Petaluma photographer documents gender role reversal in ‘The Big Flip’

Across America, the family dynamic has seen a gradual shift, with an increasing number of women assuming the role of breadwinner in households while men stay at home.

As research shows that 40 percent of U.S. women are acting as the primary or sole providers of income for families with children under 18, other studies point to the fact that 51 percent of Americans surveyed feel kids fare better when their mothers are at home rather than at work, according to 2013 data from the Pew Research Center.

Researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who analyzed data collected from the National Survey of Families and Households found that when wives earn more, couples are less satisfied with their marriages and are more likely to divorce.

As co-producer and photographer-in-chief of the documentary “The Big Flip,” Petaluma photographer Paige Green has spent the past five years diving into the complex social issue and its real-life implications, capturing snapshots from the homes of families across the country living out the gender role swap. Now in its post-production phases, the feature-length documentary has been an eye-opening labor of love for Green, a mother of two who found herself in a “big flip” situation in her own life.

Green said Izzy Chan, a researcher who directed the documentary, presented her with the current statistics surrounding the topic when Green was pregnant with her first child and finding that her own role as the breadwinner was reinforced when she was in the process of buying a house with her husband.

She said as women continue to have increasing career opportunities and shed historical limitations, the conversation has become increasingly relevant.

“When we started the project, it was something that sounded interesting but it wasn’t a hot topic,” the 38-year-old said. “Now, five years later, it’s starting to become a topic that people are paying attention to, and it’s affecting more families and more communities. Businesses know that they need to start paying attention and there’s a lot of employees in this position and they want to have better support there.”

The crew spent 18 months following families in Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; Washington D.C. and Seattle, Wash., as they chart their courses through births, lay-offs, moves and other life changes, showing how each family works through the situation.

Green, who handled the still photography incorporated into the film while also collaborating on other aspects of production and outreach, said the movie will play an important role in generating a conversation about the ”big flip,” what it means, and how it’s impacting families.

“It’s about changing the dialogue to take away the pressure on the male of be the primary breadwinner,” she said.

Green holds a masters degree in documentary photography and photojournalism from the University of Arts London and has owned her Petaluma-based photography business since 2005.

The South Carolina native whose musician husband works part of the time facilitating summer camps and offering music classes to children at Windrush Farm said she’s struggled with the dynamic while raising her own 4 and 1-year-old sons, but embedding herself with others in similar situations has given her tools to facilitate communication and growth in her own relationship.

Green says she’s not isolated in her “big flip” situation in Sonoma County, adding that she knows several families embodying the same dynamic in Petaluma. On May 6, Green will be featured along with a local stay-at-home dad and a bread-winning mother as part of a panel sponsored by the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Committee that attempts to address the home and workplace issues surrounding the social dynamic.

“It’s drawing attention to the fact it’s a full-time job to raise kids,” she said. “Women have been doing this for a long time, and now men are in this role and it’s brought awareness that this is hard and it should be valued.”

She said the documentary, which doesn’t yet have a scheduled release date, has enjoyed a warm reception during showings, with women in the audience sharing their own stories and struggles, and through crowdfunding campaigns, the team has garnered more than $100,000 in support of the film.

She said the gender role flip isn’t limited to families with young children, but that issues, including juggling finances, chores and responsibilities while effectively communicating seem to emerge as a common theme. However, “The Big Flip” doesn’t try to solve those issues, she said.

“That’s why we’re there, to talk about not just the good things but also the hard things … This is what is happening and this is how families are dealing with it,” she said. “Let people make up their own mind. All families that we followed are wonderful and doing it their own way.”

She said she’s proud of her first documentary and honored to have played a part in creating a larger conversation.

“It’s an extremely personal decision how people are choosing to live,” she said. “We need to support our families and support the men and support the women. It’s always challenging.”

For more information about the film, visit bigflipdocumentary.com; for details on the May 6 panel, visit http://bit.ly/1TNyCCt.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)