„Gender and Cross-cultural studies“
WS 2005/06
Prof. Dr. Sabine Walper
Presenters: Jennifer Runde, Gabriel Sachs Sarah Schneider 15 November 2005
Fertility patterns and the value of children
I. Demographic transition and fertility decline
Demographic transition: Societies progress from a pre-modern regime of high fertility and high
mortality to a post-modern regime of low fertility and low mortality. This shift is becoming a
universal phenomenon, in which every country may be placed during the continuous progress in
the transition.
Sanderson S.K. and Dubrow, J.1 tested three important theories of fertility decline:
Theory 1: Fertilty decline depends on
• The economic value of children`s labor (Harris, 1989; Harris & Ross, 1987)
o Fertility is low when the economic value shifts from positive to negative.
Theory 2: Fertilty decline depends on
• The level of infant mortality (Carey/ Lopreato, 1995):
o Fertility rates are adjusted to the rate of infant survival: where infant mortality is
high, fertility is high; where infant mortality is low, fertility is low.
Theory 3: Fertilty decline depends on
• Female empowerment (Penn, 1999; Dyson/ Moore 1983)
o Fertility is low, when women gain more autonomy and control over their own lives
while gender discrimination and gender bias in the marriage system have positive
effects on fertility (Malhotra/ Vanneman/ Kishor, 1995).
Results of the study: An excellent predictor of fertilty decline is infant mortality and a good
predictor is female empowerment.
II. Factors influencing the relationship between female labor and
fertiltiy2
It is often assumed that there is a relationship between female labor participation and fertility
decline. However, not everywhere in the world we can find this relationship. Therefore some
researchers have tried to find interfering factors that modify the relationship between work and
fertility rate.
1. Possible interfering factors:
• In confrontational relationships the variable power determines if there is a correlation
between work and fertility
o the more dominant the woman is in the couple (the more she decides what the
family is going to do) the more her working decreases her fertility rate
o if she is not very dominant her working does not decrease her fertility rate
1
Sanderon, S.K.& Dubrow, J. (2000). Fertility decline in the modern world and in the original demographic
transition: Testing three theories with cross-national data. Population and Environment: A Journal of
Interdisciplinary Studies, 21(6), 511-537).
2
Isvan, Niluefer (2001). Productive and reproductive decisions in Turkey: The role of domestic bargaining.
1
• In nonconfrontational relationships the variable autonomy determines if there is a
correlation between work and fertility
o the more autonomous the working woman is (the more she decides on her own) the
more her working decreases her fertility rate
o if she is not very autonomous her working does not decrease her fertility rate
2. Explication of terms:
A confrontational relationship is where conflicting interests are likely to lead to open
confrontations with the spouses. (f. e. USA)
A nonconfrontional relationship describes a setting where a conflict rarely leads to
confrontation, but rather each spouse tries to reach his goal without the partner knowing it.This is
the case in societies where there are gender specific spheres in which each spouse acts fairly
autonomous. (f. e. Turkey)
III. Women without Children: A Contradiction in Terms?3
• The typical nuclear family is not the practised norm anymore.
• Childhood, as a distinct psychosocial category and motherhood as a social role for women
(instead of a sexual reproductive role) are rather recent inventions.
1. Origin of the modern ideology of ‘motherhood’ and ‘childhood’
• The protestant reformation during the fifteenth century focused on strengthening the
affective ties between family members, love and comfort within marriage, children seen as
innocent in need of spiritual and moral development
2. Voluntary childless women:
• All societies value childbearing over childlessness (Jones and Brayfield, 1997)
• Research shows that voluntary childlessness is still negatively stereotyped
• Motivations for remaining childfree are: multiple, complex and variant
3. Feminist approaches to women’s sexual reproduction:
• In feminist contemporary research womanhood is strongly associated with motherhood.
Women who reject motherhood are viewed as both infantile and un-feminine.
• Much of contemporary feminist theorising on motherhood reproduces biological theories of
gender, despite that one of its central goals was to challenge this theories.
• The assumption that all mothers are similarly and share the same experience is not true (it
varies between and within culture).
• Feminist’s valorisation of childbirth and child rearing depend upon a problematic
association between femininity and sexual reproduction.
Author’s conclusion: there is no such thing as the women giving birth or the mother
The authors seek a theorisation of womanhood independent of motherhood
IV. Discussion
• Could you think of other reasons on fertility decline not mentioned in the theories?
• Could you think of other factors that influence the relationship between female labor and
fertility decline ?
• What do you think about the compatibility of work and childbearing?
• What is your opinion of intentionally childless women?
• What do you think of the statement that women who aren`t mothers aren`t real women?
3
Hird, M.; Abshoff, K. (2000). Women without children: a contradiction in terms? Journal of Comparative
Family Studies, 31, 347-366
2