About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some social and cultural impacts on family structures, focusing in particular on: (i) typical representations of 20th century women as mothers, housekeepers and carers, with little to no involvement in the world of work; (ii) Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which reflected on Friedan’s own experiences and ‘the problem with no name’, which explored women’s lack of access to the public sphere; (iii) the sexual revolution, which was a movement to enable women to explore and enjoy their own sexuality; (iv) the second or third ‘shift’ completed by many women, made up of the childcare and housework in addition to a woman’s career work.

About the lecturer

Dr Rosie Nelson is a lecturer in gender in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol. Dr Nelson’s research interests are in LGBTQ+ sexualities, trans and non-binary identities. Some of Dr Nelson’s recent publications include ‘What do bisexuals look like? I don’t know!’ (2020) and ‘Questioning identities/shifting identities’ (2020).