AS Sociology: Family: Theories of the family

How do Functionalists see society?

As a biological organism

What are the interdependent parts and subsystems Functionalists believe function together to meet the needs of society and maintain society?

Institutions

Give examples of institutions. (5)

Family, education system, economy, religion, the state

Why do Functionalists believe the family is vital?

It socialises children

what are the 4 functions of the nuclear family and who made them:

Murdock

Stable satisfaction of sex drive
Reproduction of the next generation
Socialise young (maintain social stability)
Meet members economic needs (food/shelter) (unit of consumption)

Criticisms of Murdock

Other instituitions may perform these functions but M feels the sheer practicality of the nucfam as a way of meeting these fucntions shows why it is universal

Other family types may perform these functions

Feminists- it's not perfect as women are oppressed

Marxists- it's not perfect as the working class are exploited

Who made functional fit and what is it

"functional fit" theory wherein the kinds and range of functions for the family depend on the society type which determines family structure

with industrialisation, the structure of the family becomes nuclear to fit the needs of industrial society for a geographically and socially mobile labour force.

How many generations does a pre-industrial family have?

3

How many generations does a modern industrial society?

2

An extended family is multifunctional, therefore is is what 2 things?

A unit of production and a unit of consumption

How does the nuclear family, according to Functionalists, fit the 2 key needs of society?

Geographic mobility and social mobility

Why is it important that families can achieve higher status than their families and break away to create their own family?

To avoid conflict

What are the 2 irreducible functions?

Primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities

the evidence against parsons

Laslett (1972) Study of English house from 1564-1821 found that they were almost always nuclear. A combination of late childbearing and short life expectancy meant that grandparents were unlikely to be alive for very long after the birth of the first grandchild.

Anderson uses exchange theory to explain the popularity of the WC extended family. He shows the harsh conditions such as poverty and sickness. This meant that benefits included using using older kin for childcare while parents worked, and taking orphans to produce extra income and help towards the rent.

The nuclear family emerged as a result of social changes made the extended family less important. It does provide financial support= extended family values

The New Right believe a boy not having a male role model would lead to what? (2)

Delinquency and crime

What are the 2 classes Marxists believe in?

The Bourgeoisie and the proletariat

What do Marxists believe all institutions in capitalist society maintain?

Exploitation

The Marxist perspective believe that the family is what?

An oppressive institution

Who believes that the most important thing to maintain Capitalism is private property (inheritance, women getting married and becoming property)?

Engels

what was the earliest classless society called?

marx - primitive communism
- no private property but all members owned means of production
- no family but 'promiscuous horde' (engels)

Engels on family

- monogamy was essential for inheritance
- 'world historical defeat of the female sex'
- women's sexuality was under male control and turned them into 'mere instrument for the production of women'
- when capitalism gets overthrown, women will get liberation from patriarchal control

ideological functions of the family (marxists)

- socialises children into idea that heirarchy and inequality are inevitable
- offering an apparent 'haven' from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism (zaretsky)

zaretsky

Family performs ideological function as gives illusion of a haven where workers can be themselves as family cant meet its members needs

Who believes in the "cult of private life" which is the belief you can only fain life fulfilment from family life which distracts you from exploitation?

Zaretsky

Why is the family a unit of consumption?

The family is a market

unit of consumption - marxists

family is market for sale of consumer goods
* advertisers want families to 'keep up with the joneses'
* media targets children with pester power
* children that lack are stigmatised

criticism of marxist view of family

- assume nucfam is dominant
- feminists - dont focus on gender which is important and family serves interests of men not capitalism
- functionalists - marxists ignore benefits

liberal feminists (family)

· Argue that women's oppression is being gradually overcome through changing people's attitudes and through changes in the law such as the Sex discrimination act (1975), which outlaws discrimination in employment.

· Believe we are moving towards greater quality but more changes need to be made for full equality.

Other feminists criticise them for failing to challenge the underlying causes of women's oppression

eval on lib feminism

Advocate for change of women's position in society.
They acknowledge the gradual progress

Fail to challenge the underlying cause of female oppression.
Criticism of triple shift = studies show men now also fulfil domestic responsibilities.

marxist feminism

♥ Main cause of women's oppression in the family is not men, but capitalism.
♥ Women's oppression performs several functions for capitalism:
#Women reproduce the labour force > through their unpaid labour, by socialising the next generation of workers. #Women absorb anger > or the anger would be directed at capitalism. 'Takers of shit' - husband feel exploited.
# Women are a reserve army of cheap labour > when extra work is needed.
♥ TMT oppression of women in the family is linked to the exploitation of the w/c.

marx fem eval

Bring attention to the way women are exploited in the workplace
Their views can be used to explain and address cases of domestic violence - women are 'takers of sh**'.

These views are outdated - women now work in high paying jobs - disputes the view of women as a 'reserve army of labour'
Functionalists would disagree - Marxist feminists say the family should be abolished but functionalists point out the benefits.

radical feminism

♥ All societies have been founded on patriarchy.
♥ Men are the source of women's oppression.
♥ The family + marriage are the key institutions in patriarchal society, because men benefit from women's unpaid domestic labour + from their sexual services.
♥ The family must be abolished + the only way to achieve this is separatism. > Women must live independently from men.
♥ Heterosexual r.s are oppressive (political lesbianism), as it involves sleeping with the enemy.

rad feminism eval

They highlight the issue of sexual and domestic violence.
Their views can be used to explain how the crisis of masculinity leads to domestic abuse.

They state heterosexual relationships are the problem, but majority of society is heterosexual (Somerville- cant force political lesbianism on people)
The new right would say boys need father to grow up and have a male role model - this can actually help tackle the 'dark side of the family'
Somerville (lib feminist) says they fail to recognise improvements made against patriarchy
Their solution of separatism doesn't actually tackle triple shift - women would still be doing all the roles.

dif feminism eval

they look at the personal experience and avoid generalisations
They highlight other issues such as racism
They highlight problems that women who are part of LGBTQ face

they undermine shared experiences women can still go through - domestic abuse and sexual assault

difference feminism

- All other feminist assume most women live in nuclear families + that they share the same experience.
♥ We cannot generalise about women's experiences. E.g lesbian + heterosexual women, white & black women have very different experiences of the family.
E.g Black feminists view the black family +vely as a source of support & resistance against racism.

Who believes that there have been improvements for women?

Somerville

What is "political lesbianism"?

Separatism

What is an example of conflict and oppression?

Child abuse and female oppression

What types of theories are Marxism and Functionalism? (2)

"Modernist" structural theories

personal life perspective

♥ Criticises Funct, Marxist + Fem > Tend to assume the trad nuclear family is the dominant family type.
♥ All structural theories > assume families are simply the puppets manipulated by the structure of society.
♥ The P.L.P takes an interactionist approach - bottom up approach, not top down.
♥ To understand the family, we should focus on the meanings people give to r.s + on how they define what counts as a family

beyond ties of blood and marriage

♥ Takes a wider view of r.s that just the traditional family r.s, based on blood.
♥ There is a range of other personal r.s that are important to people, even though they may not be defined as 'family.
♥ These r.s gives them a sense of belonging + identity. E.g. Relationships with friends, who may be like a sister/ brother to a person, or even r.s with pets > Tipper found that children in her study frequently saw their pets as 'parts of the family' . ♥ TMT these + other similar r.s raise questions about what counts as a family

Norqvist and Smart

researched on donor conceived children, to explore what counts as a family.
> Found some parents emphasised the importance of social r.s over genetic ones in forming family bonds, but difficult feelings could rise for a non genetic parent.
TST for some people, a family doesn't necessarily mean a traditional family r.s based on blood, but rather the meanings that they give

eval on plp - strengths

Helps us to understand how people themselves
define and construct their relationships with
family.
They focus on taking a different approach to
structural theories - they are not 'top down'.
They still acknowledge the positive aspect of a
relationship/family - similar to functionalists,
but also acknowledge the negatives, e.g. abuse.
They look at families outside of the traditional
'nuclear family' - they acknowledge there are
different family types in society.

eval on plp - weaknesses

Too broad of a view - it ignores the special
nature of blood ties/marriage
Marxists and feminists would argue that they
undermine the impact that society can have in
furthering oppression and shaping the
individual's experience (structural approach)