Family and Households - Revision - Year 13 (copy)

Will eventually include everything from Family’s and Households.

Topic 1: What is meant by ‘Domestic Division of Labour’?

How the jobs in the household are divided between people in the household.

Topic 1: What is meant by the ‘Instrumental Role’ that was put forward by Parsons?

This role is usually attributed to the husband and father of the house, and is geared towards achieving success at work so ye can provide for the family financially. The husband is the breadwinner.

Topic 1: What is meant by the ‘Expressive Role’ that was put forward by Parsons?

This is role is usually attributed to the wife and mother of the house, and is geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family’s emotional needs. The wife is the homemaker - a full-time housewife.

Topic 1: What is meant by ‘Segregated Conjugal Roles’ that was put forward by Bott?

This is when couples have separate roles. The man has his jobs to do and the woman has her jobs to do. Leisure activities also tend tp be separate.

Topic 1: What is meant by ‘Joint Conjugal Roles’ that was put forward by Bott?

This is when couples share tasks between each other and share childcare. The couple will also tend to share leisure activities.

Topic 1: What is the ‘March of Progress’ put forward by Young and Wilmott?

This refers to how things in domestic life had shifted towards being more equal with couples sharing tasks.

Topic 1: How does Anne Oakley criticise Young and Wilmott’s view on the ‘March of Progress’?

She argues that their claims are exaggerated. Young and Wilmott had interviewed husbands and most of those who they interviewed stated that they do ‘help’ their wives. However, this could simply include taking the children on a walk. For Oakley, this is not enough evidence for symmetry in the household. Oakley had conducted her own research and had fiund that only 15% of husbands had high levels of participation in housework, and only 25% of the 15% had high levels of participation with childcare. For Oakley, this was proof that there was not symmetry in housework and that women had taken the bulk of the work.

Topic 1: Give evidence, according to the March of Progress view, that couples ARE becoming more equal in ‘Paid Work’?

1. Jonathan Gershany (1994) argues that women going to workis leading to a more equal division of labour at home. Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare, whilst women are becoming more involved in paid work outside of the home.

2. Oriel Sullivan (2000) found trends of women doing a smaller share of housework than they were before.

3. British Social Attitudes survey found a decline in people who thought it was a mans job to be a breadwinner.

Topic 1: Give evidence, according to the Feminist view, that couples ARE NOT becoming more equal in ‘Paid Work’.

1. Feminists argue that women going to work has not lead to greater equality in the division of labour in the home.

2. Feminists also state that there is little signs of ‘The New Man’ who does an equal share of the housework.

3. The British Attitudes Survey (2012) found that men on average spent 8 hours a week on house, where as women spent 10 hours, and men spent 10 hours a week caring for family members where as women spent 23 hours

4. 60% of women thought that this division of labour was unfair. Couples also still split tasks according to gender, according to the survey.

Topic 1: What evidence is there to support the argument that couples ARE NOT becoming more equal in ‘Taking Responsibility for Children’?

1. Ferri and Smith (1996) state that fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families in their research.

2. Dex and Ward (2007) had found that although fathers had high levels of involvement with their 3 year old child, such as playing with the child, when the child became sick, only 1% of fathers took responsibility.

3. Vincent (2011) found that only in 3/70 families was the father the main caregiver, in the other 67 families, the fathers were ‘background fathers’. Helping with childcare was more about the relationship with their partner instead of their responsibilities as a parent.

Topic 1: What evidence is there to support the argument that couples ARE NOT becoming more equal in ‘Taking Responsibility for Quality Time’?

1. Southerton (2011) states that taking responsibility for organising a families quality time fell onto the mother to do. Southerton argues that achieving quality time is difficult due to the mother having to balance demands from work and also personal leisure and family time. Women’s leisure time is often separated from mens, and womens leisure time is often interrupted by childcare duties, whilst men ften have uninterupted leisure time.

Topic 1: What are the two ways in which Crompton and Lyonette (2008) put forward to explain the gender division of labour?

1. The Cultural Explanation

2. The Material Explanation

Topic 1: Describe the Cultural Explanation by Crompton and Lyonette as a way to explain the gender division of labour.

This is when the gender division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values in our culture. Society expects women to perform domestic labour. They are socialised into the norm from a young age.

Topic 1: Describe the Material Explanation by Crompton and Lyonette as a way to explain the gender division of labour.

This explains the gender division of labour through the fact that women earn less money than men which means it is more economically beneficial for them to do teh childcare and housework whilst the man as the ‘breadwinner’ brings in the larger portion of the money.

Topic 1: Give evidence of the Cultural Explanation of the gender division of labour.

1. Yee Kan (2001) found that younger men do more work. Most men aslo claim to do more work than their fathers. More women claim to do less work than their mothers.

2. British Social Attitudes Survey (2013) found that less than 10% of under 35’s agreed with traditional division of labour compared to 30% of over 35’s.

3. Dunne (1999) found that lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the abscence of traditional heterosexual gender scripts.

Topic 1: Give evidence of the Cultural Explanation of the gender division of labour.

1. Jay Finn (1995) found that better paid, middle class women were able to buy in commercially produced products like ready meals instead of carrying out labour intensive work.

2. Ramos (2003) found that when the woman is teh full time breadwinner, and the man is unemployed, he does as much domestic labour as the woman does.

3. Oriell found that working full time instead of part time makes the biggest difference in terms of how much domestic work each partner does.

Topic 1: What were the 2 findings of Dunne’s study on lesbian relationships?

1. Lesbian couples are more likely to describe their relationship as equal as they share housework and child care equally.

2. They are more likely to give equal importance to each others careers

Topic 1: How does Dunne explain the difference between lesbian and heterosexual relationships?

They state that heterosexuals in a relationship are under pressure to conform to either masculine or feminine ‘gender scripts’. Lesbians are not under this pressure as tasks aren’t linked to ‘gender scripts’.

Topic 1: Which perspective would support Dunnes findings?

Radical Feminist perspective.

Topic 1: What were the findings made by Barret that show that inequality exists in terms of decision making and resources?

• Men gau far more from women’s domestic labour than they give back in financial support

• Financial suppirt from men often comes with strings attached

• Men usually make the decisions about spending pn import items.

Topic 1: What are the two main types of control over family income that Pahl and Vogler found?

1. Allowance system - Men give their wives an allowance out of which they need to budget to meet the families needs with the men retaining surplus income

2. Pooling - Both partners have access to income and have joint responsibility for its expenditure e.g. joint bank account.

Topic 1: How does Vogler and Gershuny (1995) explain why decision making and resources are distributed unequally?

1. Vogler states that even though a couple may have a shared account, the man still usually makes the decisions

2. More important financial decisions such as moving house are done by the man, however less important decisions are made by the woman.

3. Gershuny found that women who earned more money had more of a say in financial decision making.

Topic 1: How does the Personal Life Perspective explain why decision making and resources are distributed uneqaully?

1. This perspective focuses on the meanings that couples give to whoever controls the money. One person controlling the moiney in a relationship may seem to be a sign of inequality, but it may not be this way.

2. Lesbian couples put little importance on who controls the money in the relationships.

Topic 1: What are the cultural and material explanations for why decision making and resources are distributed unequally?

1. Couples who parents had equal roles were more likely to share the work in a household.

2. Social Values are changing - men should do more housework.

3. This relates to resources and decision making as it means that couples who’s parents had an equal relationship, will likely distribute decision making and resources equally.

Topic 1: Define Domestic Violence

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 and over who have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.

Topic 1: According to Dobash and Dobash, how does marriage justify domestic violence?

they argue that marriage justifies domestic violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives.

Topic 1: What does Walby and Allen’s study (2004) show about domestic violence?

Their study found that women are much more likely to be victims of multiple incidents of abuse and sexual violence.

Topic 1: What does Ansara and Hindin’s study (2011) show about domestic violence?

The study had shown that women suffered more severe violence and control, with more serious psychological effects. The study also found that women were mcuh more likely to be fearful of their partner than men.

Topic 1: What does Aliyah Dar’s study (2013) show about domestic violence?

This shows that it can be difficult to count separate domestic violence incidents, because abuse may be continuous, e.g. living under constant threat, or it may have occured so many times that the vicitim cannot reliably count the incidences.

Topic 1: What are the two main reasons for why Official Statistics understate the true extent of domestic violence?

1. Domestic violence crime only appears on official statistics if they are reported. Victims may be unwilling or unable to report it. The average woman suffers 35 assaults before reporting.

2. The police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate and prosecute cases that have been reported.

Topic 1: What are the two sociological explanations for domestic violence?

1. Radical Feminist Explanation

2. Materialistic Explanation.

Topic 1: Describe the Radical Feminist Explanation of domestic violence.

Radica Feminists use findings from studies such as Dobash and Dobash’s as evidence of patriarchy. Firestone argues that all societies have been built on patriarchy. Men are the enemy. Marriage is a key institution in patriarchal society and the main source of womens oppression. Men dominate women through violence or the threat of it. Domestic violence serves to preserve the power that men have over women. This view explains why the majority of domestic violence stats shows men as the aggressors.

Topic 1: What are the criticisms of the Radical Feminist Explanation of domestic violence?

1. One criticism is that other views within feminism such as difference feminism would argue that men aren’t inherently the problem, and that patriarchy does not affect all women in the same way. Some women may face domestic violence and other women won’t

2. Another criticism is that this explanation does not take into account female on male domestic violence.

Topic 1: Describe the Materialistic Explanation of domestic violence.

This explanation focuses on economic and material factors such as inequality in income and housing. Inequality meas that some families have lower resources than others. Those on lower incomes or living in overcrowded accomodation are likely to experience higher levels of stress. This reduces their chances of maintaining healthy relationships and increases their chances of conflict. For example, worrying about jobs and money and paying bills. The lack of money that these families face also means that there is a reduced social circle and so reduced social support for those under stress.

Topic 1: Give a criticism of the Materialistc Explanation of Domestic Violence.

One criticism of this explanation is that it does not explain why domestic violence occurs in families that are more wealthy and better off such as middle class families, with better incomes.

Topic 2: What does Wagg say about childhood being a social construct?

He states that childhood is a social contstruct. He states that people of different cultures, and of different time periods, may have different views on what childhood is, how valuable it is, and when it ends.

Topic 2: What are three cultural differences in childhood for children in ‘non-industrial societies’ and non-western countries?

1. Children in non-industrial society take responsibility at an early age

2. Children in non-industrial society have much less pressure to obey adults

3. There is a different view on childrens sexual behaviour in non-industrial society

Topic 2: Describe the difference between children in non-industrial society and non-western countries in terms of responsibility at a young age.

1. Holmes (1974) studied a Samoan village and found that children were never too young to complete tasks such as handling dangerous tools or lifting heavy loads.

Topic 2: Describe the difference between children in non-industrial society and non-western countries in terms of the value of children following adult orders.

1. Firth (1970) studied Tikopia tribe and found taht doing what was asked of a child was a decision which was down to the child to make, and was not enforced

Topic 2: Describe the difference between children in non-industrial society and non-western countries in terms of the attitude on childrens sexual behaviour.

1. Malinowski (1957) studied islanders and fiund that adults tolerate and took an interest towards the sexual exploration of children

Topic 2: Explain the ‘Globalisation of Western Childhood’.

Western notions of childhood are being globalised. According to the West, childhood should be a happy period within a persons life, and should not involve labour. Humanitarian and welfare agencies have imposed their views on the rest of the world. Norms such as childhood being a separate stage of life, based in a nuclear family, innocent and vulnerable. The western view on childhood pushes the idea that children should have no economic role.

Topic 2: What is Aries’ view on childhood in the Middle Ages?

He argues that during this period of time, from about the 10th to the 13th century, the concept of childhood did not exist. Children were not seen as having different nature or needs from adults, at least not once they had passed the age of physical dependency during infancy.

In paintings and literature of this time in history, children are merely depicted as smaller scale adults, with not destinct characteristics of childhood.

Topic 2: What are two ways in which children were seen to be the same as adults in the Middle Ages?

1. Children were not seen as having a different nature or needs from adults, once they had passed teh stage of physical dependency during infancy.

2. Children began working during the Middle Ages from an early age. Children received the same punishments as adults.

Topic 2: How were the parental attitudes towards children different to how it is now?

During the Middle Ages, parents would often forget how many children they had. Parents would often show indifference and neglegence.

Topic 2: What are the two factors that caused changes in childhood?

1. Changes in the Law

2. Changes in Society

Topic 2: Give examples of changes in the Law that caused childhood to change.

1. Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work.

2. Introduction of compulsory schooling

3. Child protection and wekfare legislation

4. Laws and policies that apply specifically to children

Topic 2: Give examples of social changes in society that had caused childhood to change.

1. There has been a declining family size and lower infant mortality rate - childhood may be more lonely

2. Childrens development has become a highly invested in subject of medical knowledge

3. There is a growth in the idea of childrens rights

4. Industrialisation - people, when industrialisation was happening, shifted from living in extended families to nuclear families.

Topic 2: Postman states that childhood is disappearing. State 3 ways in which childhood is disappearing.

1. There is a trend were now, children are gradually being given similar rights to adults

2. The disappearance of children’s traditional unsupervised games

3. The growing similarity in adult and children’s clothing

Topic 2: What is the main reason for the disappearance of childhood, according to Postman?

The main reason is the rise and fall of print culture, and its replacement by television culture.

Topic 2: Explain how the ‘Information Hierachy’ has been destroyed according to Postman.

He argues that the information hierarchy was a divide between adults who were able to read and children who were not able to read. This meant that adults could keep adult matters such as sex and money a secret from children. The information hierarchy was broken down by TV as it didn’t require special skills, such as reading, to access and gave children information that was once only held by adults.

Topic 2: Give a criticism of Postman’s view that childhood is disappearing.

Opie states that childhood is not disappearing and is continuing to exist, after researching into childrens games, songs and rhymes, she states that there is strong evidence that there is a continued existence of a separate children’s culture over many years.

Topic 2: What is meant by “Post-Modernity’?

This is when society has moved from modernity into the 20th century.

Topic 2:What does Jenks mean that childhood is not disappearing, but is instead just changing?

This means that there is a change happening as society moves from modernity to post-modernity. In modern society, relationships were more stable, where as in post-modern society, the pace of change speeds up and relationships become more suntable and divorce is a common result. Because of this, parents take more care and concern for their children, and to protect them from things such as child abuse.

Topic 2: How does Jenks see parents’ relationship with their children in post-modern society.

He states that a parents relationship with their children has become more important to parents (contrast to the parent views of the middle ages) as it is a source of an adults identity and stability. Rekationships with their children become adults’ last refuge from the uncertainties of lif. As a result, adults become more fearful for their choldren’s security and more preoccupied with protecting their child.

Topic 2: Gve 2 criticisms of Jenks’ view on childhood.

1. Jenks over-generalises and implies that all children are in the same position and in similar situations with their parenst when this is not the case.

2. Evidence for and against is quite limited. There is some evidence that parents see their relationship with their child as more important than the relationship with their partner, however, this evidence is from small, unrepresentative studies.

Topic 2: Define the ‘Boomerang Family’.

This is the current generation of young adults in western culture who choose to cohabit with their parents after previously living on their own.

Topic 2: Define the ‘Accordion Family’.

This family is composed of adult children who will be living off their parents; retirement savings with little means of their own when the older generation is gone.

Topic 2: According to the March of Progress theory, has the position of children improved?

Yes

Topic 2: Give 4 ways in which the position of children has improved, according to the March of Progress theory.

1. Writers such as Aries and Shorter state that children today are more valued, better cared for, more protected, enjoy better health and have more rights.

2. For example, children today are protected from hard and exploitation by laws against child abuse aand child labour.

3. Children also have an array of professionals and specialists that cater for their educational, psychological, and medical needs.

4. Better healthcare standards also mean that babies have a much higher chance of survival now than a century ago.

Topic 2: How does Sue Palmer criticise the March of Progress view?

She states that childhood has not improved and states that childhood has become toxic. She argues that rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged childrens physical, emotional and intellectual development. These changes range from junk food, computer games, and intensive marketing to children.

Topic 2: linking to Sue Palmers theory of Toxic Childhood, list some examples of childhood health problems that are increasing.

1. The UK has above average rates in international tables for obesity, self-harm, drug use and violence.

2. A UNICEF survey ranked the UK 16 out of 29 for childrens wellbeing

Topic 2: Give 2 criticisms that the Conflict view has about the March of Progress view on childhood.

1. There are more inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities they have, and risks tehy face. Many today remain unprotected and badly cared for.

2. The inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever. Children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency, which is being mistaken by the March of Progress view as an increase in protection.

Topic 2: Give examples of inequalities among children in relation to Gender, according to the Conflict View.

1. Hillman (1993) stated that boys are more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses, and go out after dark unacompanied.

2. Bonke - girls do more domestic labour, especially in lone paret households where they do 5x more work than boys.

Topic 2: Give examples of inequalities among children in relation to Social Class, according to the Conflict View.

1. Poor mothers are more likely to give birth to low birth wieght children.

2. Children born into poor families are more likely to die i infancy or childhood, to suffer long standing illness, to be shorter in height, and to fall behind in school.

Topic 2: Give an example of how adults control children in terms of ‘neglect and abuse’, according to the Conflict View.

In 2013, 43,000 children were subject to child protection plans because they were deemed at risk or in significant harm.

Topic 2: Give an example of how adults control children in terms of ‘Control over children’s space’, according to the Conflict View.

Shops may display signs that say ‘no children’. There is increasingly close surveillance over children in public areas such as shopping areas, especially at times when they should be at school.

Topic 2: Give an example of how adults control children in terms of ‘Control over children’s time’, according to the conflict view.

Adults in modern society control children’s daily routines. Adults also control the speed at which their child grows up. Parents decide when their child is too old or too young for something.

Topic 2: Give one example of how aduts control children in terms of ‘Control over children’s bodies’.

Adults control what their children wear and how they walk, run and sit. They also control things such as hairstyles and piercings. Children may also be disciplined by adults through smacking.

Topic 2: Give one example of how adults control children in terms of ‘Control over children’s access to resources’.

In industrial societies, children have limited opportunities to earn money and so depend on adults. Labour laws and compulsory education exclude them from most work. Pocket money is given by parents but may control what it is spent on.

Topic 2: Define ‘Age Patriarchy’.

Inequalities between adults and children.

Topic 2: Give some examples of how children amy resist the status of ‘child’.

1. A child may ‘act up’. This means they will do things children aren’t supposed to do. E.g. smoking and drinking. The child may also exaggerate their age.

2. A child may ‘act down’. This means they will behave in a way younger children would.

Topic 2: Give two criticisms of the Child Liberationist View (Conflict View).

1. Some critics argue that some adult control over childrens lives is justified on the grounds that children cannot make rational decisions and so are unable to safe-guard their interests themselves.

2. Critics also argye that although children remain under adult supervision, they are not as powerless as claimed by the Liberationist View (Conflict View). In the 1989 Children Act, it was established that children have the right to be protected and consulted.

Topic 2: What is meant by the idea that children are ‘Social Projects’, according to the New Sociology of Childhood view?

This means that children are merely just projects for adults to mould, shape and develop, and have no interest in themsleves, but only for what they will be in the future.

Topic 2: How are children seen by the ‘New Sociology of Childhood’?

This view does not see children as just ‘adults in the amking’, but instead it sees them as active agents whi play a mojore part in creating their own childhoods.

Topic 3: According to Murdock, what are the 4 essentail functions that the family performs to meet the needs of society?

1. Stable satisfaction of the sex drive

2. Reproduction of the next generation

3. Meeting the economic needs of its members

4. Socialisation of the young

Topic 3: What are 2 criticisms of Murdocks Functionalist view of the family.

1. His view is low in temporal valaidity. This is because his view has not lasted. He stated that both sexes need to be involved but now, there are same sex marriages

2. His view also does not account for all families such as lone parent families.

Topic 3: Define the ’Nuclear family’.

A family that consists of 2 parents (mother and father), and their dependent children.

Topic 3: Define the ‘Extended Family’.

This is a family that consists of three generations living under one roof.

Topic 3: According to Parsons, society needs a ‘geographically mobile’ workforce. Explain why.

In modern society, industries constantly rise and decline in different areas of the country and world, and this requires people to move where jobs are located.

Topic 3: According to Parsons, society needs a ‘socially mobile workforce’. Explain why.

In modern society, an individuals, status is achieved through their own work and ability, and is not ascribed to them at birth. This makes social mobility possible as the son of a family can become a doctor through his own efforts, whilst his father was merely a farmer.

Topic 3: Explain how the nuclear family meets the needs of both ‘Social Mobility’ and ‘Geographical Mobility’.

1. Social mobility - this family type meets this need by the son of a family being able to have a higher achieved status than his father which could cause problems. So the nuclear family helps this by the son leaving and starting his own family.

2. Geographical mobility - The compact, 2 generation nuclear family can move more easily than the exteneded family.

Topic 3: What are are the to ‘irreducible’ functions that Parsons suggests that the nuclear family now performs?

1. Primary Socialisation of the young

2. Stabilisation of adult personalities.

Topic 3: What are some criticisms of Parsons view of the family?

1. One criticisms is that Laslett (1972) states that, in pre-industrial society, families were almost always nuclear, not extended as stated by Parsons. This is due to a combination of late child bearing and low life expectancies.

2. Another criticism is that Parsons stated that industrialisation brought about the nuclear family, where as Young and Wilmott agrue that the hardship of the early industrial period had given rise to the ‘mum-centred’ extended family, which was mothers and their married daughters helpig each other.

Topic 3: What did Marx mean by stating that there was no family in primitive communism?

At this stage, there was no family. Instead, there was what Friedrich Engels called, the ‘Promiscuous Hord’, in which there were no restrictions on sexual relationships.

Topic 3: Why does Engles state that monogamy is essential in a class society?

It is essential because of the inheritance of property. Men had to be certain of the paternity of their children in order to ensure that their legitimate heirs inherited from them.

Topic 3: What did the rise in monogamy mean for women, according to Engels?

The rise of the monogamous nuclear family represented a ‘world historical defeat of the female sex’. This was because it brought the womans sexuality under male control and turned women into ‘a mere instrument for the production of children’.

Topic 3: Why does the overthrow of capitalism mean the end of the patriarchal nuclear family, according to Marxists?

It means the end of teh nuclear family because theyy believe a classless siciety will be established in which the means of production are owned collectively, not privately. There will no longer be a need for the nuclear family, since there will be no need to have a means of transmitting private property down the generations.

Topic 3: What is the Marxist definition of ideology?

A set of ideas or beliefs that justify inequality and maintain the capitalist system by persuading people to accept it as fair, natural and unchangeable.

Topic 3: Explain 2 ideological functions of the family according to Marxists.

1. Socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable

2. The family offers a safe ‘haven’ from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism outside in which workers can be themselves and have a private life.

Topic 3: Outline 3 ways in which the family is an important market for consumer goods, according to Marxists.

1. Advertisers urge families to ‘Keep up with the Jonses’ by consuming all the latest products

2. The media target children, who use ‘Pester Power’ to persuade parents to spend more money

3. Children who lack the latest clothes or devices are mocked and stigmatized by their peers.

Topic 3: What are the strengths of the Marxists perspective of the family?

1. A strength is that the perspective takes class into consideration

2. Another strength is that the perspective has face validitiy, as what the perspective states can more or less be seen in wider society.

Topic 3: What are the weaknesses of the Marxist perspective of the family?

1. Marxists tend to assume that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society. This ignores other family structures

2. Functionalists argue that Marxists ignore the benefits that the family provides for its members.

3. Feminists argue that Marxists only focus on class inequalities and ignore geneder inequalities in the family.

Topic 3: Name drop for Liberal Feminist view on the family?

Anne Oakley

Topic 3: What is the Liberal Feminist view on the family?

These feminist are concerned with campaigning against sex discrimination and for equal rights and opportunities for women. They argue that wmens oppression isbeing gradually over come and that we are moving towards greater equality, although more work is still to be done. These feminist argue that men are now doing more domestic labour and parents are socialising their sons and daughters equally. These feminists also hold a similar view to the March of Progress but state that gender equality within the family is yet to be achieved.

Topic 3: What are some criticisms of the Liberal Feminist view on the family.

Other feminists criticise the Liberal Feminists for failing to challenge the uncderlying causes of womens oppression and for believing that changes in the law or in peoples attitudes will be enough to bring equality.

Marxist and radical feminists believe that instead, far-reaching changes to deep-rooted social structures are needed.

Topic 3: Name drop for Marxist Feminism?

Ansley

Topic 3: What is the Marxist Feminist view of the family?

These feminists believe that the main cause of womens oppression is not men, but instead capitalism. Women’s oppression performs several functions for capitalism

• Women produce the labour force

• Women absorb anger - Ansley stated that women are ‘the takers of shit’

• Women are a ‘reserve army’ of cheap labour that can be taken on when extra workers are needed

These feminists see the oppresion of women in the family as linked to the exploitation of the working class. They argue that the family must be abolished at the same time as a socialist revolution to replace capitalism with a classless society.

Topic 3: Give a criticism of the Marxist Feminist view of the family.

One criticism is that the oppression of women in the family had existed before capitalist and communist societies and so therefore, marxist capitalism does not explain the oppression of women in the family.

Topic 3: Name drop for the Radical Feminist view of the family?

Greer OR Firestone

Topic 3: What is the Radical Feminist view of the family?

These feminists argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy, rule by men. These feminists see men as the enemy and that they are teh source of womens oppression and exploitation. They also state that the family and marriage is a key institution in patriarchal society. Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and from their sexual services. Men rule over women with violence or the threat of it. These feminists state that the family needs to be abolished because they see it as the root of women’s oppression. They then state that the only way to achieve this is through seperatism, which is the two genders living apart from each other.