structural views of families and households

Created by

Sophia Lynch

Cards (12)

what did parsons say was the role of the family?
he argued that in modern western societies the state provides education and could perform an economic function
what were the 4 functions according to Murdock?
educational, economical, reproductive and sexual
what did parsons mean by the warm bath theory?
the idea that when a man came home from a hard day at work he could relax in to his family like a warm bath
how would a marxist feminist criticise the warm bath theory?
Fran Ansley argued that the warm bath theory is not true and that women are 'takers of shit' from a man's day at work
how do marxists criticise functionalists?
marxists argue that their view is too rosy and idealistic and that families aren't like that for everyone
- ignores the dark side of the family
what did marxists say were the functions of the family?
they see the family as a conservative institution that helps to preserve capitalism
performs roles for capitalism in the favour of the bourgeoise
what did Engels say about the family?
the family has a clear economic function for capitalism by ensuring their wealth is in the hands of the bourgeoise
what did Engels say about property inheritance?
argued that when rich people die their inheritance is given to the children so it is based on bloodline
reinforces social class inequalities
what did zaretsky say about capitalism ?
he argued that the family gave proletarian men something they could control and this provided a function for capitalism because they were more tolerant of being exploited because they had power elsewhere
evaluation of zaretsky
zaretsky's theory can be criticised for being outdated because it says there's only one worker in the family
evaluation of the marxism view
functionalists argue that families remain similar overtime and it isn't always because of a capitalist society
what did parsons say the two functions of the family were?
primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities