect how we use intimacy to construct our identities?
What do white-American men symbolize for each of the four women Nemoto discusses in this chapter?
Can you think of other instances in which our most personal expressions of attraction and desire are structured by racial and class inequalities?
Chapter 32
Rockquemore and Brunsma
On what grounds did advocacy groups argue for a multiracial category on the U.S. Census? On what grounds was their argument challenged by civil rights groups?
The authors argue biracial people inhabit a "border identity." Give an example of a border identity that Rockquemore and Brunsma do not discuss.
Rockquemore and Brunsma argue that biracial individuals often have a racial self-identity that does not match others' racial identification of them. What do they mean? What examples do they give to show this disjuncture?
After reading Rockquemore and Brunsma's chapter, do you think a multiracial category should be included in the U.S. Census? Why or why not?
Chapter 33
Gerstel and Sarkisian
In what ways do policy suggestions aimed at supporting the nuclear family miss many of the experiences of families of color?
Why do Gerstel and Sarkisian argue that class is a better explanation than race in explaining the differences in extended family ties by race? What evidence do they give to support their position? What evidence can you provide from the book to suggest that class is more important than race? What evidence supports the contrary assertion? How would you resolve the issue of the relative importance of race, class, and culture in explaining people's family behaviors?
Why do the authors say that marriage is an often "greedy" institution?
How do governmental programs such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and Medicaid routinely discriminate against kinship patterns found more often among families of color? What solution do Gerstel and Sarkisian propose to rectify this?
Chapter 34
Jacobs and Gerson
Common consensus holds that Americans are working longer hours than ever before, causing strain at work and at home. Jacobs and Gerson argue that this idea is true for only some Americans. Which ones? Which group of Americans experiences a very different relationship to work time?
How does downsizing affect those at divergent levels of the "occupational ladder" differently?
Why is a one-size-fits-all policy solution to the time pressures Americans experience at work unlikely to be effective, according to Jacobs and Gerson?
Which of Jacobs and Gerson's policy suggestions do you think would offer most support to all American families? Which suggestion is most likely to address the work-family imbalances many Americans experience?
Jacobs and Gerson argue that gender equality should be a key aim in new work-family policy. Why?