All the Choice and All the Responsibilities: an Exploration of the Agency Perceived by Women with Children Around Their Childbearing
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COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright ALL THE CHOICES AND ALL THE RESPONSIBILITIES: AN EXPLORATION OF THE AGENCY PERCEIVED BY WOMEN WITH CHILDREN AROUND THEIR CHILDBEARING Donna M. Y. Read Faculty of Rural Management The University of Sydney A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 For my mum Joyce Louise Read (1925-1999) I miss her every day i ABSTRACT This thesis presents findings from an exploratory study of agency around childbearing perceived by women with children from a feminist perspective. Feminism appears to be divided about women’s agency in regard to childbearing. Having a child tends to subsume the needs of women, therefore some feminists have linked it with oppression. Conversely motherhood, when chosen, has been seen by other feminists as a special experience that reinforced a woman’s sense of self-worth. Contemporary women’s childbearing has confusedly been portrayed as chosen but constrained and also a duty. Most recently women have been considered to have a duty to reproduce to stimulate economic growth. Furthermore, a plethora of fertility theories have been put forward to explain recent declining fertility but these have found to be incapable of explaining fertility trends and the complexity of childbearing negotiations. Amongst these deliberations women’s interests tend to get lost. This research attempts to explore women’s interests. A total of 26 women each of whom had at least one child of nine years of age or younger from in and around Orange, NSW took part in the research. Data was collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups. As agency is ill-defined within sociology, seven criteria for recognising agency were constructed from a review of sociological theory. The criteria were: 1/ The individual‘s preferences are not constrained by circumstances although circumstances may facilitate preferences; 2/ The individual is able to act independently regardless of social pressure but this does not necessarily mean acting contrary to social pressures; 3/ The individual‘s actions are intentional, with an intended outcome; 4/ The individual can freely make choices; 5/ The individual is able to self-define; 6/ The individual is reflexive (i.e. is structurally- and self-aware, self-monitors and critically appraises their actions); and 7/ The individual is able to manipulate their circumstances and social context to enable their preferences to be achieved. These criteria were used as a series of lenses through which the data were viewed. This approach allowed for the explanatory powers of theories to be compared. The findings show that women’s agency around childbearing was intermittent and imperfect but not completely absent. Important to the discourse of choice prevalent in the popular media and expounded by economic rationalists, the concept of choice ii was shown to be simplistic. Rather the women described complex negotiations between biological factors, social influences and personal preferences. This research demonstrates that despite making some progress in workforce participation, women’s expected role in the home curtailed their carer expectations. The thesis furthers understanding of women’s childbearing agency, has implications for public policy, provides insights into the relevance of sociological theories to women who have children and provides a novel methodological approach for assessing agency. iii DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not incorporate, without acknowledgment, any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. It does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. This dissertation or thesis does not exceed 100,000 words exclusive of front matter, bibliography and appendices. Signed: iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very aware that despite this thesis ultimately being my work, for which I get the recognition, it wouldn’t have happened without a team who so graciously assisted me. I would first like to thank the wonderful women who generously gave their time to take part in this research. I will be forever in their debt; their candidness has made this thesis possible. Just as deserving of my gratitude are my fantastic supervisors Judith Crockett and Robyn Mason. Their unwavering encouragement, belief in my work and guidance has been pivotal to my production of this thesis. It has been quite a journey in which life has thrown challenges at us all: birth, death, illness and divorce. Thanks must also go to Geoff Watson, whose supervisory skills and encouragement helped to launch me on my journey. Karilyn Gilchrist’s dedication above and beyond the call of duty has also been much appreciated. Over my years of candidature her help with negotiating the administrative protocols (complicated by a two tiered system that came into play when Orange campus changed from the University of Sydney’s hands to Charles Sturt University) has made my life immeasurably easier. I am also very appreciative of her proofreading skills. I would not have made it this far without the support, company and laughter of some very good friends both inside the university and out. The coffees, lunches, dinners and other social gatherings have helped me get some balance in my life and preserved my sanity. I appreciate the friendship of you all. Importantly though, Jan Farrell, Dave Farrell and Sue Bentley should especially be thanked for getting me through some dark times. Lastly I thank my muses, Sean and Naomi, had I never given birth to them I may have never done this research. Certainly without them, my research would have been very different. v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... II DECLARATION ...................................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ XIII LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. XIII CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE SCENE ................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ......................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Women’s place ............................................................................................ 4 1.2.2 Population concerns ................................................................................... 7 1.2.3 Fighting for position ................................................................................. 10 1.2.4 Fertility control ......................................................................................... 14 1.3 FERTILITY TRENDS AND WOMEN’S WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION TRENDS .......... 16 1.4 THE THESIS ........................................................................................................ 22 1.4.1 The research question and objective ......................................................... 22 1.4.2 Thesis map ................................................................................................. 23 1.4.3 Writing the thesis ...................................................................................... 24 1.5 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 2: (RE)VIEWING THE TERRAIN ................................................... 27 2.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 27 2.2 PRIVATE AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................. 28 2.3 FERTILITY THEORY ............................................................................................ 29 2.4 FEMINISTS’ PERSPECTIVES ................................................................................. 31 2.5 EMPIRICAL STUDIES........................................................................................... 34 2.6 CONCLUSION