ABSTRACT
Ten years ago the women’s movement put the traditional nuclear family on trial and declared it oppressive to women. Entrapment as housewives and mothers was targeted as key to female oppression. A prime focus, both theoretical and strategic, was to free women from their iron apron strings. Some women, particularly radical feminists, called for a boycott of women’s involvement with marriage, men, or motherhood. According to psychological studies, anyone who can do the following can “mother” an infant: provide frequent and sustained physical contact, soothe the child when distressed, be sensitive to the baby’s signals, and respond to a baby’s crying promptly. Men and women are brought up for a different position in the labor force: the man for the world of work, the woman for the family. This difference in the sexual division of labour in society means that the relationship of men as a group to production is different from that of women.
