Each Wednesday I will write a post about my dissertation. Last week, the post discussed my sample of industry workers. This week I am going to tell you about my sample of scrapbookers.
Age, Gender, Sexual Identity, and Race
I interviewed 38 scrapbookers, ranging in age from 21 to 67. From my experience as an industry worker, I know that scrapbookers are a diverse group. I strived to obtain a diverse sample. I was semi-successful. Six of my scrapbookers were men and the rest were women. Twenty-nine of the scrapbookers were heterosexual, five were lesbian, three were gay men, and one was bisexual. Most of the scrapbookers were White. One was Middle Eastern, one identified as other, and four were Black.
Marriage and Parenthood
People become scrapbookers for a variety of reasons. One reason is marriage. Of my sample, 13 were currently single (five were divorced), 25 were married or partnered, and one was in a polyamorous marriage. Another reason people begin scrapbooking is parenthood. Nineteen scrapbookers were parents–18 mothers and on father and 19 of the scrapbookers were not parents.
Religion
I recruited Mormons for inclusion in this study because Latter-day Saint’s (LDS) beliefs are credited with helping to increase the popularity of scrapbooking. Genealogy work is religious duty for members of the LDS church. Mormons research their family histories in order to obtain the names of their ancestors so that they can be baptized and receive salvation in the spirit world [insert link]. Moreover, LDS members (at least women) are encouraged to keep family histories in photo albums, scrapbooks, and books of remembrance and personal journals [insert link]. My sample was surprisingly religiously diverse. Of my 38 scrapbookers, eight were LDS, two were Agnostic, four were Catholic, two were Interfaith, four were Jewish, one was Pagan, 13 were Protestant, and four did not answer.
Social Class
The scrapbookers were overwhelmingly middle class and upper-middle class. Every respondent had at least some college education and the majority had completed a college degree. Eighteen respondents had a Bachelor’s degree, one had an Associates degree, 11 respondents had a graduate or professional degree, and eight had some college but no degree (three were currently students).
Of my 10 respondents reporting a household income of less than $39,999, five were currently students. Eleven respondents had household incomes of between $40,000 and $79,999. Eight respondents had incomes of between $80,000 and $119,999. Five respondents had incomes of between $120,000 and $159,999. Two respondents had incomes higher than $160,000. Two respondents did not disclose their income.
Twenty-seven respondents were employed (19 worked full-time and 8 worked part-time). Eleven were not employed or seeking employment.
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Stephanie Medley-Rath is a sociologist and scrapbooker who studies scrapbooking and memory keeping. Scrapworthy Lives is a blog focused on her sociological analysis of scrapbooking, with a sprinkling of posts about Stephanie's own scrapbooking projects.
