‘Family’ gets new meaning
Prof, says it isn’t just
Mom, Pop and kids
By Joan Herman
Of th* Emerald
The traditional view of “The Family" as a
rigid, unchanging institution with a primary
function of procreation not only limits living
alternatives, but also has serious economic
consequences for women, said a Michigan
State University sociology professor Tuesday
night.
Two words — The Family — imply a
singular entity, with housewife Mom, breadwin
ner Pop, Dick, Jane, Puff and Spot.
Yet only 16 percent of all families fit this
traditional conception, said Barrie Thorne, who
left her Michigan post to become a visiting
sociology and feminism professor at Stanford
University this year.
Thorne’s lecture is sponsored by the
Center for the Study of Women in Society. She
speaks today on a similar topic, “Girls and
Boys Together But Mostly Apart: Gender Ar
rangements in Elementary Schools,” at 3:30
p.m. in Room 204 Condon.
The family crises differ, depending on
who’s talking. President Reagan often says he
works in "defense of the family," Thorne said.
"But what does that mean?"
For the Phyllis Schafleys, it means protec
ting the family “against feminism, lesbian and
gay rights, woman’s employment and daycare.”
Their notion of family crisis developed
from a “yearning for qualities they’re afraid will
be gone forever if we continue like we are,” she
said.
Yet the actual family crises, such as work
overload for employed mothers and im
poverishment for families headed by single
women, are ignored by the New Right, Thorne
said.
In fact, the New Right contributes to these
crises by supporting the illegalization of abor
tion and the denial of contraception to
Barrie Thorne
teenagers.
“Built into the economy’s organization is
the belief most women have husbands who
support them,” Thorne said. “This belief
justified paying women less, often by giving
them lower-paying service work.”
The consequences of this economic ine
quality are more impoverished women than
men.
Today more than two-thirds of families
headed by single women are considered im
poverished. If these trends continue, women
will comprise virtually all the impoverished by
the year 2000, Thorne said.
The feminist movement’s efforts to
redefine the family may eventually alleviate
some of the problems nourished by traditional
thinking, she said.
“Feminists don’t presume there is only
one type of family,” Thorne told the
predominantly female audience. “They offer a
pluralistic vision of looking at the family.”
Like all other institutions in society, the
family evolves. This variation is not new,
Thorne said.
“I’m not wedded to the idea we should all
live in only one way.”
Headline mistake
misleads readers
Due to a copy editor’s error, a headline that appeared
in Tuesday’s Emerald was misleading.
The headline “University quality ‘poor’ ” did not
reflect the content of the article, nor did it express the
views of anyone quoted in the article.
The article’s emphasis was that while University fun
ding has been “poor,” the University has been able to
maintain a very high-quality level, with top national rank
ings in molecular biology, psychology and biochemistry.
University Pres. Paul Olum, to whom the headline was
attributed, has consistently praised the quality of the
University’s academic programs.
The Emerald regrets any confusion or misrepresenta
tion the headline may have caused.
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