division of labour

• In the traditional nuclear family, Parsons says the husband has an instrumental role and the wife has an expressive role.
• An instrumental role is to be the breadwinner, financially support the family and be successful in work.
• An expressive role is to be the home-maker and meet the family's emotional needs and teach them the norms and values of society.
• Feminists reject Parsons view that the division of labour is natural and biological as it is actually socially constructed to benefit men
• Young and Willmott (1962) =

  • Argue men are now taking a greater share of domestic tasks and wives are becoming wage earners.
• What different type of feminists would say?

  Marxist = Reserve army of cheap labour

  Able to exploit women in terms of pay

  Liberal = Gender roles are becoming more equal

  Radical = Women are still very oppressed
• Elizabeth Bolt (1957) = Joint and Segregated Roles

  • There has been an apparent change in society
  • Circle of friendship and family determines what role you play.
  • A close knit circle means role are more likely to be segregated eg. Desperate Housewives.
• Joint roles are flexible and interchangeable roles within the family, they are both in paid work and share decision making.
• Segregated roles means partners have clear separate roles such as housewives, this also means they have separate friends and activities.
• Young and Willmott identify patterns of segregated conjugal roles in their study of working class families in the 1950's.

  
  

  
  

  Men were the breadwinners and played little part in home-life while women were full-time housewives with the sole responsibility for housework and childcare.
• Young and Wilmott = Symmetrical Family

  • March of progress view that family is more equal
  • More focused on joint conjugal roles
  • Family is now more symmetrical
• Young and Wilmott believe this change happens because:

  1. Change in women's position
  2. Geographical mobility
  3. New technology
  4. Higher standards of living
• These changes have led to a symmetrical family as both partners are now breadwinners so they are forced to share work. They also have new technology which makes cleaning easier such as hoovers and dishwashers. Higher standards of living means that the house must be to a higher standard.
• Change in women's position's also is affected as well as geographical mobility as wives are now able to work alongside their husbands.
• Things that support Young and Wilmott:

  • Women now are in paid work
  • Men help more with childcare and housework
  • Families have a similar network
  • They have more leisure time together
• Ann Oakley =

  • Conducted an interview on 40 London housewives from working and middle class.
  • Found only 15% of men partook in housework and only 25% partook in childcare and activities.
• Ann Oakley =

  • Criticized march of progress view
  • There is still a divide between integrated roles
• Boulton (1983) =

  • Less than 20% of husbands have a major role in childcare
• Warde and Hetherington (1993) =

  • Sex typing roles is still prominent in society
  • Domestic chores have sex typical roles
  • Men only do female tasks when women aren't there
  • There has been a slight change in attitudes in younger men