The Mother‐Citizen and the Working Girl: First‐Wave Feminist Citizenship Claims in Canada and Discursive Opportunities for Twenty‐First Century Childcare Policy

L'État providence Canadien est déséquilibré: leader mondial dans certains domaines de l'investissement social—plus particulièrement en soins de santé et enseignement supérieur—il traîne dans d'autres domaines de la dépense d'aide sociale, y compris les politiques de garde d'enfants. Nous constatons qu'aujourd'hui la résistance dans la plupart des régions du Canada à la politique de garde d'enfants universel a des racines historiques profondes. Elle est de fait intégré dans le cadre même du bien‐être social canadien: le contrat de citoyenneté sociale. Nous employons une approche de “bas en haut” sur l'état du bien‐être en nous concentrant sur la façon dont les acteurs collectifs, en particulier, les féministes de la première vague et leurs contemporains au sein des organisations du mouvement ouvrier, ont encadrées et caractérisé la citoyenneté sociale féminine; Nous constatons que l'exclusion de l'adhésion des femmes employées tronque les possibilités discursives par lesquelles des revendications pour des provisions universelles de bien‐être sociale pourraient être apportées. Canada's welfare state is lopsided: while leading the world in some areas of social investment—most notably health care and higher education—it is a laggard in other areas of social welfare spending, including childcare policies. We find that policy resistance to universal childcare in most regions of Canada today has deep historical roots and is, indeed, embedded into the very framework of the Canadian welfare state: the social citizenship contract. We employ a “bottom‐up” perspective on the welfare state focusing on how collective actors, in particular, first‐wave feminists and their contemporaries within labor movement organizations, framed and characterized female social citizenship in ways that excluded employed women from full membership and, in this, truncated discursive opportunities by which claims for universal welfare state provisions could be made.     

Four Documents,a Non‐Citizen,and a Diplomatic Controversy: The Documentation of Identity in the Mid‐Nineteenth Century

A forgotten diplomatic controversy centered on the claim to U.S. protection by a yet‐to‐be‐naturalized citizen is analyzed to offer insights into the mid‐nineteenth century understanding of the status and function of the documentation of individual identity. It makes clear the documentation of identity had a contested and gradual development. Documentation was contested in that people (both officials and members of the public) struggled to understand how it was that a document identified a person. This uncertainty centered not only on who had the authority to document identity, but how that authority was represented on a document. Beyond its mid‐nineteenth century and U.S. focus this essay is intended to provide the context for an understanding of the administrative, bureaucratic, and social developments that had to occur before identification documents could play a pivotal role in the development of the twentieth century state. In this way it suggests that official identification is an important object of analysis for debates about the articulation of information and governing in state formation.     

Crime and Punishment in Canada: A Statistical Test of the “Conventional Wisdom”*

Trois propositions fondamentales qui traduisent les impressions populaires sur le crime et ses chatiments sont mises a l'epreuve dans une analyse regressive a l'aide des moindres carres. Voici les resultats obtenus: (a) le taux general de criminalite n'a pas augmente durant les annees 1950-66 si on met de cote les infractions mineures; (b) durant la meme periode les jugements ne furent pas moins severes et les disparites dans les sentences ne se sont pas amenuisees; (c) 1'augmentation du taux des offenses mineures est directement associee a l'accroissement de la force policiere. On cherche a expliquer pourquoi les croyances populaires persistent meme si elles sont refutees par les faits. Three propositions which express the conventional wisdom about crime and punishment are tested with least squares regression analysis. The results are that the over-all crime rate has not increased between 1950 and 1966 (except for trivial infractions); sentences have not become more lenient, nor have disparities in sentencing decreased throughout the same period. Increases in the rates for the less serious offences are positively correlated with increases in the size of the police force. Reasons for the persistence of belief in the conventional wisdom in the face of contradictory evidence are offered.     

A Matter of Degree(s): Twentieth‐Century Trends in Occupational Status Returns to Educational Credentials in Canada*

En utilisant des données en provenance de l'Enquête sur la mobilité canadienne de 1973 et des Enquêtes générates sociales de 1986 et de 1994 effectuées par Statistique Canada, j'examine d'autres prévisions des tendances du retour aux compétences scolaires par rapport au statut du poste de débutant, prévisions liées aux théories de l'indus‐trialisme, de la sociéty postindustrielle, de la reproduction sociale et du choix rationnel. Entre 1920 et 1989, l'impact de la tendance de reflet des compétences scolaires varie selon le rendement scolaire, et les tendances observées sont compatibles avec les prévisions de la théorie du choix rationnel. Tandis que l'obtention d'un diplôme d'é‐tudes supérieures pour des femmes et des hommes a fait une progression constante depuis les années vingt, la valeur d'un diplöme de premier cycle sur le marche canadien du travail, après avoir atteint un sommet vers la fin des années cinquante, a beaucoup diminué, surtout chez les hommes. En utilisant un modèle de série chrono‐logique de macroniveau, je constate que ces tendances sont associées aux tendances de l'offre et de la demande pour les travailleurs possé‐dant ces compétences, comme cela est prévu dans la théorie du choix rationnel. Using data from the 1973 Canadian Mobility Study and the 1986 and 1994 Statistics Canada General Social Surveys, I test alternative predictions of trends in the returns to educational credentials in the form of status of entry‐level job derived from industrialism, post‐industrial society, social reproduction, and rational choice theories. Between 1920 and 1989, the shape of the trend in the effect of qualifications varies by level of attainment, and the observed trends are most consistent with the predictions of rational choice theory. While returns to an advanced degree have been consistently high since the 1920s for both women and men, the value of a baccalaureate degree in the Canadian job market has declined considerably since peaking in the late 1950s, particularly among men. Using a macro‐level time‐series model, I find that these trends are associated with trends in the supply of and demand for workers with these credentials, as predicted by rational choice theory.     

Dementia Caregiving in the Context of Late‐Life Remarriage: Support Networks,Relationship Quality,and Well‐being

Caregiving research has not accounted for increasingly diverse and complex marital and family histories of older Americans. The authors examined social relations and care‐specific positive and negative support networks among late‐life remarried wife dementia caregivers (N = 61) to determine associations among network structure, relationship quality with and support received from network members, and global assessments of family and stepfamily disagreement on caregiver well‐being. Own family and friends predominated in the social relations and positive networks. Although over half (54%) of respondents included a stepfamily member in their positive networks, stepchildren comprised the largest group (35%) in the negative networks. Larger negative networks and actively negative interactions were related to greater caregiver burden, and more global disagreement with stepfamily was associated with greater depression and burden. The findings illustrate the complex nature of support and the value of targeted examinations of caregiving support dynamics among late‐life remarried older adults and stepfamilies facing health demands.     

Introduction: Resistance in the Twenty‐First Century

This essay introduces the articles that comprise a special issue of Sociological Forum titled “Resistance in the Twenty‐First Century.”     

Multiplying Diversity: Family Unification and the Regional Origins of Late‐Age US Immigrants

We use administrative data about new legal permanent residents to show how family unification chain migration changed both the age and regional origin of US immigrants. Between 1981 and 1995, every 100 initiating immigrants from Asia sponsored between 220 and 255 relatives, but from 1996 through 2000, each 100 initiating immigrants from Asia sponsored nearly 400 relatives, with one‐in‐four ages 50 and above. The family migration multiplier for Latin Americans was boosted by the legalization program: from 1996 to 2000, each of the 100 initiating migrants from Latin America sponsored between 420 and 531 family members, of which 18–21 percent were ages 50 and over.     

The Paranoid Style Revisited: Pseudo‐Conservatism in the 21st Century

Fifty years ago, the Pulitzer Prize‐winning historian Richard Hofstadter published the seminal essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.” In this and related works he examined the rhetoric animating the extreme right‐wing of the country's electorate. In this article I revisit Hofstadter's claims regarding the marginalization of the paranoid style and its connection to status‐based politics. A review of the most popular “pseudo‐conservative” commentators, survey data, the rise of the Tea Party, and the intransigence of the present day Republican Party suggests that a worldview that was once extreme has now become “mainstreme” within the political culture.     

Imagining Animal Rights in Nineteenth‐century New York: Satire and Strategy in the Animal Protection Movement

In 1866, America's most widely circulating newspaper the New York Herald published an extended satire directed at Henry Bergh and his newly established American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the first animal protection organization to be established in the United States. This article takes the Herald authors' decision to satirize the animal protection movement by framing it in terms of animal ‘rights’ as an opportunity to consider the challenges associated with that frame. Weighing the ease with which the movement could be ridiculed through the concept of rights and the broader discursive landscape connected to the rights of blacks and of women in the wake of the Civil War, it argues that animal rights was far more useful as a framing strategy to the critics of the animal protection movement than it was to its proponents. In turn, the article suggests that the challenges associated with the concept of animal rights that are revealed in this satire help to explain the dominance for much of the movement's history of the animal welfare frame over that of animal rights.     

Interactionism in the Twenty‐First Century: A Letter on Being‐in‐a‐Meaningful‐World

Half a century after its crystallization, interactionism faces new challenges. While elements of this theoretical tradition have percolated into the broader field of sociology, some of its most radical promises have been ignored. This essay provides a blueprint for how to approach interactionism today: not as a historical remnant, but as a living tradition with much to offer contemporary scholarship. Yet to do so, we argue, interactionism must develop some of its core tenets, offering more explicit links both to the sociology of culture, and to other areas in sociology. Focusing on our own experiences and writings, we point to ways in which the careful study of interaction can provide a font of ideas for the broader sociological discipline. We address the significance of affordances, situational webs, group commitment, embeddedness, and disruption, and show how such reorientation can help us better analyze oppression and privilege.     

Self‐Employment as a Response to the Double Day for Women and Men in Canada*

Malgré une augmentation récente de la participation masculine aux tâches de la maison, les femmes assurent encore la plus grande partie de ce travail, que ce soit les soins apportés aux enfants, le nettoyage, la cuisine, les courses, la gestion financière, l'éducation ou les conseils personnels. Toutefois, de nombreuses femmes mènent une activité professionnelle rémunérée, qui vient s'ajouter à leurs responsabilités au sein du foyer. Cet article pose la question de savoir si les femmes choisissent le travail autonome comme un moyen d'alléger quelque peu les pressions rigides que leur impose leur «double travail». Alors que les femmes semblent effectivement se tourner vers le travail autonome pour cause de conflits entre travail et vie de famille, les hommes ne semblent pas guidés par les mêmes raisons. Despite recent increases in the amount of work done in the home by men, most of this work is still performed by women. These duties range from child care, cleaning, and cooking to shopping, financial management and domestic discipline and counselling. Yet many women also hold down paid jobs in addition to their domestic responsibilities. This paper investigates whether women turn to self‐employment as a way of introducing some flexibility into the rigid pressures from both sides of this “double day.” While women do appear to turn to self‐employment as one way of coping with conflicting family and work pressures, the same is not true for men.     

Canada as Reflected in her Participation in the Coronation of her Monarchs in the Twentieth Century

The evolution of the Crown from an institution imposed by colonial powers to one that has become uniquely Canadian is symbolised through the rituals and ceremonial of the Coronations of Canada's Monarchs in the twentieth century. This study reveals the development under the Crown of an indigenous honours system instituted to celebrate the achievements of Canadians. The granting of honours by the sovereign for the Coronation changed from British, to distinctively Canadian ones. In addition, the gradual evolution of the Canadian military from militia to regular army, navy and air force is seen in the Canadian military's participation in the Coronation Procession. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, through their various transformations, represented Canada's values of peace, order and good government and had a place of prominence at all four Coronations. Canadians saw themselves as an important and integral part of the British Empire in 1902 and transformed to an independent and respected people with considerable world power and influence by 1953. Through the Coronation ceremonies, Canadians publicly celebrated their ideals as a people and reflected their national character to the world while at the same time rooting the Crown more deeply in Canadian soil.     

Late‐Life Migration,Work Status,and Survival: The Case of Older Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel

This analysis examined mortality among late‐life Soviet Jewish immigrants in Israel, and the contribution of post‐migration work status to their survival. The study linked 1997 survey data to mortality records, seven years hence. The results revealed that mortality was associated with older age, male gender, morbidity, and having less resourceful social networks. More importantly, after controlling for these background variables work status remained a significant correlate. Late‐life immigrants who had never worked in the host country had a significantly greater risk of death than their immigrant counterparts who had ever worked (or were still working).     

Adolescent Health and Well‐Being in the Twenty‐First Century: A Global Perspective

Adolescence is a critical developmental period with long‐term implications for the health and well‐being of the individual and for society as a whole. The most significant factors to adolescents' health are found in their environments, and in the choices and opportunities for health‐enhancing or health‐compromising behaviors that these contexts present (e.g., exposure to violence, supportive families). Inadequate contexts represent a failure to invest in and protect adolescents, a choice to alienate rather than integrate them into society. This article describes a number of societal trends, including growing poverty and income disparities, government instability, the changing health‐care system, the spread of HIV/AIDS, increased migration and urbanization, changing family and cultural contexts, and new information technology. The health implications of these trends for the well‐being of adolescents in the 21st century are contemplated.     

Christ vs. Communism: Communism as a Religious Social Problem in Finland's Proto‐Fascist Lapua Movement in the 1930s

This article traces the emergence of religious anti‐communist discourse in Finland's proto‐fascist Lapua Movement in the 1930s. Applying constructionist social problems theory, it discusses the constructions of communism as a religious social problem, Christian piety as a solution to the problem of godless communism, and the religious legitimation of violence. The article argues that by identifying Christianity with the Finnish nation the construction of communism as a religious problem—itself an outcome of the influence of revivalist Lutheran ministers in the leadership of the movement—resonated with the broader audience, but that this indigenous religious nationalism lost support with the increasing belligerence of the movement.     

Multigenerational Punishment: Shared Experiences of Undocumented Immigration Status Within Mixed‐Status Families

Estimates suggest that approximately 16.6 million people in the United States are members of mixed‐status families composed of undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens or documented immigrants. Drawing on interviews with 32 undocumented 1.5‐generation parents, the author explores how immigration laws affect undocumented parents and their citizen children. She finds that U.S. citizen children and their undocumented parents often share in the risks and limitations associated with undocumented immigration status. She conceptualizes this phenomenon as multigenerational punishment, a distinct form of legal violence wherein the sanctions intended for a specific population spill over to negatively affect individuals who are not targeted by laws. Though not restricted to familial relationships, multigenerational punishment tends to occur within families because of the strong social ties, sustained day‐to‐day interactions, and dependent relationships found among family members. This sheds light on how laws can further the reproduction of inequality within families and over generations.     

The Bog‐like Ground on Which We Tread: Arbitrating Academic Freedom in Canada*

Le sens de la liberté universitaire est en partie construit socialement au moyen de l'arbitrage. Cet article examine ce processus dans un contexte légal plus large et analyse les cas d'arbitrage de liberté universitaire les plus pertinents au Canada. Il étudie ce que nous révèle la construction sociale des arbitres concernant la liberté universitaire et comment les conditions conceptuelles et structurales de l'arbitrage influent sur son sens. The meaning of academic freedom is, in part, socially constructed through arbitration. This article examines that process in the larger legal context and analyses the most relevant Canadian arbitrations of academic freedom. It examines what the social construction by arbitrators tells us about academic freedom and how the conceptual and structural conditions of arbitration affect its meaning.     

Evidence‐loving rock star chief medical officers: Female leadership amidst COVID‐19 in Canada

This article presents a feminist poststructuralist inquiry perspective on how news and social media discourse around the COVID‐19 pandemic is presenting a potential shift in hegemonic representations of masculine leadership. I am informed by organizational rules and sensemaking theories, and consider how Canadian and international female leaders are showing resilience, emotion and vulnerability as they help lead their countries through these uncertain times. I reflexively ground my observations in my own sensemaking and personal experiences. Despite reservations, I am hopeful. There are indications that the ‘rules of the game’ are starting to be challenged, and feminine frameworks that question traditional gender roles are disrupting conceptions around ‘business as usual’.