Sociology - Families and Households: The Family and Social Policy

What is a Social Policy?

A policy that is concerned with meeting human needs for security, education, work health & wellbeing.

What do the new right think about the traditional family?

They believe that the traditional family is in decline.

Three ways in which traditional family values have been attacked?

- Divorce Reform Act

- Same-sex marriages and Civil relationships

- Child and Family benefits

The decline of the traditional family has led to the following social problems:

1. Created a dependency alliance (dependency on the welfare state)

2. Increase in divorce

3. Increase in unmarried mothers/teenage pregnancy

How do Functionalists view Society?

They see society as built on harmony qnd consensus (shared values), and free from conflicts. They see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and making life better for their members.

Name an example of this?

Ronald Fletcher (1966) - the introduction of health, education and housing policies in the years since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions more effectively.

What are the criticisms of the functionalist perspective

It assumes that all members of the family benefit equally from social policies, whereas feminists argue that policies often benefit men more than women.

- The functionalist perspective also presumes there is a 'march of progress', which is criticised by Donzelot

What social policies do the New Right support?

- Cuts in welfare benefits and tighter restrictions for benefit eligability.

- Support the traditional nuclear family e.g. taxes that favour married couples

- The Child Support Agency - makes absent dads pay for their children.

What are criticisms of the New Right

-It is a attempt to return to the nuclear family, which works to subordinate women.

- Cutting benefits may drive many into poverty, leading to further social problems.

How do Marxists view Social Policy?

- They argue that social policy creates a 'caring face' of capitalism. - The policies fool the poor into thinking that the states cares about them, but is a distaction from the exploitation in society.

What is a example of a distracting social policy in the Marxist view?

The introduction of the minimuk wage that helps to mask their exploitation, by making it appear the system cares about them.

How do liberal feminists view social policy?

They believe that changes such as the equal pay act and increasingly generous maternity leave and pay are sufficient to bring gender equality.

Name examples of social policies endorsed by liberal feminists:

- The divorce act of 1969 gave women the right to divorce on a equal footing to men.

- The equal pay act of 1972 was an important step towards women's independence from men.

- Increasingly generous maternity cover and it easier for women to have children and then return to work.

How do Radical feminists view social policy?

- They argue that patriarchy is so entrenched in society that mere policy changes alone are insufficient to bring about gender equality.

How do Radical Feminists view that Patriarchy still exists?

- There is little proof of the 'new man' who does their fair share of domestic chores.

- They argue women have aquired the 'dual burden' of paid work and unpaid housework and the family remains patriarchal - men benefit from women's paie

How do feminists view household work?

- Dunscombe and Marsden (1995) argue that women suffer from the 'triple shift' where they have to do paid work, domestic work and 'emotion work' - being expected to take on the emotional burden of caring for children.

What other factors also impact domestic gender division of labour?

● Class differences play a role - with working-class mothers suffering more because they cannot afford childcare.

● Mirlees - Black points out that 1/4 women experience domestic violence - and many are reclutant to leave their partner.