This Thursday, Dr. Jessica Flanigan, who holds the Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values at the University of Richmond, delivered a presentation entitled “Political Equality, Christianity, and the Family” as part of the BYU Global Women’s Studies lecture series.
Dr. Flanigan argued that, while the gendered division of labor in the family has traditionally been attacked by egalitarians, this was premised on an incorrect understanding of what gender equality means. An egalitarian society, she asserted, is not one in which men and women are statistically identical or socially interchangeable. If such a thing is even possible, it can only come about by a sacrifice of political equality–equal treatment under the law–it can only be the product of government coercion. Instead, true gender equality allows both men and women free choice in occupying the role in society that fits with their needs, desires, talents, and skills. Because men and women are physically different, and play different roles in reproduction, these will, on average, be different. As a result, a truly egalitarian society will be one where there is a gendered division of labor that frequently fits what are considered traditional family norms: a mother with primary responsibility for the care and nurturing of children, and a father who is primarily responsible for providing economically for the family unit.
To support her contention, Dr. Flanigan examined a few different cases. One notable example that provides support for the natural gendered division of labor is the Nordic countries, which have very strong social safety nets, provisions for childcare and maternal welfare and leave, and egalitarian societies. Even in this strongly egalitarian society, there is a strong division of labor both within families and between occupations: women are more likely to pursue professions involving caregiving, while men are more likely to pursue technical occupations. Likewise, Dutch women, in a society with similar economic support and egalitarian attitudes, choose to work less than men and with more flexible hours.
The final case Dr. Flanigan examined was the primitive Christian church, a highly egalitarian society that practiced communal property ownership. This society strongly valued unconditional exchange and uncompensated labor but also participated in the market outside of the church in order to support its members. This, she suggested, served as a useful parallel to the family. The family is a society that stands outside the market and requires unconditional exchange and uncompensated labor between its members in the form of childcare, etc., while needing to interact with the market economy for its own support. Such a society will tend to specialize- those who place a higher value on and are more skilled at unconditional exchange may prefer to exit the market completely, leaving market labor to the other party (the proceeds of that labor to be subsequently incorporated into the family unit in general on the principle of unconditional exchange). This arrangement, combined with the average natural differences of interest and aptitude, is what produces the gendered division of labor: not the result of oppression or false consciousness, but the result of allowing each sex to fully express its natural differences. And indeed, she noted, contrary to expectations, men in more conservative cultures perform more housework than men in egalitarian cultures because traditional cultures value uncompensated labor more.
Accordingly, Dr. Flanigan argued that those who oppose the gendered division of labor on egalitarian grounds should reconsider their position on it. The position of many modern feminists- that women should reject such a division of labor and seek for parity in economic and professional status, is premised on a questionable argument: that women and men should value economic success and public status equally. Instead, she asserted, both men and women should carefully question whether economic success and social status are truly the correct measure of individual and social success.
When asked by a Chronicle reporter if she had any comments on the importance of her message for BYU students, Dr. Flanigan replied that she believed that all university students should have more honest conversations about the tradeoffs and challenges of deciding what they value in their lives after college.
Written by: The Cougar Chronicle
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
