Chapter Two Reflections thirty years on
Abstract
Many people wrestle with a sense of being caught between two worlds. This is particularly true of women and other migrants and asylum seekers. It is also the hallmark of the history inherited by sociologists brought up in the twin British traditions of well-meaning empiricism and privileged academic obscurantism. Is sociology a socially useful activity? Should it be? What is the role of the academic professor, confined in the narrow spaces of ‘his’ university and deeply committed to the value of ideas?
Having decided I wanted primarily to be a creative writer, I went to Oxford in 1962 to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics in the mistaken belief that these subjects constitute a form of social science which, as we all know, is close to fiction. Over the ensuing 40 years, I have been successively impressed by four aspects of British sociology. The first is its masculinity. The second is its addiction to theory for theory’s sake; the third is the impressive neglect by British sociologists of well-designed experiments as an aid to sociological understanding; and the fourth, linked, issue is that of methodological warfare, which has been (and remains) a major distraction.
The key founding fathers, mentors and practitioners introduced to me as a student were all men; and masculine names, theories and positions have continued to dominate. A.H. Halsey’s survey supports this view: the important mentors and key 20th-century sociologists named by 216 living British sociology professors (themselves 81.1% male) are also all male (Halsey, 2004, pp 169-71). But, of course, who does sociology and who is remembered for doing it is only one index of its character.
Abstract
Many people wrestle with a sense of being caught between two worlds. This is particularly true of women and other migrants and asylum seekers. It is also the hallmark of the history inherited by sociologists brought up in the twin British traditions of well-meaning empiricism and privileged academic obscurantism. Is sociology a socially useful activity? Should it be? What is the role of the academic professor, confined in the narrow spaces of ‘his’ university and deeply committed to the value of ideas?
Having decided I wanted primarily to be a creative writer, I went to Oxford in 1962 to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics in the mistaken belief that these subjects constitute a form of social science which, as we all know, is close to fiction. Over the ensuing 40 years, I have been successively impressed by four aspects of British sociology. The first is its masculinity. The second is its addiction to theory for theory’s sake; the third is the impressive neglect by British sociologists of well-designed experiments as an aid to sociological understanding; and the fourth, linked, issue is that of methodological warfare, which has been (and remains) a major distraction.
The key founding fathers, mentors and practitioners introduced to me as a student were all men; and masculine names, theories and positions have continued to dominate. A.H. Halsey’s survey supports this view: the important mentors and key 20th-century sociologists named by 216 living British sociology professors (themselves 81.1% male) are also all male (Halsey, 2004, pp 169-71). But, of course, who does sociology and who is remembered for doing it is only one index of its character.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Sources of extracts iv
- Foreword by Germaine Greer vi
- Preface ix
-
Sex and gender
- Introduction 2
- The difference between sex and gender 7
- Genes and gender 13
- A kind of person 21
- Childhood lessons 31
- Science, gender and women’s liberation 41
-
Housework and family life
- Introduction 54
- On studying housework 59
- Images of housework 63
- Work conditions 75
- Standards and routines 87
- Marriage and the division of labour 93
- Helping with baby 103
- Housework in history and culture 109
-
Childbirth, motherhood and medicine
- Introduction 118
- The agony and the ecstasy 123
- Lessons mothers learn 139
- Medical maternity cases 151
- Mistakes and mystiques of motherhood 179
-
Doing social science
- Introduction 184
- The invisible woman: sexism in sociology 189
- Reflections thirty years on 207
- On being interviewed 211
- Interviewing women: a contradiction in terms? 217
- Who’s afraid of the randomized controlled trial? Some dilemmas of the scientific method and ‘good’ research practice 233
- Paradigm wars: some thoughts on a personal and public trajectory 245
- General bibliography 251
- Bibliography of work by Ann Oakley 281
- Ann Oakley: further reading 285
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Sources of extracts iv
- Foreword by Germaine Greer vi
- Preface ix
-
Sex and gender
- Introduction 2
- The difference between sex and gender 7
- Genes and gender 13
- A kind of person 21
- Childhood lessons 31
- Science, gender and women’s liberation 41
-
Housework and family life
- Introduction 54
- On studying housework 59
- Images of housework 63
- Work conditions 75
- Standards and routines 87
- Marriage and the division of labour 93
- Helping with baby 103
- Housework in history and culture 109
-
Childbirth, motherhood and medicine
- Introduction 118
- The agony and the ecstasy 123
- Lessons mothers learn 139
- Medical maternity cases 151
- Mistakes and mystiques of motherhood 179
-
Doing social science
- Introduction 184
- The invisible woman: sexism in sociology 189
- Reflections thirty years on 207
- On being interviewed 211
- Interviewing women: a contradiction in terms? 217
- Who’s afraid of the randomized controlled trial? Some dilemmas of the scientific method and ‘good’ research practice 233
- Paradigm wars: some thoughts on a personal and public trajectory 245
- General bibliography 251
- Bibliography of work by Ann Oakley 281
- Ann Oakley: further reading 285
- Index 295
