Theories of Family

• In a nutshell


  Functionalists hold a consensus view of the family arguing that it plays a vital role in providing beneficial functions to meet the needs of society and its individual members. Alternatively, Marxists take a conflict view of the family, arguing it helps maintain class inequalities. Feminists also hold a conflict view of the family, whereby they believe the family is the main source of oppression of women.
• FUNCTIONALISTS - THE ORGANIC ANALOGY


  The human body is made up of different parts that function together to meet its needs and maintain it. Functionalists believe society does the same, in which it is made up of interdependent parts (eg. the education system, the government, religion etc) that work together to maintain the social system as a whole
• FUNCTIONALISTS - MURDOCK


  The nuclear family performs four essential functions:

  Socialisation of the young

  Satisfaction of the member's economic needs

  Reproduction of the next generation

  Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
• FUNCTIONALISTS - PARSONS' FUCTIONAL FIT

  The functions that the family perform depend on the type of society:

  Pre-industrial society - extended family - had the function of production and consumption

  Modern society - nuclear family - have the function of social and geographical mobility

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  The nuclear family has two functions:

  Primary socialisation of the young - equipping the next generation with basic skills and society’s values.

  Stabilisation of adult personalities - enabling adults to relax so they can return to the workplace and perform their roles effectively.
• MARXISTS - ENGELS


  The family exists so men can pass their private property onto their biological offspring, notably a son.
• MARXISTS - ZARETSKY


  There is an ideological function of the family called the ‘cult of private life’ - this is the belief that we can only gain fulfilment from family life, which distracts attention from exploitation.
• MARXISTS - POULANTZAS


  Nuclear families are brainwashed into thinking capitalism is fair, which teaches lower generations how to conform and co-operate with the capitalist system.
• LIBERAL FEMINISTS


  Liberal feminists take a march of progress view in suggesting gender inequality is gradually being overcome through reform and policy change, which changes people’s attitudes towards socialisation and challenges stereotypes. For example, the new man is becoming more widespread.

   
• MARXISTS FEMINSTS


  Capitalism is the main form of women's oppression in the family and this performs several functions for capitalism:

  Reproducing the labour force - women socialise the next generation of workers.

  Absorbing men's anger - wives soak up their husband's frustration from being exploited at work.

  A reserve army of cheap labour - when not needed, women workers can return to their domestic role.

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• RADICAL FEMINISTS 


  The family and marriage are the key institutions in a patriarchal society, meaning that men benefit from the women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services, as well as dominate them through violence or the threat of it.

  ​Radical feminists also believe the patriarchal system needs to be overturned, and the only way to achieve this is through separatism, meaning women need to organise themselves to live independently to men.

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• DIFFERENCE FEMINISTS


  Not all women share the same experience of oppression; women of different ethnicities, class, age etc may have different experiences of the family.
• NEW RIGHT


  A biologically-based division of labour - the division of labour between a male breadwinner and a female homemaker is natural and biologically determined.

  ​Families should be self-reliant - reliance on state welfare leads to a dependency culture and undermines traditional gender roles. It produces a family breakdown and an increase of lone-parent families, which results in social problems due to poor socialisation.
• PERSONAL LIFE PERSPECTIVE - SMART


  Looks at relationships that individuals see as significant and gives a sense of identity, belonging and relatedness (pets, friends etc.). Interactionists believe that structural approaches assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant type of family. This ignores the increased diversity of families today.