perspectives

• functionalism

  • society is made up of the key parts that are all linked
  • organic analogy
  • how do families support society?
  • consensus
• functionalism: murdock; REES


  the nuclear family has 4 functions for both society & individuals
• functionalism; murdock REES


  reproduction:

  • society - creating new members of society
  • individuals - legacy and inheritance
• functionalism; murdock REES

  education

  society: social integration

  individuals: teaching shared norms and values
• functionalism; murdock REES


  economic

  society: healthy society members

  individuals: survival
• functionalism; murdock REES

  sexual

  society: reducing sexual tension in society

  individuals: satisfaction of sex drive
• functionalism; murdock REES (evaluation)

  • ignores family conflict
  • ignores diversity
  • these can be performed and satisfied by other institutions
• functionalism; parsons

  • compares the family to a warm bath, emphasizing its role in providing a comforting and nurturing environment for its members
• functionalism; parsons

  1. functional fit

  small nuclear families have geographic mobility so they are able to move towards where jobs are. allowing them to climb the social ladder
• functionalism; parsons


  2. specialist functions

  irreducible: things that only the family can perform, these are:

  PRIMARY SOCIALISATION which is the teaching of basic skills, in the years of 0-5 where children are bonding, creating relationships and understanding important concepts
• functionalism; parsons


  STABILISATION OF THE ADULT PERSONALITY that is the way adults leave their work role, and adapt a childish personality when they are around their children. they are then returning to work the next day refreshed and psychologically motivated
• functionalism; parsons


  3. emotional & psychologically instrumental role : this is when (usually men) go to work, make money and pay for items. he says this is suited to men as they have ‘protective nature’

  expressive role: nurturing, loving and caring role that is usually adapted by women as they have a motherly nature
• functionalism; parsons EVALUATION

  • ignores conflict
  • cooper -> family smothers conformity
  • laing-> the family exploits weakeness
• functionalism; who disagrees with murdock?

  • diverse family types such as same sex couples and single parents
  • he explains that family HAVE to reproduce; which they don’t as it is a choice
• postmodernism; what do they argue

  • individualism
  • society is fragmented
  • focused on fhoice
  • the family isn’t passive and needs to be reevaluated
• postmodernism; levin

  • we used to have a shaped expectation of life that all people used to follow - compulsory life course
  • but due to the increase of choice, this has declined
• postmodernism: vanessa may

  • fictive kin; many other people can be seen as family: friends, dead relatives, diverse families
  • meanings behind relations
  • family isn’t always blood
  • there are many types of relationships that provide belonging and identify through intimacy; something the family cannot satisfy
• postmodernism; nordqvist & smart

  • the family is changing in ways that benefits the diverse changing society
  • due to the way a child is conceived, this will affect the child’s perception of a family, all being different to the norm
• postmodernism; giddens

  modern era love: long lasting, intimacy was connected to marriage.

  late modernity: plastic sexuality, confluent love
• postmodernism; giddens


  this creates instability as love can ‘stop’ at any time, and could link to the increase of lone parents or money issues. couples are now praised for staying together as lack of commitment is so common among recent times
• postmodernism; giddens 


  he explains how confluent love as lead to the pure relationship where couples are together until the love no longer benifits
• postmodernism; criticisms

  • offers views of white middle class males
  • CAGE
  • people aren’t cut from social rules and pressures
• postmodernism; chambers


  detraditionalisation is central to the ideas of love and family
• marxism; zaretsky


  haven of family

  • transmits the idea that exploitation is normal
  • the family relieves work frustration
  • gives a sense of fulfilment before they return to work
• marxism; stigmatisation

  • the family is the main unit of consumption
  • society makes people believe that they need to have the newest versions of everything, this motivates workers to work harder and boosts capitalism
• marxism; engles


  inheritance of private property

  • promiscuous horde

  when families with lots of wealth grow, it creates a concentrated economy with their property.

  • monogamy is needed in order to determine family ties
• marxism; ideology and functions

  • inevitable
  • reproduction of hierarchy
  • legitimise inequality
  • correspondence principle
• marxism; zaretsky


  supporting/maintaining capitalism:

  • pressure on workers
  • they won’t rebel
• marxism


  it is unlikely for the exploitation of the working class to turn into a revolution as ideological control convinces the workers that capitalist society is inevitable and unable to change
• marxism; evaluations

  • deterministic
  • outdated
  • ignores diversity
  • benefits men more than it does benefit capitalism
• feminism; key ideas


  we live in a patriarchal society where men are the head of a household, making key decisions with the highest income, whilst women are controlled and expected to be maternal and act like a housewife
• feminism; family as a place of work

  oakley -> housework isn’t rewarding - women do not get paid for their housework or their baby care, but they are considered as jobs if they are done for other people, their husbands benefit from their wives labour.
• feminism; myth of symmetrical family

  young and willmott -> say that gender is equal in the home, but it isn’t. women are more likely to quit work or take up part time work for their children, aswell as taking time off of work to care for ill children
• feminism; dependency on male work

  women only earn 85% of a males salary; so their work is shown as less important and encouraged to drop work in order to be maternal
• feminism; domestic violence


  women are statistically more likely to experience abuse at the hands of their husbands.
• liberal feminism; sommerville

  • equality is improving as attitudes begin to change and have given women more choices
• liberal feminism


  they believe there should be a choice between careers, motherhood, both or neither.
• liberal feminism


  a women’s family position has harmful effects on her power, career and health
• liberal feminism


  they call for reform measures that will remove forms of discrimination
• liberal feminism; evaluation

  • ignores the deep rooted patriarchal ststem
  • believes equality is possible without major change