sociology - family

Decision making power

- Edgell - interviewed 38 m/c couples, asked who made decisions and how important they were. Women made more decisions than men but they were less important e.g. decorating, children's clothes. Men made more powerful e.g. moving house, job or buying a car. Hardill - found important decisions were taken by man and the mans career took priority when moving home, may be because men traditionally earn more money, men's masculinity threatened if do not have control.

evidence of dual burden

- Mee Yan Kan - even though women do paid work, they are still expected to do majority of housework and childcare. women did around 65% chores - Morris - Studied families where husbands were unemployed and the wife worked. Unemployed men did not compensate by doing more housework, emasculate. - Duncombe and Marsden - women are expected to work a triple shift, where they do paid work, housework and emotional work.

weaknesses of parsons theory

- due to late childbearing and low life expectancy, extended families were rare in pre industrial society, grandparents would not be alive much beyond birth of first grandchild. - sexist, sees it as woman's role to provide emotional support -overly positive, families full of conflict, abuse, dark side.

Domestic violence survey - Mirrless-Black

-16,000 people, 99% of all incidents were against women, committed by men. -1/4 women are likely to be assaulted by a partner during their life time. -2 women die each week as a result of domestic violence. -Occurs more in lower classes or those on low incomes -1/20 men experience domestic violence.

Parsons theory functional fit theory

-2 types of society:pre industrial and industrial. -pre industrial - extended family fits best(more people to work) -industrial - nuclear fits best (geographically mobile work force needed) -some functions have been replaced by specialised institutions e.g. caring for elderly, reproduce children

strengths of parsons theory

-Fletcher supports him, family has not lost its functions, family has increased responsibility, if failed to look after children, NHS, social services would take children away.

New right perspective of the family

-Highly critical of spf -Women should be homemakers, -Murray: rise of the underclass(single mothers etc) -perverse incentives -these patterns will be carried through generations, boys will have no working male role model

weaknesses of feminism

-many find running a home and raising children rewarding. -assumes all families are nuclear with a male head, ignoring diversity(e.g.more couples both work) -different types of feminists disagree so much on causes of patriarchy.

weakness of new right perspective

-nuclear family might not be the ideal structure to socialize children, some fail children -feminists argue they are sexist. -There may not have been a golden age of the family that the new right seem to want to go back to.

weaknesses of 4 functions model

-other institutions perform the functions equally as well -overly positive, neglects conflict, exploitation. -Marxist-family just meets the needs of capitalism. feminists-serves needs of men, oppresses women.

weaknesses of Marxism and the family

-out of date, don't take into account diversity in families. -feminists-they ignore importance of patriarchy -criticized for blaming all problems of family on capitalism.

weakness of research into why domestic violence happens

-oversimplified - feminists say they fail to explain females committing domestic violence against men and children. -Other sociologists say majority of men are against domestic violence and do not participate. -not representative - Findings come from data from women in Scotland who agreed to be interviewed, official statistics are generally unrepresentative of the true nature of crime.

Murdock 4 functions model

-stable sexual satisfaction -reproduction of next generation -socialization of young -meeting its members economic needs

typical family cycle

0-13 - Born into nuclear family 13-18 - Parents separate, stay with mother in SPF 18-21 - Go to uni, share flats with friends 21-25 - Live as singleton 25-28 - Meet partner, cohabitate 28-48 - Get married, have children, back into nuclear 48-78 - Children leave home, live in 'empty nest' family 78-100 - One partner dies, other lives as singleton.

Marxism - The family and transmission of property(inheritance)

A concern of capitalism was to make sure that an owners property was passed to their heirs. Engels - the development of monogamous nuclear family was the main way to do this. It gave men closer control over women as they were their property

social policies that increase child centric families

Age restrictions child protection policies free compulsory education

Marxism - The family reproduces capitalist ideology(hierarchies)

Althusser - a major function is to socialize children into believing that capitalism is fair, just and inevitable by exposing children to the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable from a young age

Marxism - The family is a key unit of consumption

Another function of the family is to generate profits for capitalism The proletariat work for the bourgeoisie and spend their wages buying the products they have produced. creating 'false needs' urging families to 'keep up with the Jones' and encourage children to use 'pester power'.

Cultural diversity: Asian families

Berthoud - Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities tend to still live in traditional nuclear families, There is evidence that Bangladeshi and Pakistani women tend to have more children than white women and start at a younger age. .

Reasons for growth in SPF

Changes in law have made divorce easier, quicker, cheaper. Less stigma to being a single parent and therefore more social acceptance. welfare benefits

Reasons for increase in divorce.

Changes in the law Secularization - people are less influenced by the church's anti divorce stance. Changes in position of women - less economically dependent.

The Neo-conventional family

Chester - Does not think that family diversity exists, diversity is an illusion. the only real change to family structure is that women go out to work, roles have become more symmetrical. Weeks - agrees with him, although people are accepting diversity, majority of children are brought up by a heterosexual couple, meaning in reality, diversity is limited, most are nuclear families.

Social policies that increase SPF

Divorce and custody laws Domestic violence laws Housing benefits

Changing patterns in divorce

Divorce has increased from the middle of the 20th century, by 2001 it was 6 times higher than in 1961meaning 1/3 of marriages end in divorce.

strengths of research into why domestic violence happens

Dobash and Dobash - looked at male victims of domestic violence after: seriousness and frequency for men is less than women. Wilkinsons study is useful way of explaining class differences in domestic violence.

Sinister side of family policy

Donzelot - the state uses policies that involve the family to control societies members. He uses Foucaults idea of surveillance in his work and suggests the family is controlled through the observation of social workers, health visitors and doctors.

Marxist perspective

Family is only beneficial to bourgeoisie it serves to maintain exploitation of proletariat. Many institutions in society serve to reproduce the class system.

Changing patterns in cohabitation

Fastest growing family type in the UK. about 1/4 of unmarried adults under the age of 60 are doing this, it is expected to double by 2021.

Changing family relationships: marriage

Fewer people are getting married people get married later average age for marriage is 32 for men and 30 for women. Couples are more likely to have a civil ceremony.

evidence opposing dual burden

Gershuny - march of progress view, suggests that roles were gradually becoming more symmetrical, found that wives who work full time did less domestic work. Silver - commercialization of housework, things that house wives now do are produced by companies e.g. ready meals and labour saving devices, reduced dual burden and women now work so they can afford the devices.

Late modernity and family diversity

Giddens - we live in a period of late modernity causing relationships to change. Sex is no longer about reproduction, about intimacy and self expression(plastic sexuality). Led to the idea of confluent love(love that may not be forever, subject to change). this has led to pure relationships(only exists while beneficial to both partners). These relationships are inevitably less stable and breakdown. Increasing singletons, cohabitation and divorce.

reasons for increase in same sex families(children)

Given the same adoption rights as heterosexual couples, advance I reproduction technologies, surrogacy, donation and adoption. Reduced stigma around homosexuality secularization

same sex families and social policy

Increased, not legally recognized until 2004 civil partnership act.

Interactionist perspective(personal life perspective)

Involves looking at personal life of the family, tries to understand the family from the point of view of individual members of the family and then meanings they give to relationships. The relationships that people have do not have to be with family members friends or even pets 'fictive kin'

feminism view of social policies

Land - Highly critical, reinforce traditional gender roles(maternity leave) They support policies that free women from patriarchy e.g. benefits, as most single parents are women they can afford to be alone.

Cultural diversity: afro Caribbean.

Large amount of evidence that they have a different structure. Berthoud - in 2001 48% were SPF. have the lowest rate for marriage and highest for divorce. She suggests attitudes of afro-Caribbean women are characterized by 'modern individualism', they choose to bring up their children alone, financially independent from men.

Reasons for changing patterns in marriage

Less stigma attached to alternatives such as cohabitation. Secularization - society has become less religious, no longer feel pressure to get married out of religious obligation. Feminism and equal opportunities - more women work less are economically dependent on men, the need to marry has diminished. Fear of divorce - put off marrying as they think it will end in divorce

Wilmott and young, symmetrical family

March of progress view. Family life is becoming more equal with a move away from segregated towards joint ones. -Both partners take part in paid employment -both take part in joint conjugal roles of housework/childcare -couples now spend leisure time together. {Therefore women still do more housework, men are starting to do their bit.}

Radical feminist

Men = enemy men benefit from women's oppression. Greer - women are dominated by men, it is men who benefit from marriage. -domestic violence -sacrifice their careers to look after children -expected to do unpaid domestic labour -dual burdern of paid work and majority of housework solution: replace patriarchy with matriarchy

Strengths of research on power

More up to date research has shown that there is evidence of more equal decision making but not in terms of financial control. Some research suggests individual who earns the most has most financial control.

Criticism of life course approach

Morgan - family structures are not just passive structures that we pass in and out of, they are compromised by the choices that individuals make, even though people may have a different life course, their experiences and choices are completely different. Interviewed young people, they gave very different meanings to leaving home, therefore better to look at the meanings they give to life events rather than the structure.

Difference feminism

Not all women experience oppression in the same way. We cannot generalize women's experiences. Patriarchy is different, depending on race, sexuality, class and disability. Solution: no universal solution to end patriarchy.

Feminist view on housework

Oakley - Highly critical of Wilmott and Young, family is far from symmetrical. Men went out to be a breadwinner, women were confined to home and childcare. Men did minimal jobs like making breakfast or taking kids for a walk. 15% husbands had a high level of participation in housework. 25% had a high level participation in childcare

negative views of diversity - The new right perspective

Oppose family diversity. Conventional patriarchal nuclear family is the correct and normal family type. Mothers role is expressive and fathers is instrumental, the move away from this is the cause of social problems like high crime rates because for example lone mothers can't socialize or discipline their children properly(no male role model) causing them to become criminals. Mothers should not go out to work, priority should be the family.

weakness of joint and segregated conjugal roles

Out of date - most women work.

weakness of instrumental and expressive role theory

Out of date, does not take into account most women work now Feminists are highly critical, women should be free to make their own choices.

Why does domestic violence happen?

Patriarchy - Radical feminists believe society is patriarchal, domestic violence is inevitable with men expressing their dominance over women. Dobash and Dobash - looked at police reports and interviewed women staying in refugees, found domestic violence could be set off by what the man saw as challenges to his authority. Inequality and stress - Wilkinson, financial worries, reduces stable, caring relationships.

post modernity and the family

Postmodernists suggest society is no longer predictable and stable, post modern society is characterized by diversity and fragmentation, nothing is fixed and people are free to choose how they live their lives. Individuals are making choices to suit their own needs Stacey - family diversity is a reflection of post modern society, she sees the diverse families as a positive thing and will lead to more democratic and equal relationships.

Class diversity

Rapoport and Rapoport - major differences in family due to class. w/c have higher incomes which can influence housing conditions. m/c are more likely to make use of nannies while they work whilst w/c are more likely to use the family. m/c are more likely to privately educate their children. It has also been suggested that they are more child centred. However it could just be that w/c do not have the time or money to focus on children.

Bott's Joint and segregated conjugal roles

Segregated conjugal roles - men and women have separate roles and leisure activities Conjugal roles - Couples share roles and tasks such as housework, childcare and leisure activities. {Therefore women still do more housework and childcare.}

extended family

Sociologists have seen a decline in the no extended families, Not disappeared completely but have changed in their structure according to Wilmott, says they have become 'dispersed extended families', meaning they are no longer living within the same household .

Marxism view on Social policies

Some Marxists would say that some social policies such as free ed and health care have been won by the working classes. However others would disagree and say they are 'smokescreens': Free education is inferior to private education. Free healthcare keeps the workforce healthy for exploitation.

Life course of families

Sommerville - argues that changes in diversity are exaggerated. The apparent diversity of family life is based upon a snapshot. Most people spend a large amount of their lives in nuclear family, the varies according to class, ethnicity and gender etc.

weaknesses of post and late modernity society

Stacey studied families in silicon Valley in California which is not really a typical sample of an American society. She also studied gay and lesbian families which again may not be a representative sample. Giddens is often criticized for his lack of empirical research.

Parsons 2 functions

Teach children norms and values-agreed concensus Stabilisation of a adult personalities-social support

strengths of Marxism

The explanations of family can be applied to all capitalist countries. Evidence to back up that women are victims of males - domestic violence

Singleton/lone person household

There is an increase in LAT(living apart together).

radical psychiatry

This approach is very critical of the nuclear family and addresses the dark side of the family by highlighting mental health issues as a problem within families. Leach and Laing describe the modern family as being dislocated from other family members which leads to emotional overload due to too much expectation between family members.

Financial control and power

Vogler - found a sharp decrease in allowance system and large increase in pooling in the 90s. This could be because both partners are now working. Pahl - interviewed 102 couples in the 80s, most common arrangement was husband controlled pooling. Follow up study: no matter what arrangement, men always in tended to be in control.

Strengths of joint and segregated conjugal roles.

Wilmott and young - support in their study in Bethnal green: Men were breadwinners and dockers who played little part in home life, spent most time in pub. Women were full time housewives.

Marxist feminist

capitalism = enemy, root cause of patriarchy. exploitation of women is caused by exploitation of w/c. -carry out unpaid domestic labour(allows men to work) -reproduce and maintain the workforce Solution: communist revolution. (However, communist countries still oppress women.)

social policies that increase same sex familes

civil partnership act adoption and fostering laws marriage laws

strengths of feminism

evidence to support: women do more domestic labour than men and there is evidence of women experiencing domestic violence. - Dobash&Dobash study

Feminist perspective

family is one of the main sources of patriarchy and female oppression. Different feminists have slightly different views, all agree females are exploited and oppressed.

reconstituted families

family made up of an adult couple and children, at least one is not the biological offspring of both adults. There has been an increase in this type of family. Allan and Crow - there may be emotional tension in the form of sibling rivalry, tension may also rise if there is still contact with a non residential parent.

strengths of murdocks 4 functions model

he found evidence of these 4 functions in 250 different cultures

weaknesses of research into power

in same sex families, there seems to be more equality: Dunne - usual gender roles don't apply, there is much more negotiation taking place in this type of relationship. Edgell only studied 38 m/c families - small sample size

reasons for growth in reconstituted families

increase in divorce due to divorce laws etc less stigma to getting remarried secularization

Reasons for growth in lone person household

increase in divorce rates - many men in their 40s,50s live on their own due to this. less social stigma - in the past women used to get called a 'spinster' and were negatively treated. More affluent individuals - more can afford it.

Liberal feminism

inequality is caused by ignorance and sex role stereotypes. They campaign for equality by changing laws such as sex discrimination act. The family has become more symmetrical, they Take a march of progress view - domestic labour is more equal.

Parsons 'instrumental and expressive roles'

instrumental role - Husband is geared towards providing financial resources as the breadwinner Expressive role - Wife is geared towards providing emotional support, primary socialization of children, Homemaker {Therefore women do more housework}

Marxism - The family helps workers deal with alienation

male proletariat workers are frustrated by the lack of control over their work Zaretsky - after the industrial revolution, women gave up work to look after children, men became more alienated by work, women took on the role of nurturing and emotional support. Marxists feminists such as Ansley say that men take out their frustrations at work on their wives 'takers of shit'.

new right perspective on social policy

nuclear family is essential, any other type should be discouraged Very negative view of social policies, undermines nuclear family. critical of welfare benefits etc, will encourage women to get pregnant because the state will look after them, this is 'perverse incentives'

functionalism view of social policies

positive view. Fletcher - argues that in Britain, the welfare state takes pressure off the family, by providing free healthcare and education so they can focus on their main role of primary socialisation.

strengths of late and post modernity society

really up to date and account well for changed taken place in todays society. Take a very positive view of changes in family diversity.

Reasons for an increase in cohabitation

similar to decrease in marriage, secularization, less stigma etc. Chester - cohabitation is part of the process of getting married. Coast supports this and says that 75% of cohabitating couples expect to marry in the future.

lone/single parent families

since 1970s this family type has tripled, 25% UK families are SPF, 90% are headed by women, because they are more likely to be given custody, this is because women maybe socialized to be nurturing, men maybe reluctant to give up work(threatens their masculinity.)

Dennis and Erdos

single mothers will produce male children, without the expectation that adulthood has responsibilities making them irresponsible and immature.

nuclear family

some sociologists suggest there's been a move away from nuclear family. statistical evidence suggests only 25% household are made up of nuclear. Steadily declined in the last 30 years. Nuclear family is a phase that most people will go through at a point in their lives.

evaluation of Oakley's research

st - Boulton produced evidence to support - less than 20% of husbands helped with specific childcare tasks. Mothers responsible for wellbeing. we - out of date, women are no longer just housewives(3/4 married and cohabitating women are economically active)

strengths of symmetrical family

supported by empirical research they did in London. evidence for their view in London families, especially in younger couples who had moved away from their extended families.

strengths of new right perspective

supported by statistics on marriage, divorce, cohabitation single parents and young men committing crime. (only correlations, do not establish cause and effect)

dual burden

where one partner does majority of paid work/paid work