sociology - families and households

Functionalism (Murdock)

Key functions of family: sexual regulation, reproduction, socialisation, economic support (universal nuclear family)

Functionalism (Parsons)

Functional fit theory: nuclear family fits industrial society; 2 functions = primary socialisation + stabilisation of adult personalities

Parsons roles

Instrumental (male breadwinner) + expressive (female carer)

Fletcher

March of progress: family becoming more specialised and supportive due to welfare state

Evaluation of functionalism

Ignores conflict/inequality; assumes harmony; feminists = patriarchal, Marxists = capitalism

New Right (Murray)

Welfare creates underclass + dependency; lone-parent families lead to poor socialisation

Evaluation New Right

Blames victims; ignores structural inequality; feminists = women's independence not problem

Marxism (Engels)

Family maintains capitalism via inheritance + control of women's sexuality

Zaretsky

Family = "haven" but actually supports capitalism by absorbing stress

Althusser

Family = ideological state apparatus reproducing class inequality

Evaluation Marxism

Overlooks emotional support; ignores gender inequality within family

Feminism (Oakley)

Women experience dual burden (paid + unpaid work)

Duncombe & Marsden

Triple shift: housework + emotional work + paid work

Delphy & Leonard

Men exploit women's labour in family

Ansley

Women absorb male frustration ("takers of shit")

Evaluation feminism

Some progress (liberal feminists); ignores diversity of experiences

Postmodernism (Giddens)

Pure relationship = based on choice + satisfaction

Beck & Beck-Gernsheim

Individualisation → more choice + family diversity

Stacey

Postmodern families are diverse and fluid

Smart

Connectedness thesis → choices still shaped by relationships

Evaluation postmodernism

Overstates freedom; ignores class/gender constraints

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💍 CHANGING PATTERNS

Secularisation

Decline of religion → less pressure to marry

Cohabitation

Increasing due to flexibility, lower cost, less commitment

Chester

Neo-conventional family = dual-earner nuclear family still dominant

Divorce Reform Act (1969)

Introduced "irretrievable breakdown" → rise in divorce

No-fault divorce (2020)

Easier divorce → reflects individualism

Feminist explanation divorce

Women's independence → less tolerance of inequality

Oakley

Unequal domestic labour → marital conflict

Bernard

Women more dissatisfied in marriage than men

Life course changes

Marriage later, longer life expectancy → more instability

Allan & Crow

Marriage now a choice not necessity

Fertility rate

Average number of children per woman (~1.6 UK)

Reasons for falling birth rate

Women's employment, contraception, cost of children

Sharpe

Girls prioritise careers over marriage

Beck

Risk society → cautious decisions about children

Childlessness

Increasing due to lifestyle choices

Hakim

Different lifestyle preferences (work vs family)

Births outside marriage

~50% → reflects cohabitation + changing norms

Giddens

Individualisation allows choice over parenting

Rapoport & Rapoport

5 types: organisational, cultural, class, life-cycle, cohort diversity

Lone-parent families

Increasing (mostly female-headed)

New Right view

Leads to dependency + crime

Feminist view

Represents female independence

Reconstituted families

Blended families after divorce

Same-sex families

More accepted (Civil Partnership Act 2004, Marriage Act 2013)

Weeks

"Chosen families" based on emotional ties

Beanpole families

Long, thin (more generations, fewer children)

LATs

Living apart together relationships

Functionalist view

Policies support family (e.g. NHS, education)

Marxist view

Policies maintain capitalism + control families (Donzelot)

Feminist view

Policies reinforce patriarchy (e.g. maternity > paternity leave)

New Right view

Policies create dependency (Murray)

Social democratic view

Policies reduce inequality (e.g. Sure Start)

Key policies:

Beveridge Report (1942)

Created welfare state

NHS (1948)

Improved health + reduced infant mortality

Divorce Reform Act (1969)

Increased divorce rates

Equal Pay Act (1970)

Improved women's economic independence

Civil Partnership Act (2004)

Legal recognition of same-sex couples

Two-child benefit cap

Limits support → affects poorer families

Bott

Joint vs segregated conjugal roles

Young & Willmott

Symmetrical family (more equal roles)

Oakley

Housework still mainly done by women

Gershuny

Lagged adaptation → men slowly doing more housework

Pahl

Men often control finances

Vogler

Men dominate decision-making even in dual-earner families

Domestic violence

Reflects patriarchal power (Dobash & Dobash)

Gender scripts

Societal expectations of male/female roles

Social construction

Childhood varies across time/culture (Wagg)

Aries

Childhood didn't exist in medieval society

Pilcher

Modern childhood = separateness + protection

March of progress view

Childhood improving (better rights, education)

Conflict view

Children still oppressed (Gittins = age patriarchy)

Inequalities in childhood:

Class

CPAG → poorer outcomes

Gender

McRobbie → girls more restricted

Ethnicity

Bhatti → stricter parenting in some cultures

Postman

Childhood disappearing (media exposure)

Palmer

Toxic childhood (screen time, pressure)

Furedi

Paranoid parenting → less freedom

Birth rate

Declining due to cost, women working

Death rate

Falling due to healthcare + nutrition (McKeown)

Life expectancy

Increasing → ageing population

Ageing population effects

Pressure on NHS, pensions, more beanpole families

Hirsch

Dependency ratio issues

Migration:

Immigration

Population growth + diversity

Emigration

People leaving UK

Net migration

Difference between in/out

Effects of migration:

More diverse families

Matrifocal families (Caribbean)

Transnational families