IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v31y2024i4p1250-1267.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An ideology of collective‐intensive mothering: The gendered organization of care in a babysitting cooperative

Author

Listed:
  • Kim Price‐Glynn

Abstract

Babysitting cooperatives offer reciprocity‐based short‐term childcare for members. In practice, the babysitting cooperative (co‐op) under study has contradictory outcomes that both relieve and burden its participants. This study is based on ethnographic methods: 4 years of participant observation, 28 in‐depth interviews with 18 members and 10 spouses and an analysis of babysitting co‐op texts. This research extends the ideology of intensive mothering to include collective‐intensive mothering, a group form of intensified caregiving reproduced by the babysitting co‐op's gendered organization of care. To accomplish collective‐intensive mothering, babysitting co‐op members employ intensive mothering beliefs and practices in conjunction with other group members. What is more, co‐op members collectively intensify their mothering practices with other members' children in addition to their own. Given need for more (and better) caregiving alternatives, the lack of scholarly attention to unpaid cooperative caregiving groups, like babysitting co‐ops, is surprising. This research seeks to address this gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim Price‐Glynn, 2024. "An ideology of collective‐intensive mothering: The gendered organization of care in a babysitting cooperative," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1250-1267, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:31:y:2024:i:4:p:1250-1267
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12825
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12825
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12825?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alison Edgley, 2021. "Maternal presenteeism: Theorizing the importance for working mothers of “being there” for their children beyond infancy," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 1023-1039, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sara Gilbert Loftus, 2023. "Beyond the institution versus home care dichotomy: Lessons from a feeding‐tube medical home," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(6), pages 2155-2174, November.
    2. Karen Maria Handley, 2023. "Troubling gender norms on Mumsnet: Working from home and parenting during the UK's first COVID lockdown," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 999-1014, May.
    3. Helen Delaney & Katie R. Sullivan, 2021. "The political is personal: Postfeminism and the construction of the ideal working mother," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1697-1710, July.
    4. Awish Aslam & Tracey L. Adams, 2022. "“The workload is staggering”: Changing working conditions of stay‐at‐home mothers under COVID‐19 lockdowns," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 1764-1778, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:31:y:2024:i:4:p:1250-1267. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.