POWER RELATIONSHIPS

• The domestic division of labour

  refers to the roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work
• Parsons' functionalist model of the family

  in the traditional nuclear family the husband has the instrumental role and the wife has the expressive role
• Parsons functionalist model of the family

  the division of labour is based on biological differences.

  men are naturally suited to the provider role and women to the nurturing role.

  these roles benefit men, women and wider society
• Bott distinguished between two types of roles within marriage

  segregated conjugal roles

  joint conjugal roles
• segregated conjugal roles

  where the couple have separate roles, a male breadwinner and a female homemaker. their leisure activities also tend to be separate
• joint conjugal roles

  where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and spent their leisure time together
• instrumental role

  geared towards achieving success at work so he can provide for the family financially, husband is the breadwinner
• expressive role

  geared towards the primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family's emotional needs. she is the homemaker, a full time housewife rather than a wage earner
• the symmetrical family

  Young and Willmott take a march of progress view, saying there is a long-term trend towards joint conjugal roles away from segregated conjugal roles. Creates a "symmetrical family" where husbands' and wives' roles are similar
• causes of the symmetrical family

  • the improving position of women
  • improvements in household technology
  • increased geographical mobility
  • higher standards of living
• the improving position of women

  women are not just a housewife anymore, they also work and the men take on domestic roles
• improvements in household technology

  less domestic burden, house work is easier to do and less time consuming so anyone can do it
• increased geographical mobility

  couples move away from the rest of the family, caused joint conjugal roles between husband and wife because they rely on each other more so more likely to have similar roles
• higher standards of living

  nicer houses, means both partners need to pitch in and work to fund their life
• Oakley 1974

  • 15% of men have a high level of participation in housework
  • 25% of men have a high level of participation in childcare
  • criticises march of progress as men are doing a bit more but still not enough
• Boulton 1983


  criticises march of progress view because the mother still has the ultimate responsibility of the child but the father is just there to help out
• Warde and Hetherington 1993

  women are 30 times more likely to be the last person to do the laundry

  men are 4 times more likely to be the last person to wash the car

  men only do the "woman's" roles when she isn't present to do so

  the older generation things housework is a woman's job

  the younger generation believes men should pitch in too
• Explanations for the unequal division of labour

  Material explanation

  cultural explanation
• Material explanation

  women earn less money and work fewer hours than men which means it is more economically beneficial for them to do the childcare and the housework
• cultural explanation

  unequal division of labour is caused by patriarchal norms and values in our culture. Men and women are socialised into this norm from a young age
• what is the march of progress view?

  women and men have become more equal, with women taking on more instrumental roles and men taking on more expressive roled
• What do feminists believe about the division of labour?

  it is still unequal and favours men
• 74% employment rate for mothers
• families with 2 or more children are more likely to split employment
• What is the dual burden?

  where women are expected to work outside the home and do housework / childcare
• what is the triple shift?

  women are expected to:

  work outside the home

  do housework/childcare

  perform emotional labour
• What did Dunne find?

  study of 37 lesbian couples with children.

  found they were more likely than straight women to describe their relationship as equal, view childcare positively and view each others work as important.
• What is financial decision making?

  patriarchal
• What did Barrett & McIntosh say?

  men gain much more from women's domestic work than they give back in financial support.

  financial support from men to women often comes with strings attached.

  Men usually make the decisions about spending on important items
• In some households with comfortable incomes, the women will be living in poverty
• what did Edgell find about professional couples financial decision making?

  Very Important decisions (jobs, house ect) tended to be husbands alone

  important decisions (holiday,education ect) normally made jointly

  Less important decisions (food budgets, children's clothing) by the wife alone
• What did Ray Pahl describe?

  the different systems heterosexual couples use to manage their finances
• What are the 4 ways couples manage their money?

  Pooling (50% of households)

  The whole wage system (35% of households)

  The housekeeping system (10% of households)

  The independent system (5% of households, but 50% of cohabiting)
• What is pooling?

  all of the couples income is placed in a joint bank account, permitting each partner equal access to their combined finances
• what is the whole wage system?

  men use a portion of their earnings for their own personal use before passing leftovers to their partner who add their own earnings (if any) and have responsibility of meeting the household expenses
• what is the housekeeping system?

  men pass a fixed amount a month to their female partners for housekeeping, they keep the rest for themselves
• what is the independent system?

  each partner maintains their own income whilst contributing a 50-50 split of all bills
• What is the personal life perspective on money?

  focuses on the meanings couples give to who controls the money
• What do Dobash & Dobash believe about domestic violence?

  marriage and the nuclear family is the key institution of patriarchy, and the main source of women's oppression.

  domestic violence is inevitable because it serves to preserve the power men have over women
• What does Ansley believe about domestic violence?

  it is the product of capitalism

  male workers are exploited at work and take their frustration out on their wives