Summary
Contents
Subject index
Today women find themselves playing an ever-increasing role in caring for older family members who are frail, developmentally disabled, or suffering from serious mental illness. While this has role of women as caregivers has been documented, the actual impact on the lives of women has remained largely unstudied. In this volume, the authors examine caregiving as a central feminist issue, looking at its impact on women socially, personally, and economically. The authors review how changing family structures, the changing economy and workforce, and the changing health care demands of needy adults have impacted on women's lives. They critique existing public and private policies, demonstrating a need for fundamental structural changes in social institutions and attitudes to improve the lives of women. Finally, they propose a social model of care that is oriented toward gender justice–recognition of the work of caring and its impact upon women socially, personally, and economically. For students, scholars and practitioners in the field of gerontology, gender studies, and social work, this book is a must.
Toward a Feminist Agenda for Family Caregivers
In setting forth a feminist agenda, the authors are proposing a profound rethinking of how the problem of caregiving is defined and policy solutions are formulated, or as Dalley (1988) notes, “to contemplate alternatives to today's accepted wisdom” (p. 149). The reader may initially react that such an agenda is impractical at best and impossible at worst, given limited public resources; underlying cultural values of familism, individualism, and independence; and human beings' general tendency to resist change. The authors contend, however, that thinking about something in a different way is a necessary first step to action in what is undoubtedly a long-range undertaking. It is acknowledged that the gender-based division of caregiving ...
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