"Gender and Social Reproduction: Historical Perspectives"

by Laslett, Barbara; Brenner, Johanna (1989)

Abstract

This paper defines the concepts of gender and social reproduction as developed in feminist theory and discusses their utility for synthesizing recent historical research on women. We review literature on the emergence, institutionalization, and reorganization of "separate spheres" in nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe and North America. Focusing on social class differences in family strategies, procreation, sexuality, consumerism, professionalization, and state policy, we argue that the organization of gender relations and social reproduction crucially shaped macrohistorical processes,as well as being shaped by them.

Key Passage

How food, clothing, and shelter are made available for immediate consumption, the ways in which the care and socialization of children are provided, the care of the infirm and elderly, and the social organization of sexuality. Social reproduction can thus be seen to include various kinds of work – mental, manual, and emotional – aimed at providing the historically and socially, as well as biologically, defined care necessary to maintain existing life and to reproduce the next generation. And the organization of social reproduction refers to the varying institutions within which this work is performed, the varying strategies for accomplishing these tasks, and the varying ideologies that both shape and are shaped by them, p.382–383.

Links to Reference

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.15.080189.002121
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12316382
• https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.so.15.080189.002121
• https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.so.15.080189.002121

Citation

Share