Conjugal Role Relationships

Young and Willmott, Reasons for the Move to symmetry, and Ann Oakley's view of conventional families.

Segregated conjugal roles

Clear division of domestic labour - tasks are divided by gender. The couple spend little of the leisure time together and have separate interests.

Joint conjugal roles

No rigid divison of household tasks into male and female jobs. The couple share much of their leisure time together and have few separate interests

Instrumental role

The breadwinner role in the family. Parsons sees this as the male's role in the family.

Expressive role

The caring, emotional and nurturing role in the family. Parsons sees this as the woman's natural role in the family.

Young and Willmott (1973)

Argued for the rise of intergrated conjugal roles. Said the symmetrical family was typical in Britain.

Symmetrical family

The spouses perform different tasks but each makes a similar contribution to the home. Decision-making is more shared (e.g. financial decisions). Family members are more home centred, sharing much of their leisure time

Young and Willmott (1973) research methods

Used a questionnaire survey delievered as a face-to-face structured interview

Reasons for the move to symmetry

Rise of feminism: women reject housewife role

Legal changes: women get more equality and status in the workplace:

More effective birth control = women able to combine motherhood and paid work.

Criticisms of Young and Willmott

Feminists reject the idea of the symmetrical family; Oakley argues that women in paid work still do the bulk of the domestic chores.

Women still work a double shift combining paid work with housework.