Couples

• What did Ramos find?


  Ramos found that when Women were the full-time breadwinners men and women shared the housework tasks more equally.
• Duncombe and Marsden - The triple shift


  They argue that women not only have to go through the dual burden, but they also have to go through the triple shift. This is the term for paid work, emotional and domestic labour being a joint responsibility women must take up.
• Anne Oakley 'Dual burden'


  Liberal feminist Anne Oakley believes that even though women have gone into paid work, inequality still exists, as women must perform a dual burden within the home. While going to work and earning an income, they must also do domestic labour when they return home. Thus, this shows inequality still exists within the household and there hasn't been a 'march of progress'.
• Parsons: Instrumental and expressive roles (1955)

  •Instrumental:

  –The husband is the breadwinner – he goes out to work and takes care of the economic needs of the family –

  •Expressive:

  –The mother is the homemaker – she does housework and childcare and takes care of the emotional needs of the family – 

  •Based on biological differences 

  •Beneficial to men, women, children and wider society

  •New Right thinkers agree
• A feminist view of housework

  •Feminists reject march of progress view

  •Women still unequal in the family

  •Women still do most of the housework and childcare 

  •Stems from fact that society is patriarchal
• Young & Willmott:The Symmetrical Family (1973)

  •March of progress view 

  –Family life improving for all members –More equal and democratic over time –Long term trend away from segregated conjugal roles –Move towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical family’
• Bott: Joint and Segregated Conjugal Roles (1957)

  •Segregated conjugal roles:

  –Separate roles – male breadwinner and female homemaker. Leisure activities are separate –

  •Joint conjugal roles –The couple share housework and childcare. Leisure time spent together.