Parsons Symmetrical Family

• Parsons Instrumental and Expressive roles

  In the traditional nuclear family, the roles of husbands and wives are segregated - separate and distinct from one another. In Parsons‘ functionalist model of the family, for example, there is a clear division of labour between spouses:
• • The husband has an instrumental role, geared towards achieving success at work so that he can provide for the family financially. He is the breadwinner.
  • The wife has an expressive role, geared towards 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.
• Parsons argues that this division of labour is based on biological differences, with women 'naturally' suited to the nurturing role and men to that of provider. He claims that this division of labour is beneficial to both men and women, to their children and to wider society. Some conservative thinkers and politicians, known as the New Right, also hold this view.