Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Sociology

Parenting

Macalester College

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Prescribing The Impossible: State Ideals Of Intensive Parenting, Francesca Vescia Dec 2018

Prescribing The Impossible: State Ideals Of Intensive Parenting, Francesca Vescia

Sociology Honors Projects

The state is a powerful force in private life; families that challenge its framework face erasure or sanction. From what ideals do these families deviate? This paper investigates that question in relation to childrearing. Through a content analysis of three court-approved parenting courses for separating or divorcing parents, I explore what constitutes proper parenting in the eyes of the state. Drawing from the literature on ideologies of family and self, I find courses 1) make efforts to explicitly challenge dominant ideologies of family and parenting while implicitly naturalizing them and 2) grapple to reconcile the logics of intensive parenting and …


The Mother-Love Myth: The Effect Of The Provider-Nurturer Dichotomy In Custody Cases, Kalie Caetano Feb 2012

The Mother-Love Myth: The Effect Of The Provider-Nurturer Dichotomy In Custody Cases, Kalie Caetano

The Macalester Review

This paper is a discursive analysis that evaluates the effect of gender stereotypes relating to parenting roles and how they have influenced custody cases. Specifically it looks at the historically gendered distinction between the provider (typically the father) and the nurturer (typically the mother) and speculates as to how those identities may have initially formed in US society, what changes they have undergone and how these stereotypes still affect family court outcomes in cases of divorce. Particular focus is given to an article appearing in Working Mother magazine entitled “Custody Lost,” detailing a new trend in custody cases, which allegedly …