families + households: couples

• what is the domestic division of labour?

  refers to roles men + women play in relation to housework, childcare + paid work. sociologists interested in whether men + women share domestic tasks equally
• What parsons argue about instrumental + expressive roles?

  in Parsons func model of family e.g. clear division of labour between spouses. Parsons argue 2 roles natural way + division of labour based on biological differences w/ womem 'naturally' suited to nurturing role + men provider
• what does Bott identify?

  2 types of conjugal roles, that is within marriage. these are segregated + joint conjugal roles.
• what are segregated conjugal roles? Bott


  where couple have separated roles + responsibilities; women as caregiver + housewife + male as breadwinner. ;ensure activities also separate.
• what are joint conjugal roles? Bott

  where couple share paid work, domestic tasks + childcare. also share in leisure activities
• what do Willmott + Young argue about the symmetrical family?

  symmetrical family one which husbands + wives roles more likely joint conjugal roles than were, still some differences between men + women's roles + responsibilities. W + Y argue 'march for progress' view that families increasingly like this.
• what are the characteristics of the symmetrical family? Willmott + Young

  women go out to work, part time

  
  

  man help w/ childcare + housework

  
  

  couples spend leisure times together, being 'home centred' or privatised
• what social factors led to the change in families becoming more symmetrical?

  changes in women's role

  geographic mobility

  new technologies

  higher standards of living
• what is 'changes in women's role'? in terms of symmetrical families

  women go to work, contraception means they are no longer solely responsible for family
• what is 'geographic mobility'? in terms of symmetrical families

  more couples living away from communities grew up in. couples move for work or settle in cities they went to uni in. couples move away from extended family members, no longer have support network.
• what are 'new technologies'? in terms of symmetrical families

  dishwahswes, hoovers, washing machines mean men + women do housework - less time doing it
• what are 'higher standards of living'? in terms of symmetrical families


  linked to changes in women's role because women have more disposable income

  
  

  makes men stay at home more because men stay home more because of TV's/internet
• what does Crompton argue?

  division of labour in home still unequal. This because men still earn more than women. women earn 3/4 of what men earn. Says while earnings are unequal so division of labour in home, earn less more housework + childcare.
• what are the characteristics of families being more symmetrical according to Willmott and Young?

  1) stable

  
  

  2) child centred

  
  

  3)greater levels of equality between males + females

  
  

  4)"mutual adaptation between needs of home + economy"
• what are they issues with these characteristics? family not more symmetrical

  1 - rising divorce rates, DV, child abuse

  
  

  2 - or centred on adult needs or economy

  
  

  3 - pay gap, women more housework, men dominate decision making

  
  

  4 - mutual adaptation, or focused on needs of economy at expense of family life - increase in dual career families
• what do feminists reject?

  W + Y reject march of progress argument
• what does Oakley argue abut the symmetrical family?

  huge over-statement bc mens 'help' w/ housework may be tiny. found often be tasks like making breakfast once a week or taking children to part on odd occasion.
• what is the definition Oakley gives to the symmetrical family?

  symmetrical balance is seen in perfectly centred compositions or those with mirror images, the same on both sides.
• why is the family not symmetrical accord to Oakley?

  most household tasks are responsibility of woman in most households as men didn't participate in household roles - onlY 15%.
• what are Oakley's findings?


  15% men had high participation levels in housework and 25% childcare.
• what does Oakley argue about men and childcare?


  argues childcare which men partake in enjoyable parts. playing w/ children on Sunday, not getting them up + out for school in mornings. means women miss out on good parts. Oakley found most couples define fathers as just 'taking an interest
• what does Boulton argue about childcare?

  supported Boulton. found W + Y exaggerated claim of symmetrical family. < 20% of husbands had major role in childcare. women nearly always responsible for security + well being of couples children
• what does Braun, Vincent + Ball argue?

  Supported Boulton. found in study 70 families that only 3 father main carer - argued most background fathers with "provider ideology"
• what do Warde + Hetherington argue about housework?

  research in Manchester - show domestic tasks specifically associated w/ males or females or sex typed. found wives 30x more likely last person to have washed up + men were 4x more likely washed car.
• what does Gershuny argue about the work + housework?

  Women who do paid work do less work in home. Wives w/ no job did 83% of housework, wives part time did 82% + women w/ full time did 73% of housework. Longer woman paid in work for more housework husband did. Couples who's parents more equal roles in domestic tasks also share domestic tasks more.
• what do Silver and School argue about the work + housework?

  arguer increased technology mean women less timely housework to do. can afford it bc now often working. say led to 'death if the housewife role'.
• what do Ferri and smith argue about work + childcare?

  provide evidence thay women suffer from dual burden - double the work bc go out to work + also have work in home. took sample of 1589 33 yo's found that in < 4% if access man in charge of childcare.
• what does Morris argue about work + housework?

  back up idea of dual burden. found unemployed men seee domestic tasks as 'women's work'. especially as masculinity may be already decreased from unemployment and don't want to ruin 'macho' manly image further.
• what do Duncombe + Marsden argue about work + housework?

  found may be 'triple-burden' bc women used for emotional support as well as 1) housework + childcare 2) paid work. emotional labour includes caring for sick child w/ compassion.
• what does Dunne argue about work + housework?

  'gender-scripts' setting out male + female roles which are social expectations of men + women doing set things. Dunne shows point by showing lesbian couples housework + childcare is bc no gender scripts live up to. Study, 36 cohabiting lesbian couples w/ children found domestic tasks shared.
• what do Arber + Finn argue about work + childcare/housework?


  use of childcare helps m.c. women avoid dual burden. lower argue w.c. who cant afford childcare trapped w/ dual burden as have to look after children and work, same for hiring domestic help ask.
• what does Man-Yee Kan argue about work + housework?

  income from employment, age + education affected how much housework women did; better-paid, younger, better-educated women did less housework. having degree puts women in better position, however if woman earns more than man, woman does more housework as males masculinity threatened.
• what does Graham argue about money management in the family?

  found over half the women in study preferred benefits to previous financial support from their husbands after they split up. moire regular + reliable.
• what does Pahl + Vogler argue about money management in the family?

  identify two types of control over income, pooling and allowance system
• what is pooling according to Pahl + Vogler?

  both patterns have joint access to income e.g. having joint background
• what is the allowance system according to Paul + Vogler?

  where men give women budget for the game and childcare and keep the rest
• what does Paul + Vogler argue about pooling?

  pooling on the rise, compared sample of 1211 couples with their parents. polling increased from 19% with patents to 50% w/ current couples
• what are the new patterns of money management in todays society + w/in straight couples?

  total pooling giving way to partial pooling, couples contribute some of their income to joint account for joint expenses + keep rest separate. Unmarried straight couples partial pooling more prevalent than pooling, especially when couples child free.
• what are the new patterns of money management in todays society + w/in gay couples?

  same sex couples higher degree of equality and more separation in couples finances than has been observed for straight married couples.
• what does Pahl + Vogler argue about pooling?

  pooling not = equality. also need to know who controls pooled money and whether each partner contributes equally. Volger et al found cohabiting couples less likely to pool money may be desire maintain independence. Cohabiting couples more likely than married couples share domestic tasks equally