ALL FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY

giddens

• romantic love

• people are now looking to create meaningful relationships that are based on love and respect

gernsheim

• individuals expect to make their own decisions about more aspects of their lives

• more opportunities for everyone, especially women

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dennis and erdos

• increasing numbers of children born outside marriage/ single mothers

• children have poorer health and lower educational attainment than two parent children

evaluation of new right

• blaming victims for problems that aren’t their fault

• low wages, inadequate state benefits

charles murray

• socialisation and role model required to develop are often lacking in female headed, LPF dependent on welfare

charles murray evaluation

idealistic - harking back into golden age where family never exsisted

rad fem: delphy and leonard

the family is a partiachal and hierarchal institution through which men dominate and exploit women

marx fem: fran ansley

women soak up the frustration of their husbands

• alienation and exploitation at work

• explains domestic violence

lib fem: sommerville

• need to adopt principled pragmatism

• practical policies produce greater equality

• most women don’t want to live w/o a male partner

difference feminism

• society cannot generalise all women’s experiences

• black fem: white fem neglect white women’s experiences of racial oppression (family can support)

zaretsky: unit of consumption

• consumption festivals (christmas)

• family encouraged to spend money

unit of consumption evaluation

• some families do not conform to the expectation

• pooling, commune

zaretsky: ruling class ideology

• during socialisation, teaches children how to obey

• transfers to workplace

• do not question alienation, creating obedient docile workers

evaluation of marxist theory

• feminists: too much focus on class inequality, ignores gender

• ignores positive aspect of family life: parsons

functionalist theory of the family

views society as being a system of interconnected parts

• organic analogy

murdock’s 4 functions of family

• sexual function

• economic function

• reproductive function

• educational function

criticisms of murdock

• non-nuclear families

• rose tinted view

non nuclear families

can also perform the functions to the same standard

rose-tinted view

feminists see the family as serving the needs of men oppressing women

parsons: irreducible functions

• primary socialisation

• soap (stabilisation of adult personalities)

primary socialisation

• equips children with basic skills + society’s norms and values

• e.g. manners, hygiene

• reduces conflict

stabilisation of adult personalities

• place where adults relax + release tensions

• enables return to the workplace refreshed and ready to meet demands

soap evaluation

• not everyone has a safe home: radical feminists

• burden on women