Theories

• F: Function of the family - Murdock

  • Stable satisfaction of sex drive
  • Reproduction of next generation
  • Socialisation of young
  • Meetings it's members economic needs
• 4 functions of family - Criticism

  • Feminists: serves the needs of men and oppresses women. It is a 'rose-tinted' harmonious consensus view
  • Marxists: meets needs of capitalism not the family or society as a whole
• F: 'Functional fit' - Parsons

  • 2 kinds of family structures = nuclear & extended family
  • Each structire and functions of a family will 'fit' the needs the of society in which it is found
  • Nuclear fits needs of industrial society, Extended fits pre-industrial
• Loss of functions

  • the modern nuclear family specialise in performing 2 essential functions
  • Primary socialisation of children
  • Stablisation of adult personalities - a place where adults can relax and release tensions enabling them to return to the workplace which is efficient for the economy
• M: Private property - Engels

  • Monogamy is essential because of the inheritance of private property
  • This brought a defeat of the female sex as it turned them into an instrument for the production of children
• M: Ideological function - Zaretsky

  • Family offers a 'haven' from the harsh & exploitative world of capitalism
  • Workers can 'be themselves' and have a private life
  • Yet this is an illusion as the family can't meet its members' needs as its based on the domestic servitude of women
• M: Unit of conumption

  • Family generates profits for capitalists
  • As advertisers urge families to 'keep up with the Joneses' by consuming all the latest products
  • Media target children to use 'pester power' to persuade their parents to spend more
  • Children 'must have' the latest gadgets and are mocked by peers if they don't
• Marxist perspective - Criticism

  • Ignore variety of family structures
  • Place emphasis on class but underestimate gender inequalities in the family
  • Ignores the benefits the family provides for its members
• FE: Liberal fem

  • Concerned with campaigning against sex discrimination and for equal rights & opportunities
  • Argue it is gradually being overcome through changing attitudes e.g. Sex Discrimation Act 1975
  • Full equality depends on furter reforms and change in socialisation patterns
• FE: Marxist fem

  • Women reproduce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour & socialising the next gen of workers
  • Women absorb the anger. Ansley: Wives are 'takers of shit' who soak up their husband's frustration as they feel alienated and exploited
  • Women are a reserve army of cheap labour who can be taken on when extra work is needed or be let go off when not
• FE: Radical fem

  • Men are the enemy and source of women's exploitation & oppression
  • Family and marriage are key insitutions in patraiarchy. It needs to be overturned and women need to live independently of men
  • Argue for 'political lesbianism' as heterosexual relationships are oppressive as they involve 'sleeping with the enemy'
  • Greer: argues for the creation of all-female households as an alternative
• Radical fem - Criticism

  • Somerville: radicals fail to recognise the improvement of women's position with better access to divorce, jobs, control over own fertility or to marry
  • Heterosexual attraction makes it unlikely that political lesbianism/ separatism will happen
• FE: Difference fem

  • All women have very different experiences (White, Black, M/C or W/C)
  • White feminists neglect Black women's experience of racial oppression
  • Black feminists view the family as a source of support & resistance against racism
• Difference fem - Criticism

  • All women face the risk of domestic violence & sexual assault, low pay etc.