Description
Book SynopsisInterviews the women in one US Region to study their roles, activities, and self-images. The author shows that although these women are economically and socially powerful, they are for the most part, unliberated, being subservient to their husbands and to their duty to bear and raise children.
Trade Review"This book, which steers clear of the society page report and the scandal sheet, is especially welcome. It gives us an objective picture of the kinds of lives upper-class women live, allowing us to see what the 'political economy' looks like from their unique perch and what their part is in maintaining it. A good corrective to the media image of upper-class women."
—Jessie Bernard
"As the first research based on systematic in-depth interviews with upper-class women, Ostrander's study offers us a rich and nuanced view of how these women understand their role in public life, their class position, their hopes and fears for their children, and their points of conflict with and accommodation to their husbands."
—Contemporary Sociology
"A major contribution to our understanding of both gender and class power."
—G. William Domhoff, University of California
Table of Contents Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: the Upper-Class Woman
2. The Meaning of Upper Class
3. Wife
4. Mother
5. Club Member
6. Community volunteer
7. Tensions and Contradictions
Appendix A: Description of Sample
Appendix B: Interview Guides
Notes
Bibliography
