Family

• What's the traditional definition of family?

  A group of people who are related to one another by blood (kinship) or marriage.
• What is family diversity?

  The many different types of families that exist in society today.
• What is a nuclear family?

  Husband (breadwinner) , wife (housewife) , children (Ideal type).
• What are the problems with defining the nuclear family as ideal?

  -Patriarchal.

  -Abusive.

  -Make it seems like other family types are inadequate.
• What is the functionalist view of the nuclear family?

  -Have a positive view on the nuclear family.

  -They think it's the ideal family.

  -They think family performs essential functions that benefit everyone and ensure order and stability.

  -They think that other family types are inadequate.
• What is Murdock's evidence?


  -He says that the family performs 4 essential functions that benefits everyone and no other organisation can offer.

  
  

  -Sexual: Sex within marriage.

  
  

  -Reproductive: Producing children for the next generation.

  
  

  -Educational: Teaches children norms & values.

  
  

  -Economical: Family provides resources and financial stability.
• What is Parson's evidence?

  -He says that the family has lost some of its functions but 2 basic ones are left.

  
  

  -Primary socialisation: Teaching kids norms & values so they can fit in society.

  
  

  -Stabilisation of adult personalities: The family is like a 'warm bath' which relaxes you from stress.
• What are 3 weaknesses of Functionalism?

  -Overemphasises the harmonious nature of society, ignoring the negative aspects.

  -Ignores dysfunctional families.

  -Fail to examine power inequalities.
• What is the Marxist view of the nuclear family?


  -They take a critical view of the family.

  -They think they function to benefit the interests of bourgeoisie.

  -Keep capitalism running.

  -Use functions to create false class consciousness.

  -Continue from one generation to the next.
• What's Zaretsky's evidence?


  -He said that there are 4 ways the family keeps capitalism running

  
  

  -Cult of private life:bury themselves in family life and close eyes on injustice.

  
  

  -Unit of consumption: buying products.

  
  

  -Socialisation: Doing what parents say.

  
  

  -Economic: Unpaid domestic labour.
• What's Engel's evidence?


  -Capitalism is based on private property.

  
  

  -Nuclear family is an essential tool for capitalism.

  
  

  -Monogamous relationships.

  
  

  -Children are legitimate heirs.
• What are 3 weaknesses of Marxism?

  -Consumption can be enjoyable.

  -Too focused on the exploitation of the working class.

  -Revolution has not come true.
• What is Feminist's view of the nuclear family?

  -Critical of family as who have negative impact on lives of women and society.

  -Nuclear family actively contributes to social construction.

  -Prepare children for gender roles.

  -Patriarchy nature helps reproduce gender inequalities overtime.
• What is Oakley's evidence?

  -Family creates gender roles.

  
  

  -Canalisation: Giving toys to send messages.

  
  

  -Manipulation: Encourage certain behaviour and discourage certain behaviour.

  
  

  -Different activities: Promoting different activities between boys and girls.

  
  

  -Verbal appellations: Using different words and phrases.
• What's Delphy & Leonard's evidence?

  -Suggested that women contribute the most in family life in terms of housework.

  
  

  -Women provide 57 varieties of work for men including housework, reproductive and sexual work.
• What's Duncombe and Marsden's evidence?

  -Domestic work done overwhelmingly by women.

  
  

  -Triple shift: Housework,work, and emotional work.
• What's Walby's evidence?


  -Patriarchy is shown in the form of domestic violence.

  
  

  -A woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police.
• What are 4 weaknesses of Feminism?

  -Do not recognise that more women are financially independent.

  
  

  -Ignore benefits of family for women.

  
  

  -Do not focus on too much gender inequality caused by patriarchy.

  
  

  -Generalises that all families are patriarchal.
• What is the Marxist feminist's view of the nuclear family?

  -The nuclear family is a tool used by the bourgeoisie to meet their needs.

  -Women's unpaid domestic work contributes to the smooth running of capitalism.

  -Therefore, capitalism runs on the exploitation of women, it needs patriarchy to function.

  -The patriarchal nuclear family meets the needs of men and most importantly the ruling class.
• What's Ansley's evidence?


  -Sees women acting as a 'safety valve' and that women absorb their husbands frustration at their own powerlessness and oppression.

  
  

  -Suggests that women are 'the takers of shit'.
• What is Benston's evidence?

  -Women are the slaves of the wage slaves - As women take primary responsibility for domestic tasks as well as attending to the sexual and emotional needs of their husbands (the workers).
• What's 3 weaknesses of Marxist feminism?

  -Too focused on the exploitation of the working class.

  -False class consciousness is criticised because it assumes that people are passive and can be easily brainwashed.

  -Revolution has not come true yet.
• What is the New Right view of the family?

  -Believe nuclear family provides adequate socialisation.

  -Believe in sanctity and traditional division of labour.

  -Perfect and ideal family

  -Divorce and cohabitation is threatening the future of the nuclear family.

  -Mostly critical of lone parent families.

  -Don't like family diversity.
• What is Murray's evidence?

  -Boys brought up without a male role model in the family will mot see fatherly behaviour to inspire to.

  
  

  -Won't understand the role of men is to work and provide money for family.

  
  

  -Boys wont take responsibility for their children.

  
  

  -Boys from lone parent families will turn to crime and underachievement.
• What is Sewell's evidence?

  -High amount of African-Caribbean boys are raised in lone parent families.

  
  

  -Makes them vulnerable to peer pressure eg. drawn into gangs.

  
  

  -Will reject authority and might turn to crime and underachievement.
• What are 3 weaknesses of new right?

  -Exaggeration of nuclear family.

  -Take a victim blaming approach.

  -Criticised for suggesting that other family types are inferior.
• What is the postmodernist view of the nuclear family?

  -Believe people can choose the family they want.

  -Nuclear family is decreasing because of choice.

  -No pressure to live in a set family.
• What is Gidden's evidence?

  -Individuals seek confluent love: Love based on intimacy.

  
  

  -Relationships are not based on permanent commitment.

  
  

  -Partners only maintain the relationships as long as both are fulfilled.

  
  

  -Says that women have gained freedom from this.

  
  

  -They're able to leave the patriarchal family if they want to.
• What are 3 weaknesses of postmodernism?

  -Some people have decreased choice.

  -Exaggerate degree of choice.

  -Nuclear family is still the dominant family type.
• What does the term traditional division of labour mean?

  Man is bread winner and woman is housewife.
• What does the term domestic division of labour mean?

  Tasks within the home.
• What does the term dual career families mean?

  Both heads of households have careers.
• What does the term dual burden mean?


  Women in paid employment still have primary responsibility of the housework and childcare.
• What does the term triple shift mean?

  Women in paid employment still have primary responsibility of the housework and childcare as well as emotional work.
• What are conjugal roles?


  The domestic roles of married or cohabiting partners.
• What did Young and Willmott say about the roles of men?

  They say that the roles of men and women have become more equal but not identical. And that the roles had become more joint and integrated for wage-earning, domestic roles etc. This is shown through similar contributions to the home by the husband and wife as he spends an equivalent amount of time on home related tasks such as DIY.
• What is new man?

  A New Man shares housework and equally contributed to eliminate all negativity about men's behaviour.
• What are the reasons for move towards the symmetrical family?

  -Change of attitudes

  -Rise of feminism

  -Privatised nuclear family

  -Interest in home life increased
• Which sociologists agree that conjugal roles have become more equal?

  Gatrell-

  Found out that many fathers today play a greater role in their childrens lives than the past

  Dermott -

  Found that many fathers wanted to be involved with childcare with their children and want to be intimate fathers

  Kaufman -

  Identified increase in new dads (highly involved with children and minor changes to work practices) and superdads (actively adjusted their work lives to fit in with their family lives).
• Which sociologists agree that conjugal roles have not become more equal? (you'll find the evidence in your book)

  Edgell - Men have control over major decisions whereas women had sole control of decisions to do with the home decor etc.

  Pahl - He talks about 'husband controlled pooling' and how the husband controls the money and how it's spent.

  Walby -

  Found that patriarchy is seen in the form of domestic violence, 70% of the time its men against women.