Discussion questions for "The Daddy Shift"

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Brielle

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Apr 15, 2010, 12:10:56 AM4/15/10

to San Diego Feminist Book Group

Hi everyone,

Here are some discussion questions for our book group next Friday.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

-Brielle

Smith speculates on several reasons for “the daddy shift”. Which ones
seemed most influential?

Just as some men have taken on more caregiving and domestic work, some
women have taken on the role of sole or primary breadwinner. What are
the barriers to women being the primary breadwinners?

Smith describes policies in countries like Germany and Sweden that
have encouraged men to take more leave and spend more time with their
children. Why do you think it’s been difficult to enact similar
policies in the U.S.?

A large chunk of this book was dedicated to interviews with “stay-at-
home” dads and their breadwinning partners. What features of these
families did you find particularly striking? Do you think these
families are representative of the broader population? Why or why
not?

Smith talks in Chapter 8 about men’s ability to make a time and place
for themselves, separate from their childcare duties. He is of the
opinion that women are often not as able to make that time for
themselves. Do you agree with this and why or why not?

Do you think that the daddy shift is a social movement or something
else? Why?

How likely is it that men will someday be caught in an equivalent of
the cultural “mommy wars” that women have been subject to in the last
half century?