The Female World of Cards And Holidays

Two theoretical trends have been key in this reintrepretion of women's work and family domain. The first trend is the increased visibility of women's non-market activities such as house-work child care, and the caring for men as labor. Also another key trend that shifted the view of women work is their responsibility of maintaining kinship relationships unpaid job.

Many feminist interpreters have divergent views of which trend is more important; the labor or the kin-centered perspective. Kessler Harris suggest that women historically wanted higher paying jobs but because of sex discrimination, they could not receive them. On the contrary, Rosenberg argues that in the 19 century, women made a "women culture" cultivated through their social networks. This women culture is what makes women more bound to nurture rather than pursue high paid employment.

Micaela Di Leonardo introduces a new concept that combines both or these former polarizing arguments together. She creates theory of the work of kinship which both assist empirical feminist research on women, work, and family while also advancing the feminist theory in kinship.

Di Leonardo conducted research among Italian American community in Northern California observing the relationship between women's kinship and economic lives. Through her observation Di Leonardo was able to see that these women were involved in three types of work: house work and childcare, work in the labor market, and the work of kinship.

Kinship work refers to the maintenance, ritual celebrations, communication across different households. Women were the people in charge of maintaining family communication ties and also hosting events to bring different the non-nuclear family together. Men did little in helping in maintain kinship ties. Women mostly negotiated amongst themselves on where,when, and how they were going to get their families together.

As a result of the all women interactions in kinship relationships led to a hierarchy within the network. Depending on the task you performed dictated your power in the hierarchy; for example, if you had Christmas dinner at your house, you held an important role in the kinship network because Christmas (for most) is a major holiday. Acquiring large kinship roles made women feel good about themselves but also made women who did not have the positions feel guilty.

Di Leonardo, also argues that women seldom mention kinship being a major concern compared to housework, childcare, or waged labor because kinship responsibilities are unlabeled. Though kinship work competes with other types of labors women must do, many women feel it is the easiest to cut back on. However, women do not realize the guilt that comes with failing to keep kinship ties. This guilt usually kept wives from abandoning kinship relationships forcing them to lose something else, ie labor.

Though Di Leonardo researched a Italian American family, the states that these kinship ties occurs different groups also. Though the holidays families gather around and how they communicate with other kin may change, in all cases women are ones carrying it out. In fact, Di Leonardo claims that kinship work is a responsibility that is more universal than both labor work and childcare when compare across race, class, region, and generational lines.

The concept of kin work focuses on the unacknowledged responsibilities that is assigned to women in our modern society. Revealing this kinship labor can help dismantle this dichotomy of kinship or labor issues and show that they work hand and hand. Also until we try to address them both together, we can not solve the problem women encounter.

Before reading this article, I personally never thought about the responsibility of kinship maintenance. I also expect an grand thanksgiving but never realized how much work that day and days like it takes to coordinate relatives to come over for dinner. This definately opened and my eyes to a new privilege I have as a man.