Source:

Sweet, Stephen, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Joshua Mumm, Judith Casey, and Christina Matz. 2006. Teaching Work and Family: Strategies, Activities, and Syllabi. Washington DC: American Sociological Association.

Type: Film Analysis

Author: Trina Smith, University of Minnesota

Purpose: 

To look at the gendered nature of work and the meshing of work and family.

 

Suggested Materials:

1. Video: “Tupperware” American Experience (PBS) (can be purchased from http://www.shoppbs.org/home/index.jsp)
2. Supplementary Material for Video: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tupperware/
3. Lecture on or have students read:
   Nelson, Margaret K and Joan Smith. 1999. Working Hard and Making Do: Surviving in Small Town America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
4. Overheads of Tupperware, Mary Kay, etc.•websites that show the history, philosophy, and how to work for the company.

Order of Presentation for Class:

1. I have used this activity when I teach Sociology of Families classes on the week on work and families. I begin the class by discussing the different definitions of work, focusing on gender definitions of how housework and care work are not considered real work in our society. I then utilize Schor’s The Overworked American to talk about the time squeeze. This leads into a discussion of women’s work in both situations of dual earner families and single parents, also focusing on race and gender differentials in pay. We then discuss the gendered nature of household work focusing on the notion that women are still doing more. We then talk about the crisis in care work.
2. I then lecture on Smith and Nelson’s Working Hard and Making Do in terms of the gendered nature of side or “moonlighting” work.
3. I then tell them my story about the Mary Kay parties and show overheads from Mary Kay and Tupperware websites highlighting the philosophies of the companies and true stories about women who sell these products for their jobs.
4. I show the Tupperware video (if you do not have time for the full video, I recommend showing at the least the first half of it to exemplify the notion of women selling products that other women “need” and the rewards they received for doing so).
5. Lastly, I present questions for discussion.

 

Introduction:

How many times have you been at a Tupperware, Mary Kay, or Party Light party and felt compelled to buy something? How many times have you been asked to host one of these parties and possibly felt guilty for inviting your friends who would feel compelled to buy? Did you notice that these parties usually have women as the guests and sellers? Did you notice the products being sold are usually catered towards women? Did you ever think about why the person was selling the products? Was it for extra income or was it their career?

 

After attending two Mary Kay parties in one month and having an interview to be a potential Mary Kay representative, I developed this activity based on the questions posed above as a way for college age students to think about both the gendered nature of work and meshing work and family. I believe college age students can relate to this activity because many have attended these types of parties before. Even if it is the case that more women have attended these parties, I find that the men find this topic interesting because it is something they have not experienced.

 

Background Story:

(The following is my story I share with students, which you may use also.)

 

A fellow sociology graduate student hosted a Mary Kay party for a family friend. At the beginning of the party the Mary Kay representative gave us the standard introduction about Mary Kay. The important part of this introduction is that Mary Kay was founded on the ideals religion first, family second, and career third (for more information see: http://www.marykay.com/company/aboutfound_wisdom_onfaith.aspx?tab=home). Then she told us how she used to be a full time teacher, but quit because she made more money selling Mary Kay, worked less hours, and could set her own schedule.

 

Another graduate student hosted another Mary Kay party with the same representative. Again, only women were present at this party. At this party, the representative gave the same introduction as the prior party. However, she also told us how she was working up through the company and striving to get a Mary Kay car. In order to do this, she needed people to do interviews to become Mary Kay consultants. Unknown to us at the time, this meant the people actually had to sign up to be consultants and not just do the interviews. Two of us agreed to the interviews.

 

These interviews happened over the phone with the representative and her district manager. The manager did most of the talking while the representative added in once in awhile, mainly about what she liked about her job. The first questions posed were what I liked and did not like about my current job. Then the manager asked me to give her an amount of money I would like to have. I quickly stated one thousand dollars. Then she asked what I would like to do with this money, giving me suggestions such as go on a trip. I said I would use the money for our house. They then told me about how easy it would be to make this amount of money. The start up cost of becoming a consultant was low. I would buy the products at half price and then be able to sell them to my family and friends at full retail price. They assured me it would be easy to make money because again, I could sell to my family and friends. The interview ended with the manager asking me on a scale of one to ten how much I was interested in selling Mary Kay and then how likely it would be that I would actually become a consultant. I gave a number in the mid-range because I had no intention of selling Mary Kay and thought that I was helping the representative work up the ranks by just doing the interview. I told them I was too busy at the time with school and maybe at a later date.

 

Tupperware Video: (Description based on my own viewing and from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tupperware/filmmore/fd.html)

 

This video is a great starting point for a discussion of these types of jobs/careers in terms of gender and work. The video highlights the career of Brownie Wise, a woman who revolutionized selling products, traditionally a man’s job, into women’s work. Even though Earl Silas Tupper invented Tupperware, Brownie is the one who took the company to new ground. The Tupperware was not selling at the stores and she convinced Earl that it should be sold by women at home parties to their friends and families. Consultants began selling the products and were rewarded materially.  The company succeeded and later Brownie was fired.

 

Questions for Student Discussion:

Students Experiences with These Businesses:

 

1. Have they ever been to a Mary Kay, Tupperware, or some kind of party like this?
2. What where their experiences?
   1. Did they fell compelled to buy?
   2. What did they think about the prices of the products?
   3. Would they engage or have they done this type of selling?
3. If they have not been to parties like this, what do they think about this?
   1. Would men engage in parties like this?
   2. What men’s products would work to sell like this?

General Discussion Questions about Gendered Nature of Work

 

1. What kind of gender norms do these jobs portray?
2. What are the implications for these types of jobs?
   1. For women selling the products? 
            i.      How does this allow them to balance work and family?
   2. For the women buying the products? 
          i.   How might their families feel about them spending money on these products?
         ii. Why might they feel the need to buy this stuff?
3. What type of women may this job be a lucrative endeavor for them which they would not be able to perform another job and make the same amount of money? (This question comes from a student who’s friend with a disability was able to make money doing this job)
4. What do you think might be the class dynamics at these parties?
   1. What type of women may buy these type of products?
5. Is selling these “womanly” products a good job for women? Why or why not?
   1. Looking at all the actors involved, including the buyers and sellers, how might this be an example of the social reproduction of gender?

 

References:

Kahn-Leavitt, Laurie. 2003. Tupperware!. The Filmmakers Collaborative/Blueberry Hill Productions/WGBH Educational Foundation

 

 

Links:

http://www.marykay.com/

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tupperware/