Gender Roles Within the Family

• Parsons:

  Husbands have the instrumental role and the wife has the expressive role.

  Division of labour is determined by Biological differences
• Bott:

  Two types of roles within Marriage.

  Segregated Conjugal roles and Joint Conjugal roles.
• Young + Willmott:

  'March of Progress' view.

  Long term trends towards Joint Conjugal Roles and away from Segregated Conjugal roles.

  Creates a 'Symmetrical Family' where H&W roles are similar.
• Oakley:

  15% of men = high levels of participation in housework

  25% of men = high levels of participation with childcare

  Criticises 'March of Progress' - Men are doing a bit more but only the bare minimum.

  Men view taking care of children as a chore taken from women but it just leaves them with time to do housework etc.
• Boulton:

  Criticises march of progress.

  The mother has the ultimate responsibility of a child but the father just 'helps out'
• Warde + Hetherington:

  Women are 30X more likely to be the last person to have done the laundry.

  Men are 4X more likely to be the last person to have washed the car.

  Men do the 'women's' role when the women are not present to do it themselves.

  Older generations thinks housework is a woman's job but younger generations believe men should try to help out more.
• Dobash and Dobash - Feminism 


  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
• Ansley - Marxist Feminism 


  Domestic violence is the product of capitalism: males workers are exploited at work and take their frustration out on their wives
• Wilkinson - Counter to feminism 


  Domestic violence is the result of stress on the family caused by social inequality
• Pahl:

  Many pooling couples allow the higher wage earner to make financial decisions - low earner feels guilty