Theories of the Family

• Functionalism - Parsons' 'Functional Fit' Theory (1):

  > the functions that the family needs to perform will affect its shape or structure

  > before the industrial revolution, the dominant family was extended - extended kin performed functions (childcare, healthcare and education) that were not provided by the state, and most families worked in agriculture so required many family members to work on and run the farm

  > after the industrial revolution, the nuclear family become dominant, because it is geographically and socially mobile
• Functionalism - Parsons' 'Functional Fit' Theory (2):

  > geographically mobile - easier to move a nuclear family compared to an extended

  > socially mobile - people now gain status through ability and effort, not background, and the nuclear family avoids tensions as a result of differences in status in generations

  > structural differentiation has occurred - the state takes over some functions of the family through institutions such as the NHS
• Functionalism - Socialisation (Parsons):

  > the family performs primary socialisation by teaching children the basic norms and values of society - the shared culture

  > enables children to cooperate and integrates them into society e.g. teaching manners, which helps them communicate

  > in the traditional nuclear family, the mother performs the expressive role, so is primarily responsible for carrying out this function - women are naturally suited to it
• Functionalism - Economic (Murdock):

  > family works as a unit to meet the basic economic needs of all its

  members - in traditional nuclear family, the man would act as the breadwinner (instrumental role) and this involves paid work to provide food and shelter to all members of the family

  > Parsons - stabilisation of adult personalities - family allows adults to relax and relieve tensions, allowing them to feel refreshed and enabling them to continue being economically productive (safety-valve)
• Functionalism - Reproduction (Murdock):

  > the family has a key role in reproducing the next generation - in order for society to continue, it needs more members

  > therefore, the family is a vital institution because through marriage and child-bearing it creates new members
• Functionalism - Sexual Regulation (Murdock):

  > the role of the family is to satisfy the adult sex drive in a stable manner

  > in a monogamous marriage, each partner has access to sex in a secure relationship

  > prevents the social disruption that would be caused if there was a sexual 'free for all'
• Marxism - Socialisation (Althusser):

  > the family is an ideological state apparatus, passing on the norms and values of capitalism - persuades people to accept capitalism as fair, natural and unchangeable

  > for example, children are socialised to accept that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable through parental power over children - prepares them for working life
• Marxism - Economic - Unit of Consumption:

  > family is a unit of consumption – it uses goods, and has to buy these goods, which helps the economy

  > advertisers urge families to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ by

  consuming all of the latest products - the media target children, who use ‘pester power’ to persuade parents to spend (children who lack the latest clothes and gadgets are mocked by those who do have them)
• Marxism - Economic - Myth of the Warm Bath (Zaretsky):

  > family performs an ideological function by offering an 'haven' from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism

  > safety valve - ruling class require women to take the frustrations of working class men so they can return to work to be exploited and create profits for the ruling class
• Marxism - Reproduction:

  > the family reproduces the labour force for capitalism

  > family creates more workers to help the bourgeoisie create profits

  > they are wage slaves, primed for exploitation in capitalism
• Marxism - Sexual Regulation (Engels):

  > the need for the nuclear family arose when societies started to value private property

  > a class of men emerged who were able to control the means of production, which brought about the patriarchal monogamous nuclear family - monogamy became essential because of the inheritance of private property

  > men wanted to ensure that their money stayed in their family - the best way to ensure this was to make sure their wife only had sex with them (legitimate children)
• Liberal Feminism:

  > girls are being resocialised due to changes in laws and attitudes - march of progress

  > for example, Equal Pay Act (1970) and Sex Discrimination Act (1975) have helped women achieve equality in the world of work, and the Contraception and Abortion Act (1967) have given more freedom and choice over their bodies

  > evidence to show that men do more housework and parents have similar aspirations for their sons and daughters
• Radical Feminism:

  > marriage and family oppress women - men benefit from women's unpaid labour and sexual services (e.g. housework) and men dominate through domestic violence, or the threat of it

  > children are socialised into the norms and values of patriarchy

  > family should be abolished through separatism or political lesbianism
• Marxist Feminism:

  > the nuclear family benefits capitalism at the expense of the working class and women

  > women reproduce the labour force and are a reserve army of cheap labour

  > Ansley describes women as 'takers of shit' - they absorb the anger of their husbands so they can return to work to be exploited (BOGOF)
• Difference Feminism:

  > we cannot generalise women's experiences, as they are all different

  > by regarding the family as purely negative, white feminists neglect black women's experiences of racial oppression

  > black feminists view the family positively as a source of support and resistance against racism
• Personal Life Perspective - Beyond Ties of Blood and Marriage:

  > takes a wider conception of what 'family' is - by focusing on individual meanings, the perspective draws attention to other relationships that create identity:

  > relationships with friends, fictive kin, LGBT 'chosen families', relationships with dead relatives and pets
• Personal Life Perspective - Donor Conceived Children:

  > Smart - the issue of blood and genes raised a range of feelings

  > some parents emphasised the importance of social relationships over genetic ones

  > difference in appearance also led parents to wonder about the donor and any children they may have had

  > for lesbian couples there were additional problems, such as ensuring equality between genetic and non-genetic mothers