The Second Shift

1.) What is the second shift? The second shift according to the reading is the job away from the regular nine to five. The second shift consists of the labor dedicated to the up keep of the household like the laundry , cooking ,shopping, cleaning, repairs, landscaping etc.

2.) Nancy and Evan both work full time jobs they have a young child and they both are clearly stressed. Nancy does a majority of the house work as well as care for their son Joey. There is a major leisure gap between Nancy and Evan. Like most women unfortunately Nancy is responsible for a majority of the house work and child rearing. Nancy and Evan try to fix there issues but can't seem to get on the same page. Nancy is clearly the one that is most affected by the second shift. Evan has typical views for women and their role in the household and as care givers. Nancy grew up in a household were her mom was depressed and had low self esteem do to her fathers views on the role of a wife. She fears that she will be like her mother if this burden continues.

3.) The family myth that Nancy and Evan created broke down the household cleaning duties. Nancy would clean the up stairs which included the living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and two bath rooms. The down stairs which Evan was responsible for cleaning consisted of the garage which included the car, and the family pet.

4.) The myth was created in order to create an illusion that the household duties were being divided equally amongst Nancy and Evan which was certainly not the case.

5.) The reading wasn't that surprising to me I have seen this type of lifestyle on many occasions in my life. Most women in my family partake in a overwhelming second shift including my mother. When I am married and have my own house I plan on helping out when I can and make sure my wife doesn't get stressed out with the second shift. I plan on being most responsible for the exterior of the house while still helping with cooking, laundry, and child care. As my kids get older they will become more responsible for things like dishes, laundry, garbage etc. I will make sure I help out as much as possible so the second shift can be balanced.