The Housewife as Carer

Sociological studies on the housewife developed first from the point of view of role theory, and then from historical perspective. In other words, this transition can be perceived as one from 'expressive leader'to 'domestic labour'. But these two approaches are surprisingly similar in that the activities of the housewife are structurally isolated from society, which, in turn, is derived from the structural isolation of family from society.Parsons is the most famous proponent of this argument, which Litwak has refused by clearly showing that family is connected with society in terms of domestic activities.If the family is connected with society, then, the housewife should not be isolated from society either. We notice that we have only one category for analyzing the way towards society, i.e. occupation. We need another category which can analyze the connection between domestic activities and society, and the author believes that the concept of 'carer' as the role of housewife as suggested by G. Allan, is tenable. Housewives perform diverse activities at home. Child and elder care especially require housewives to relate with many different people and agencies. It should be clear, therefore, that housewives mediate between family and outside society.Finally, the role of carer is compared to that of expressive leader and domestic labour.