Socialization of Parents and Living Conditions in Collective Housing : A Case Study of Collective House Kosumosu

コレクティブ　ハウジング　キョジュウ　ヲ　ツウジタ　オヤノ　シャカイカ　ト　ソノ　ヨウケン　コレクティブ　ハウス　コスモス　ヲ　ジレイ　ト　シテ

Inami, Naoko

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ シャカイガク ニンゲンガク ジンルイガク ケンキュウシツ

Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

親

コレクティブハウジング

自主運営

共用空間

Socialization

Parents

Collective housing

Self-management

Common spaces

Articles

How do people form themselves in society? As a means to address this question, sociology developed the concept of socialization, and the family has been regarded as a significant institution in this regard. However, previous research based on the nuclear family has overlooked the possibility that parents may be socialized by others through childcare. This article examines how parents change their consciousness and behaviors when living in collective housing and considers the “socialization of parents” and how prevalent conditions infl uence them. In doing so, it reports on the results of a case study of Collective House Kosumosu (hereinafter, Kosumosu) based on data collected during observation and one-on-one interviews with three sets of parents. The study identified four patterns of “the socialization of parents” in Kosumosu: (1) liberation from social norms of childcare and motherhood; (2) relativization and mutual comparison of childcare; (3) acceptance of the imperfectness of parents; and (4) reflexivity of the parental role. Moreover, “the socialization of parents” in Kosumosu becomes possible through the mutual complementarity of the living space (living close to each other in common spaces) and positive social relationships based on refl exivity, equality, cooperation, and trust constructed by self-management. Collective housing presents a unique contemporary style of coexistence in which people with distinct values and lifestyles fi nd a way of living together while recognizing and respecting their differences.