ABSTRACT
Opting out was, for all the women I interviewed, an attempt to gain more power and control over their lives. Previous research on opting out has come to similar conclusions (see for example Marshall, 1995; Blair-Loy, 2003). Trying to consolidate two contrasting and contradictory ideologies and life philosophies – work and mothering – as described in Chapter 1, leaves women not only feeling exhausted but also feeling that there is very little they can do about it (Blair-Loy, 2003; Hays, 1996). They lack a sense of agency. For them, the goal of opting out is to be able to live, work and divide their time between work and other areas of life on their own terms; and they want to define these terms themselves.
