Section 3 - The Family

It contributes to the social constructs of gender differences through primary socialisation and canalisation.
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It contributes to the social constructs of gender differences through primary socialisation and canalisation.
What are Feminists' view on the functions of family?
When parents guide their children's interests into things viewed as gender appropriate.
It allows for the oppression of women.
What is canalisation?
It performs functions for members of the family and society.
What are Functionalists' view on the functions of the family?
It serves capitalism and allows for the oppression of women.
What are Marxists' view on the functions of the family?
- Many see marriage and having children as the goal of life
- Feminists say that they only look at the traditional nuclear family and ignore family diversity.
- Feminists say that female oppression is linked to patriarchy, not capitalism and that in a socialist society, female oppression may not disappear.
- Functionalists would say that the nuclear family meets the needs of industrial and individual society.
What are the criticisms of Marxists' approach to the family?
- Family may share the power between members through joint conjugal roles.
What are the criticisms of Feminists' approach to the family?
1. Sexual - the family regulates sexual activity, maintaining their relationship.
2. Educational - parents socialise their children into the values, norms and culture of society.
3. Economic - division of labour between the husband and wife.
4. Reproductive - provides new members, allowing for the continuation of society.
State and describe Murdock's 4 functions of the family.
It is universal and inevitable in all societies.
What did Murdock believe about the existence of the nuclear family?
It doesn't performs functions for society but forms personalities.
Human personalities are made through the process of primary socialisation and the family allows to keep them stable throughout life.
What did Parsons' believe about the function of the family?
1. Primary socialisation of children - family is an agency of socialisation and allows children to become members of society by teaching them the culture. This allows for the continuation of society's norms and values.
2. Stabilisation of adult personalities - family is an agency of personality stabilisation. The husband and wife support each other emotionally. Parents can play with their children, allowing them to feel like children themselves again.
State and describe Parson's two functions of the family.
The husband and the wife offer each other emotional support in the family and play with their children so they can feel like children again. The family relieves stress built up in the workplace, preventing conflict or potential loss of jobs.Describe Parsons' warm bath theory- Feminists claim it is sexist as men benefit at the expense of women, the women's stresses are essentially forgotten. - Ignores dysfunctional families, the stress may be taken out on as domestic violence. - Outdated, many women work now and so have their own stressed. - Zaretsky argues that proletariat men take their frustration out on their wives, exploiting their family for their own personal gain.What are the criticism of Parsons' warm bath theory?- Marxists see it as serving capitalism - Ignores dysfunctional families - Ignores communes and kibbutz, both of which fulfill the functions - Feminists say that it is a source of female oppression - Ignores ethnic diversity, only focuses on American middle-class families - Nuclear family may increase stressWhat are the criticisms of Parsons' approach to the family?Nuclear Same-sex Lone-parent Extended Reconstituted Beanpole Cohabiting Empty nestWhat are the 8 types of families?That Britain was undergoing a process of change in types of family.What did Rapoport and Rapoport believe about family diversity?Life-course Organisational Cohort Cultural Social classWhat are Rapoport and Rapoport's 5 types of family diversity?The domestic roles of married or cohabiting partners.What are conjugal roles?1. Segregated - clear division of domestic labour. The husband and wife have separate interests and don't spend much leisure time together. 2. Joint - shared domestic labour. The husband and wife have similar interests and spend a lot of leisure time together.State and describe the two types of conjugal rolesSegregated conjugal roles. Married women were responsible for housework and childcare whilst men were the breadwinners. Roles differed according to social class - working class wives had to work and complete domestic labour while middle class wives weren't expected to work for pay.Describe the roles for traditional familiesMore joint conjugal roles and more equality.Describe the roles in contemporary familiesMen take on the instrumental roles as the breadwinner as the specialise in the workplace. Women take on the expressive role as the housewife and mother and they bear children - meaning there is a strong relationship between a mother and her child.What is Parsons' view on conjugal roles?A nuclear family composed of legally married couples, choosing the parenthood of children.What did Oakley define the conventional family as?- Different roles based on age, occupation and gender - Women expected to work at home without pay while men work outside with pay.What are the ideas of conventional families?- Mothers may experience depression is dissatisfaction with housework. - Men may experience health problems linked to stress of being the breadwinner - Financial inequality as women are dependent on men's wages.What are the problems with conventional families?- More children - Work was within the home - Extended families - Family's career passed down generationsWhat were pre-industrial families like?- School is mandatory, Education Act in 1918 - Parent and child relationships are less authoritarian, less emphasis on discipline and more emphasis on individual freedom.What are contemporary families like?- Poverty prevented children from attending school, so they worked in paid employment. - Work happened outside the home. - Families needed to become more mobile, so they became more nuclear.What were industrial families like?- Husband and wife carried out opposite tasks, but an equal contribution was made. - Conjugal roles of husband and wife are more joint. - Family is more home-centered, technology allows for leisure within the home. - Husband and wife have a shared financial partnership.What did Young and Willmott describe the symmetrical family as?The belief that many social changes start at the top of the social class system and work their way downwards.What is statisfied diffusionA unit of production and members of the family made products in the home.What did Zaretsky believe the family was before the 19th Century?Division of family life and work = private and public sphere.What did Zaretsky argue that industrial capitalist lead to?1. Economically - women carry out unpaid labour in the home and capitalist relies on the completion of the domestic labour. However, the work is devalued and viewed as separate from the production of commodities and profits. 2. Social class - it reproduces itself through the family. Bourgeoisie inherit private property and business. Proletariat reproduce producing new workers for the labour force. 3. Consumption - the family buys and consumes products, allowing the Bourgeoisie to make profits.What 3 ways Zaretsky argue that the family serves capitalism?End artificial separation of the family and public life, allowing for personal fulfillment.What did Zaretsky say that a socialist society would do?Radical feministsWhat were Delphy and Leonard?That it is patriarchal and men are dominant. The family is positioned in a hierarchy in which the men are at the top and women are subordinate.What did Delphy and Leonard believe about the family?Paid work and domestic workWhat is the dual burden?Paid work, domestic labour, emotional supportWhat is the triple shift?- Don't take into account families where power is shared. - Functionalists would say that the family benefits individuals and society. - Marxists would say that inequality is linked to capitalism, not patriarchy.What are criticisms of Delphy and Leonard's work?- Not convinced by Willmott and Young's evidence. - Husbands don't work too much in the house and are praised. - Women in paid work still do the majority of the housework.What were Oakley's criticisms of the symmetrical family?1969 - Divorce Reform Act, only after 3 years of marriage. 1984 - Divorce allowed after 1 year.How have changes in law increased divorce since 1945?Less stigma, more socially acceptable.How have changes in social attitudes and values increased divorce since 1945?Less religion in society. Less people are christians so they don't say ''till death do us part''How has secularisation increased divorce since 1945?Women are no tied to their husbands through economic dependence. Married women now work outside 1970 - Equal Pay Act More financial security. Welfare benefits support single mothersHow have changes in women's status increased divorce since 1945?Creates high expectations of marriageInfluence of the media13How many divorces happen every hour in England?50%How many divorcees had children?1. Changes in family structure - more reconstituted and lone-parent families. 2. Remarriage - to help raise children or for love. 3. Financial hardship - loss of income, may struggle with childcare. 4. Relationship breakdown and emotional distress - conflict may continue after divorce, members of the extended family may loose contact with childrenState and describe the 4 consequences of divorce.