1 - The Rise and Decline of the Male Breadwinner Family? An Overview of the Debate

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In recent years feminist scholars have called for a complete rethinking and revision of the foundations of labour history as a necessary prerequisite for the integration of gender as a core concept into histories of labour and social class. In this attempt one of the most deeply rooted assumptions in male-oriented labour history needs to be identified and made subject to careful rethinking, namely the assumption that the public and the private sphere should be seen in terms of an essentially gendered opposition. Undoubtedly, one of the most powerful images used not only to represent but also to justify the gendering of the public and the private sphere is the image of the male breadwinner family and the male household head as the sole provider for his dependent wife and children. For this reason, the articles in this volume are all firmly at the heart of what may currently be seen as the crucial intersections in the history of labour, gender and social class.

At the same time, the male breadwinner family is the focus of many pressing academic and policy concerns, receiving ample attention from historians and social scientists alike. In a recent review article, Colin Creighton summarized the ongoing historical and sociological debates on the male breadwinner family, calling for integration and synthesis. It is tempting to relate this renewed interest in the male breadwinner family to its apparent demise in most parts of the Western world. Since roughly the 1960s or 1970s most Western countries have experienced a remarkable and substantial rise in female labour force participation. This is undeniably one of the major historical developments of the modern era.