Families topic 3

• Functionalist perspective

  Believes society is based on a value consensus (a set of shared norms and values) which society socialises their kids into

  • they compare society to biological organism like the human body as subsystems in society, depend on each other eg family, education, system and economy
• functionalist- Murdock 


  Augies, the family performs for essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members:

  • Stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner
  • Production of the next generation
  • Socialisation of the young into shared norms and values
  • Meeting its members, economic needs, e.g. food and shelter
• functionalist- criticisms of Murdock


  Feminist the family is serving the needs of men and oppressing women

  • Marxist argue with meets the needs of capitalism, not those of family members or society as a whole
• Functionalist- Parsons, functional fit theory


  He argues the functions the family performs depend on the kind of society It’s found in, he identifies two types of family structure:

  1. The nuclear family of parents and kids
  2. And the extended family of three generations, living together

  He says there’s two different types of society, modern industry and pre-industrial. nuclear family fits the needs of industrial society. Extended family fits pre-industrial society parcel also sees industrial society having two essential needs and geographical Workforce and socially mobile workforce
• Functionalist- parsons geographically mobile work force


  In modern society industries go up and decline in different places of the world, meaning people have to move to get jobs.

  He argues this is easy for the nuclear family to move hence why they’re better for the modern industry.
• functionalist- parsons socially, mobile workforce

  Modern society is always evolving so requires skilled workers

  • In modern society, peoples status is achieved by their own abilities, and not ascribed, making social mobility possible
• Functionalist- loss of functions

  Parsons when the pre-industrial family (unit of production) becomes industrialised it loses lots of functions, loses being a unit of production and becomes a unit of consumption, losing most of its other functions to institutions, e.g. education system

  1. Due to this loss of function, Parsons argues modern nuclear family comes to specialise in 2 functions: 1)primary socialisation of kids and 2)the stabilisation of adult personalities. The family allows adults to relax and release tensions from Work .
• Marxist perspective

  sees societies, institutions, e.g. education, system, media, religion and family as helping maintain class inequality in capitalism. Therefore they see the functions of the family being performed purely for the benefit of capitalism.
• Marxism- inheritance of property

  Key function in determining the shape of social institutions, e.g. family is mode of production which capitalism owns and controls, as mode of production involves so does the family

  • marx the earliest class, less society, ‘primitive communism’ in this society. There was no private property and there was no family. Instead, there was What engles called ‘promiscuous horde’ or tribe
• Marxism- private property


  As production developed wealth, increased bringing private property, as a class of men emerged, who could secure means of production to control this, brought about patriarchal, monogamous nuclear family

  • engels so monogamy as essential due to inheritance of private property, the rise of monogamous nuclear family represented a world historical defeat of the female sex as it brought the women’s sexuality under male control, turning her into an instrument for production
• Marxism- private property

  Marxists argue Only the overthrow of capitalism and private ownership of means of production will achieve liberation from patriarchal control
• Marxism- ideological functions

  Family socialises their kids into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable. Parental power shows them the idea that there’s always someone charge preparing them for work.
• Marxism- unit of consumption

  Capitalism exploits workers by selling the products of their labour for more than they paid for them to make it

  • Family plays a large role in generating profits as it’s an important market
  • Advertises urge families to ‘ keep up with the joneses‘ by consuming all the latest products
  • Media targets, kids who use ‘ pester power’ to persuade parents
• marxism- criticisms of Marxist perspective

  Assume nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society, ignoring the variety of family structures

  • Feminists argue, Marxist emphasise on class and capitalism, ignoring gender
• Feminist perspective- liberal feminism

  Concerned with campaigning against discrimination in equal rights. Arguing women’s oppression is gradually being overcome by changes in the law e.g. sex discrimination act, 1975

  • They believe full quality will depend on further changes in attitudes, socialisation patterns of both sexes, and more laws
  • similar view to M.o.p like Wilmot and Young although they don’t believe full gender equality has been met, yet e.g. studies show men are doing more housework
  • Criticisms- feminist argue, liberal fems fail to identify underlying causes of women’s oppression
• feminist perspectiv- Marxist feminists

  Argue, the main cause of women’s oppression is capitalism as it performs several functions for capitalism:

  • Women reproduce labour force through unpaid work and socialising the next generation of workers
  • They absorb anger, which would otherwise be directed at capitalism
  • Ansley describes women as ‘takers of shit’ who soak up frustration, husbands feel because of alienation and frustration men feel at work Marxist say this explains male, domestic violence against women
  • There are reserve army of cheap labour, e.g. when war happened
• Feminist perspective- radical feminism

  Argue all societies have been founded on patriarchy, the key division in society is between men and women, men are the enemy and source of women’s oppression and exploitation and family and marriage, a key institutions in patriarchal society

  • Men benefit from their sexual services and dominate women through domestic violence, all the threat of it
  • argue patriarchal systems need to be overturned, especially the family which they see as the root of oppression
  • The only way this can happen is through separatism, women must move away and live independently
• Feminist perspectives- radical feminism p2

  Many radical feminists argue for political lesbianism. The idea that heterosexual relationships are oppressive because they are sleeping with the enemy (Men)

  • criticisms- liberal feminists such as someville argue, radical feminist failed to recognise a position of women has improved lots
• Feminist perspectives- difference feminism

  Argue, we can’t generalise about women’s experiences, they argue, lesbian, heterosexual, white, black, middle-class, working class have different experiences of the family

  • White feminist, neglect, black, women’s experiences of radical oppression
  • Black feminist, see the family as a positive source of support and resistance against racism
  • Criticism-Other feminists argue, different feminism neglect, the fact that all women share many of the same experiences
• Personal life perspective (plp)

  Plp argues all other fairies suffer from two weaknesses:

  1. They tend to assume that the nuclear family is the dominant family type ignoring increased diversity, e.g. lone, parent families
  2. They are all structural theories, assuming that family members are all passive puppets manipulated by structure of society to provide economy with a mobile workforce

  They argue to understand the family today we must focus on the meanings, its members give to their relationships and situations rather than the families supposed functions
• Plp- beyond ties of blood and marriage

  Takes a wide view of relationships than just traditional family based relationships, by focusing on peoples meanings personal life perspective, draws attention to arrange of other relationships that are important to people

  • These include all relationships, people see as significant and give their identity belonging, e.g.
  • relationship with friends who may be like a sibling,
  • fictive kin,
  • close friends treated as relatives,
  • gay/lesbian chosen families,
  • relations with dead relatives who live on in peoples memories
  • relationships with pets
• Personal life perspective- donor conceived kids

  Smart and nordquist found issue of blood and genes raised feelings, some parents emphasise importance of social relationships over genetic ones informing bonds

  • E.g., a mother of a donor conceived child defined being a mum by the time and effort she put into raising her child
  • Where couples knew the donor they had to resolve questions on who counts as family, e.g. would donors parent count as grandparent
• Personal life perspective- evaluation

  This view helps us, understand how people construct and define their relationships as family rather than imposing traditional definitions. However, this can be criticised for being too broad as it ignores what special about relationships with blood.