Lynn Spigel's Domesticating Patriarchy

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Lynn Spigel explores the Domestication Economy of Television Viewing in Postwar America published in 1989. She used magazine advertisements as a source of historical evidence to examine the link between television and gender domestication (Spigel 337). Her essay is a “response to the conflation of labor and leisure time at home” (337). The public sphere was constructed as a space of productive labour while the home was seen as a site of relaxation and consumption (338). For men, television viewing was most often depicted in terms of a posture of relaxation, while the female body often engaged in productive activities, which challenges “Western society’s normative conception of masculinity and femininity” (348-349). How can housework be perceived …show more content…

Mom,” published by Mary Vavrus in 2002. While an increased number of women entered the workforce in the U.S, stay-at-home fathers drastically rose to 1, 273, 000 in 1998 (Vavrus 355). If housewives are expected to be the natural caregivers of the family, how could the media normalize male nurturance and domesticity as properly masculine behaviours? Vavrus cited news coverage for evidence between 1995 and 1999; these stories featured psychologists and psychiatrists who commented on the social and familial effects of men raising their children (359). Later, I presented a 2012 ABC news video about stay-at-home dads, but due to technical difficulties, we could not discuss the footage. I was going to ask the class to identify what methods the media use to legitimize male nurturance. For instance, testimony from these fathers asserted the difficulties involved with being a househusband (362). Aside from television, film can provide a humorous outlook and reference point for stay at home fathers. For example, “Mr. Mom” stars Michael Keaton who experiences depression, frustration, and perceived emasculation after he is laid off as an engineer, but gradually becomes a better parent (335). Subsequently, ‘Boot Camps for Dads’ became institutionalized on the television screen (364). The militarized title of the program challenges hegemonic masculinity, but it also reaffirms that women are the natural caregivers (364). In addition, “the absence of homosexual fathers suggests that their presence threatens the relationship between masculinity and child-rearing” (363). Those who have the choice to keep one parent at home also presumes class privilege that only a minority of parents possess (360). Overall, news coverage has enabled men to become target audiences for household and child-oriented products just as women were (356). What struck me

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