Young and willmott

• Symmetrical family


  Relationships where spouses perform different tasks but each makes a similar contribution to the home
• Symmetrical family


  • Decision-making, including financial decisions, is more shared
  • Family members are now more home-centred, sharing much of their leisure time
• Some sociologists suggest that conjugal roles are becoming more joint (integrated conjugal roles)
• Young and Willmott (1973) argue that the symmetrical family is typical in Britain
• Although attitudes to gender roles may have changed, people's behaviour has not altered much
• Many women now work a double shift, combining paid work with housework
• In practice, the new man is hard to find