Mothers, Daughters, and Political Socialization : Two Generations at an American Women's College

Using a unique data set comparing mothers and daughters who attended Douglass CollegeOCothe women's college of Rutgers UniversityOCotwenty-five years apart, Krista Jenkins perceptively observes the changes in how women acquire their attitudes toward gender roles and behaviors in the post-women's movement years."Mothers, Daughters, and Political Socialization"aexamines the role of intergenerational transmissionOCothe maternal influences on younger womenOCowhile also looking at differences among women in attitudes and behaviors relative to gender roles that might be attributed to the nature of the times during their formative years. How do daughters coming of age in an era when the women's movement is far less visible deal with gendered expectations compared to their mothers? Do they accept the contemporary status quo their feminist mothers fought so hard to achieve? Or, do they press forward with new goals? Jenkins shows how contemporary women are socialized to accept or reject traditional gender roles that serve to undermine their equality.