Sociology (Families)

• Expressive role


  Women - provides care and emotional support for other family members
• Instrumental role


  Male - traditional role of the adults
• Monogamy


  the practice of being married to one person at a time
• Polyandry


  a woman having several husbands at one time
• Polygamy


  being married to more then one person at a time
• Polygyny


  a man having several wives at a time
• Conjugal roles


  the roles typically associated with male and female partners
• Double shift (dual burden)


  the working women continue to perform the majority of the domestic labour
• Joint conjugal roles


  male and female partners share household tasks
• Segregated conjugal roles 


  male and female partners perform different defined activities
• Symmetrical family


  a family where both domestic and economic responsibilities are equally shared between both partners
• Functionalists perspective


  -the family has important functions for society and the individuals within
• Murdock (functionalist)


  Educational - children are taught norms and values

  Economic - the family provides an economic function to all members

  Reproductive - produces the next generation of society

  Sexual - ensures that adults sexual relationships are controlled and stable
• Parsons (functionalist)

  Primary socialisation - families teach children norms and values

  Stabilisation of adult personalities - the family provides emotional support to its members (warm bath theory)
• Marxist perspective


  -families perform a role that isnt for society but for capitalism and the bourgeoisie
• Zaretsky (Marxist)


  The family supports the capitalist economy:

  -relies on the housewife role of unpaid work and producing the next generation

  -acts as a vital unit of consumption
• Feminist perspective


  -argue that the family supports patriarchy
• Oakley (feminist)

  -women still undertake the majority of domestic labour and childcare

  -cereal packet families

  -the stereotypes of women are really out of date