Gender roles, domestic roles and power relationships in contemporary society

What was the family like in the 19th century?

It was a unit of production with greater equality between genders in the family.

What was the family like during industrialisation?

There was a separation of paid work from the housework, due to the factory act women were gradually excluded from the workplace and confined to the housewife role.

What was the role of women in the 20th century?

An increase in women working, as a result of feminism. Housewife role is still seen as women’s primary role.

What are gender roles?

Patterns of behaviour that are expected of individuals of either sex

What is domestic labour?

Unpaid housework, including cooking etc

What is the domestic division of labour?

The way roles, responsibilities and tasks within the home are divided up.

What are conjugal roles?

The tasks completed by men and women in a marriage.

What impact does being LGBTQ+ have on the domestic division of labour?

All emerging research suggests that LGBTQ+ couples have more egalitarian relationships than heterosexual couples as there is greater negotiation

What is parsons view on gender roles within the family?

• husband- instrumental role, which means providing financially

• wife- expressive role, which means meeting the family’s emotional needs.

  He argues that men and women are naturally suited to these roles.

What is willmott and youngs view on gender roles within the family?

Joint conjugal roles have replaced segregated conjugal roles- families are now symmetrical

What are the three main characteristics of the symmetrical family according to willmott and young?

• nuclear instead of classically extended

• home centred or ‘privatised’, leisure time is shared at home together

• joint conjugal roles, they claimed 72% of husbands now ‘helped in the house’

What research did Willmott and young carry out to support their ideas of the symmetrical family?

They carried out structured, telephone interviews with working class nuclear families:

• in the 50s, most had segregated conjugal roles, men were breadwinners and spent time with workmates and the women were housewives

• in the 70s, march of progress, family become more egalitarian

What is the emergence of the new man according to willmott and young?

As men have begun doing more ‘women’s work’ it has led to the development of the ‘new man’- a man that is sensitive, emotionally intelligent and committed to helping around the house

Why was Oakley critical of willmott and youngs ideas about gender roles within the family?

She claimed her study showed that wives have acquired a dual burden of paid earnings and unpaid housework, the family remains patriarchal with men benefiting from women’s earnings and unpaid work.

What research did Oakley carry out to support her claims?

Interviewed 40 women half of which were MC and half were WC, her findings found that 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework and 25% had high level of participation in childcare

What did Dunscombe and Marsden say about gender roles within the family?

Conjugal roles are segregated and women do extra roles beyond paid work and housework. They researched the impact of women’s emotion work, this is the labour of love which created a triple shift.

What did Gershuny say about the impact of paid work on gender roles within the family?

Conjugal roles are not yet joint but will become so in the future, he found that women who went from part time to full time work had partners who began to do a bit more, he claimed this will be a slow process- lagged adaptation

What did silver and schor say about gender roles within the family?

The increase in domestic appliances has led to a commercialisation of housework- easier and less skilled. Future foundations found that 60% claimed to do more housework than their father, while 75% of women claimed to do less housework than their mother.

What did Dunne say about lesbian families in 1997?

They have joint conjugal roles, because household tasks are not linked to particular gender scripts with an average couple having a 40:60 split in housework.

How does Dunnes research on lesbian families support radical feminist views?

Supports the view that relationships between men and women are inevitably patriarchal and that women can only achieve equality in a same sex relationship

What did Dunne say about motherhood and work in 2000?

Studied 97 mothers and 23 fathers via unstructured interviews, found that the lack of gender scripts allowed lesbian couples to explore new ways of parenting which were linked to being economically independent

What is the post modernist view on gender roles within the family?

PM society has created more flexibility and choice in the DDOL in the home. The number of house husbands has significantly increased etc

What did Smart and Neale say about gender roles within the family?

Argues that marriage has become more focused on being in a relationship in which parenting is shared.

What did Rushing and Powell say about gender roles within the family?

Based on qualitative interviews with 20 working mothers with a house husband, found that a stay at home father provides a positive parent child relationship

What is the impact of globalisation of the DDOL?

• caribbean families more likely to be led by females

• south asian on families are more likely to adopt traditional gender roles

• led to the purchasing of family personal care, nannie’s etc

What did Edgell say about changes in power relationships between within the family?

Found that decision making and control of finances affects the power relationship, traditionally men made the important decisions with the final say. studies show that if the women earns more they will let the man make decisions to not threaten their masculinity.

What did Pahl and Vogler say about changes in power relationships within the family?