Nuclear Family

• Murdock’s Family (1949)

  doesn’t believe in family diversity

  the nuclear family is natural and universal
• Murray (1998) - New Right

  • diversity is the cause of social breakdown
  • patriarchal nuclear family is the only correct family type, with a clear-cut division of labour between the husband and wife (instrumental and expressive)
• functionalism of the nuclear family

  • nuclear families are needed for societal order
  • observe family structures and purposes
• sexual function of the nuclear family

  most societies channel their sex drives into socially acceptable relationship, such as marriage
• economic function of the nuclear family

  • the family act as a unit of production
  • they work together to provide resources
  • units of consumption, they buy items to care for their family’s needs
  • society benefits from their economic contribution
• cons of marxist perspective

  • not inclusive, only focuses on western capitalist societies
  • outdated, only focuses on nuclear families
  • ignores the extent to which we have the capacity to make our own life choices
  • focuses on capitalism alone
• Zaretsky (1976) - marxist

  • argues that due to the rise of capitalist industrial production in the 19th century, work and family life became separated
  • the idea that under capitalism workers had little control is an illusion because the family is unable to overcome the effects of capitalism
  • the family supports capitalism
  • the nuclear family is an institution that specialises in socialisation, children learn gender roles from their parents
• Young and Wilmott (1973)

  the symmetrical family - based on nuclear family and centred on the relationship between the husband and wife
• Bernades (1997) - new right

  the nuclear family is ‘too good to be true’, it fails to acknowledge the dark side of the family