Sh. Matthews, GENDER AND THE DIVISION OF FILIAL RESPONSIBILITY BETWEEN LONE SISTERSAND THEIR BROTHERS, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 50(5), 1995, pp. 312-320
Descriptions of and rationales for the division of responsibility for
elderly parents by 50 sister-brother dyads in sibling groups that incl
uded only one sister were analyzed qualitatively to explore why provis
ion of services is a gendered activity or at the very least appears to
be. Three interrelated factors were identified: (a) Family members ad
opted cultural assumptions about what constituted gender-appropriate b
ehavior; (b) the lone sister typically was ''in charge'' of service pr
ovision; (c) brothers' actual contributions tended to be considered un
important by both sisters and brothers. The gender composition of the
sibling group is suggested to be an important context within which the
meanings of gender and parent care are negotiated.