3 - Theories/perspectives on the family

Which functionalist said the 4 main functions of the family?

Murdock accepts that other institutions could provide these functions of the family but argues the nuclear family is universal because it’s more practical at doing these 4 functions.

- Stabilizing the sex drive so there isn't illegitimacy

- Reproduction of the next generation

- Socialisation of the young into value consensus norms and values

- Meeting the economic needs of the family

What does the functionalist Parsons say about the family structure?

• He says the family must be a "functional fit" for society. In the preindustrial society the extended family could work because people all lived in small villages their whole life whereas now we are in a modern industrial society where nuclear families provide:

• Geographically mobile workforce so that people can move around the country it is more simple for just 2 generations to move rather than 3

• Socially mobile workforce as in the past status was ascribed based off their parents whereas now this is less so, so it would cause conflict within the family if the son has a higher status at work than the father so it's better for them to live in isolated nuclear families

• The family used to be self-sufficient however industrialisation meant many of these functions were moved to institutions like schools, factories → family specialises in 2 functions - primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities

Evaluate functionalist perspectives on the family?

• Mainly middle class white men were behind these theories meaning they didn't see the marxist or feminist point of view or experience the exploitation that women/working class people experienced. Rose tinted

• Young and Willmott say the extended family was rare in the 18th century like Parsons said because grandparents would mostly die before the grandchild was born

• Anderson’s study of Preston showed extended families were dominant in 19th-century industrial towns – grandparents provided childcare while parents worked

• Doesn't account for the stress covid put on the family

• Other types of family can also perform these 4 functions

What is the New Right view on the family?

• Nuclear family is best as it allows stability for the children and economically - women should work part-time to provide for the family and do childcare.

• Changes in family structures have weakened the family → social breakdown, moral decline

• Minimal state intervention in private sphere - “nanny state” as there is a “dependency culture” with single mothers burdening the welfare state

What does Murray say about the family

- Single-parent families are bad: children need a mother and father figure in their life + the gender roles as no father figure can cause behavioural issues → deviant underclass

- The welfare state rewards single parent families for a lack of commitment and economic funds which is bad as they hold a "laissez-faire" attitude

- Allowing single parent families to claim benefits is allowing a dependency culture → abuse welfare state by deciding not to work → child has to work which affects education

- 94% of all single parent families on Housing Benefit are female-led families

What are some statistics Benson uses?

Cohabiting parents are around 4 to 5 times more likely to separate by the time their child is 5 years old compared to married parents.

Evaluate New Right ideas towards the family

• Overly simplistic and idealizes the nuclear family without recognizing the diversity of family structures that can be successful - Bernardes

• Feminists say gender roles oppress them, the triple shift

• Abbott and Wallace argue the New Right overstate how much social policy harms families

Name 3 ways in which according the Marxists the family is fueling capitalism?

Inheritance of property, ideological functions, a unit of consumption

How does inheritance of property increase capitalism according to Engels?

• Engels argued before private property was created people lived in promiscuous hordes (all members of society owned the means of production communally). Marx called the earliest, classless society primitive communism

• However, forces of production developed → increased wealth → inheritance so men must know who their son is to be able to pass on the property to them → patriarchal monogamous nuclear family because men had to be certain of paternity to ensure there were legitimate heirs

• Engels called this the "world historical defeat of the female sex" because now women were only needed to create a legitimate heir and the means of production were now owned privately by the Bourgeoisie instead of communally

• When capitalism is overthrown the patriarchal nuclear family won’t be needed and the means of production will be owned collectively

How does the family provide ideological functions?

• Zaretsky

• The family socialises children into thinking inequality is inevitable and persuading people to accept it as fair

• Parental (particularly paternal) power over children socialises them to believe that someone must be in charge all the time which prepares them for working life and to take orders from capitalist employers who may mainly be men - maintaining false class consciousness

What did Zaretsky say about the family being a safe haven for men?

He said the family provides a safe haven for men after a day of work and exploitation so men can be themselves. He says the family gives an illusion of comfort and could just be a way of men letting their anger and frustration out on women or children due to the exploitation from work

How does the family use a unit of consumption to benefit capitalist ideology?

Capitalism exploits the labour of workers making profit on commodities

- Advertisers urge families to "keep up with the Joneses" by consuming all the latest products

- The media usually targets children who use pester power to influence spending decisions

- Evans and Chandler found children who lack the latest gadgets or clothes may be bullied

What are some criticisms of the Marxist views?

• Usually assume the nuclear family is dominant in a capitalist society

• Focus too much on class and not other issues like women or whether class even exists still

• Ignores the real benefits of the family such as support

• Nuclear families continue to exist even in non-capitalist (communist) societies eg: Cuba

Explain with a sociologist the liberal feminist view of the family? And evaluate?

• Liberal feminists such as Betty Friedan argue the family is becoming more equal gradually due to laws and they campaign against sexual discrimination and inequality

• Sex discrimination act, divorce act etc

• Men are now doing more domestic labour than in the past and the way parents socialise their children is more equal

• While men have doubled their participation in housework since the 1960s, studies show that women often perform 2 to 3 times more unpaid, daily care work (cleaning, cooking, childcare) than men, even when both partners are employed. 

What does Marxist feminist Oakley say about the family?

Women have to perform paid employment labour and share domestic jobs through through unpaid, monotonous domestic labor showing how women are still oppressed.

Domestic work is devalued by men seen as non-work leasing to isolation and lowered self-esteem as women don’t feel they are contributing to society

She argues the housewife role for women is not natural and serves to benefit men.

She also spoke about the dual burden after women return from work

What do Marxist Feminists such as Ansley say about the family?

- Women reproduce the labour force by socialising the next generation

- Women absorb the anger from their husbands who feel frustrated due to the exploitation and alienation they suffer at work (Ansley takers of shit). This anger would otherwise be directed at capitalism

- Women are seen as a cheap reserve labour force. When they aren’t needed employers can ‘let them go’ to return to the primary role as unpaid domestic labour.

However, the employment rights act of 1996 stopped this

What do radical feminists believe about women in the family? (Name a sociologist)

- Men are the enemy and are the source of women's exploitation and oppression

- Men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and dominate women through domestic or sexual violence/the threat of it

- Greer said that women should live with other women and they argue for political lesbianism where men and women don't interact. This is a separatist society

What is some evaluation against the radical feminist view?

• Somerville says heterosexual interaction is unlikely to allow separatism to work

• Liberal feminists say radicals ignore the fact that women's rights have improved considerably as we are allowed to have abhortions now and better job opportunities

• A 2018 survey conducted by YouGov for the End Violence Against Women Coalition found that

  nearly a quarter (24%)of British adults believed that non-consensual sex within a long-term relationship or marriage is usually not considered rape. 

• Many countries haven’t improved their stance on women in the family: Afghanistan remains the most oppressive country in the world for women, where the Taliban has enacted systematic policies erasing women from public and private life. Women must have a chaperone and are restricted from a lot of education and jobs stopping them be independent from a family.

What is difference feminism's view on the family? (Name sociologist

- We can't generalise women's experiences as black women may face racial oppression unlike white women likewise with class and sexual orientation

Black women may view the family positively as a source of resistance against racism

- Gilligan said all this

However, some feminists say most women do experience the same things such as domestic violence and low pay

What is the main 2 points of the personal life perspective?

1. People assume that the nuclear family is still the most dominant family type however, there is diversity in families now

2. They are all structural theories and assume people are just passive puppets manipulated by the structure of society

What is the personal life perspective on families with examples?

- Takes the bottom-up approach saying that we must look at the individual families not a whole structure. We must look from the point of view of the individual and how their meanings etc impact relationships

- For example people may view pets (shown in Tipper's study) as ‘part of the family’. Fictive kin (close friends who you treat as relatives)

What did Smart say about the personal life perspective?

• With donor-concieved children the issue may be whether the mother is the biological one or the person who raised the child suggesting it may be confusing who to call family

• Smart said some parents valued the importance of social relationships over genetic bonds in forming family relationships

Give some evaluation on the personal life perspective

- Can be accused of taking too broad of a view

- However, the personal life perspective can recognise that some people have experiences that aren't always postive unlike functionalist views who just group everyone together