Meaningfulness experienced in performing domestic labor in Chinese families:a qualitative study from caregivers’perspectives  

作　　者：Bo Zhang Gily Coene 

机构地区：[1]Faculty of Arts and Philosophy,Vrije Universiteit Brussel,Pleinlaan 2,1050 Brussels,Belgium

出　　处：《The Journal of Chinese Sociology》2024年第1期151-168,共18页中国社会学杂志(英文)

摘　　要：The intricately connected interactions among personal choices,traditional cultural ideologies,and modern societal backgrounds have provoked dynamic interpreta-tions and practices in performing domestic labor.The value of domestic labor in terms of macro considerations,such as reproductive value,economic value,and caring value,has been established in scholarly discussions.In China,the emphasis is on the meaningfulness of domestic care for the whole society.However,it remains unclear how family members in contemporary Chinese society understand the meaningful-ness of performing domestic labor.This study aims to investigate what kinds of mean-ing that individuals derive from their day-to-day domestic labor and how the different types of meaningfulness affect their future behaviors in sharing domestic responsibili-ties.Meaningfulness is a complex notion,but Baumeister’s theory of meaning provides a theoretical framework to understand why humans need meaningfulness in life,the forms that meaningfulness takes,where meaningfulness resides,and how per-ceptions of meaningfulness are shaped.In total,48 respondents participated in semi-structured,in-depth interviews concerning their attitudes toward the value of domestic labor.Findings based on in-depth interview data show that the meaning-fulness of domestic labor consists of participants realizing their need for belonging,self-efficacy,and a sense of living a good life.These results also suggest that the values of domestic labor illustrated in previous studies,in which domestic labor was con-ceptualized as reproductive labor,economic activity,and care labor,have little effect on individuals’lives.Nevertheless,the meaningfulness that individuals experience in daily life continues to motivate their devotion to domestic labor.Finally,the discur-sive mechanism shaping the meaningfulness of domestic labor is also discussed.

关 键 词：MEANINGFULNESS Domestic labor CAREGIVERS Chinese families 

分 类 号：F42[经济管理—产业经济]