A-Level Sociology - Family Theorists

Murdock

\-Functionalist

\-The family is nuclear and performs 4 essential functions: sexual, reproductive, socialising and economic. These are universal

\-Nuclear family has clear male and female role models

\-The family is a unit of production (they work for wages) and consumption (they buy goods and services)

Bell and Vogel

\-Functionalist

\-In dysfunctional families the child can become an emotional scapegoat for marriage problems

\-This has a stabilising influence on the parents

Parsons

\-Functionalist (links to conjugal roles)

\-Nuclear family is responsible for primary socialisation and the ‘stabilisation of adult personalities’

\-Modern families are small and geographically mobile

\-”Loss of functions” thesis due to specialisation and differentiation

\-Expressive (female) & Instrumental (male) roles based on biology

Warm bath theory

Links to Parsons’ expressive/instrumental roles: the family is a warm bath which a husband sinks into after a stressful day at work. The comfort (provided by the wife) leaves him stress free and ready to work again

Criticisms of Functionalism

\-Overplay harmonious nature of the family: as of March 2013 there are over 50,000 children on child protection registers

\-42% of marriages in England/Wales end in divorce

\-Ignores sexism and domestic violence

\-Overemphasises dominance of nuclear family

\-Ignores how children can influence parents personality

\-Murdock fails to consider necessity of family

Personal life perspective

Focuses on how people within families give meaning to their relationships and situations

Leach

\-Personal Life Perspective

\-The shift from extended to nuclear families means there is too much internal pressure as each member places too much responsibility on one another

Laing

\-Personal Life Perspective

\-Family members are tactfully interacting with one another due to pressure and ‘act like gangsters’

\-Children in high pressure family environments are more likely to develop schitzophrenia

Clarke

\-Personal life perspective

\-Looked into what marriage meant to individual couples

\-Marriage is a practice: something we do rather than have

Nordqvist and Smart

\-Personal life perspective

\-Within donor concieved families relationships can be more complicated as role allocation depends on different factors

\-Genetic donors can become jealous, causing circumstances to change

Criticisms of Personal life perspective

\-Accused of taking too broad a view and ignoring what is special about relationships based on blood or marriage

\-Leach and Laing ignore social factors such as class/gender/ethnicity and have been characterised as more extreme

\-Functionalism: The family can be a place of love and support

Engles

\-Marxist

\-Nuclear families only developed so that inheritance was only passed down to those you knew to be your children

\-Before this children were communually looked after, so to develop the idea of the monogamous nuclear family, women’s sexuality had to be brought ‘under control’

Althusser

\-Marxist

\-The family is an ideological state apparatus used to pass on the ideals of capitalism to children and justify their position in society

Zaretsky

\-Marxist

\-The family is a ‘prop’ of capitalism as it perpetuates that private family life is separate from the economy and the world of work

\-The family is a ‘haven’ as it provides comfort and satisfaction that is unavailable at work

Criticisms of Marxism

\-Ignores family diversity found in modern society

\-Emphasis on class underestimates scale of gender inequality

\-Functionalists say they ignore the benefits of the family

Feminism & Family

\-Women’s domestic role makes them economically dependent on men

\-Women do more work allowing men to relax

\-Wife loses status and independence

Liberal Feminism

\-Women’s lives have improved due to changing attitudes

\-Aim to continue equality through legislation and education

e.g. 1970 equal pay act, 1975 sex discrimination act

Wollstonecraft

\-Liberal Feminist, 1700s

\-Patriarchy traps women in a ‘bird cage’ and they should be entitled to family equality and education

Radical Feminism

\-Men are the direct cause of women’s oppression and extreme measures such as separatism are the only way to liberate women

Rich

\-Radical Feminist

\-”Compulsory heterosexuality” women are forced into traditional relationships as it is the only accepted sexuality

Millet

\-Radical Feminist

\-Men benefit directly from the exploitation of women in the family

Firestone

\-Radical Feminist

\-Childbearing is a burden which has put women at a disadvantage, trapping them and making them dependent on men

Delphy and Leonard

\-Radical Feminist

\-Women contribute much more to family life through their domestic work but get less material benefits, as men control finance

\-It is usually the man who has the decision making power

\-’57 varieties of unpaid service’ provided by women

Marxist Feminism

Capitalism is responsible for women’s oppression, as it allows for economic and therefore social inequality

Oakley

\-Marxist Feminist

\-Women being responsible for domestic work makes them economically dependent on men, meaning they lose independence and identity

Beechey

\-Marxist Feminist

\-Employers pay women a wage they could not live off of as they are seen as dependent on men

Benston

\-Marxist Feminist

\-Capitalism gets ‘2 workers for the price of one’ as women’s unpaid domestic work is what allows men to relax and be ready to work

Ansley

\-Marxist Feminist

\-The wife is a ‘safety valve’ that men can vent their frustration (caused by capitalism) on to

Breugal

\-Marxist Feminist

\-Women form a ‘reserve army of labour’ as they can be summoned and then easily dropped, as their unemployment is disguised e.g during the wars

Intersectional Feminism

\-aka Black/Difference Feminists

We cannot assume that all women’s experiences are the same as intersectionality affects views

Amos & Parmar

\-Intersectional feminists

\-Intersectionality needs to be recognised in women’s experiences

\-Black women may find comfort in the family after experiencing racism

Domestic Violence

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality”

Dobash & Dobash

\-Completed study “violence against wives”

\-Argue family is not a secure, happy and peaceful place. Family can be the most violent group to which people belong

\-Interviewed 109 women who had been abused and found violent incidents were often set off when a male felt his authority was challenged

\-88% had left at some stage but returned due to financial/emotional dependency

ONS (Domestic Violence)

Groups more susceptible to domestic violence included children and young women, lower social classes, those in rented accommodation, low incomes/financial struggles, high levels of alcohol and drug use, those with long term illness/disability

Yearnshire

\-DV

\-On average a woman suffers 35 assaults before reporting to the police

\-Domestic violence is the least likely crime to be reported

Cheal

\-DV

\-Police may be unwilling to record or investigate because they make 3 assumptions:

* The family is a private sphere
* The family is a good thing so ignore dark aspects
* Individuals could leave an abusive relationship

Millet & Firestone (DV)

\-DV: radical feminists who argue Dobash&Dobash’s work is evidence of patriarchy

\-All societies have been founded on patriarchy as men are the oppressors of women - normalising domestic violence

Wilkinson

\-DV: materialistic explaination

\-Violence is a result of stress on family members caused by social/economic inequality

Criticisms of Feminism

\-Fail to explain women who commit DV

\-Overly Negative?

Conjugal Roles

The roles of the man and the woman in the home: can be joint or separate, includes domestic division of Labour

\-e.g Parsons expressive & instrumental roles based on biological differences

Young & Willmot

\-Conjugal Roles

\-”March of progress” view: used questionnaires and found that the family is becoming more equal and fair and there have been improvements for women

* Women now go out to work
* Men help with housework/childcare
* Couples share their leisure time

\-Symmetry was more common among younger couples

Reeves

\-Conjugal Roles

\-We are halfway through a revolution in the interaction between gender roles and family. By 2043 terms like ‘stay at home dad’ will lose novelty

\-Gender pay gap predicted to close by 2040, 1/5 women now earn more than their partner, women are no longer economically reliant, growth of welfare state etc.

Oakley (CR)

\-Conjugal Roles (Marxist feminist)

\-Found some evidence of husbands helping in the home but no trend towards symmetry

\-Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework

\-Only 25% of husbands had a high level of participation in childcare

Gershuny

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Women working full-time is leading to a more equal division of labour within the home

Dual Burden

Women have to balance dealing with housework and paid work

Duncombe and Marsden

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Go further on dual burden and argue women have to perform a ‘triple shift’ including balancing housework, paid work, and emotional work

Crompton & Lyonette

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Identify two explanations for the unequal divisions of labour:

Cultural or ideological explaination (patriarchal norms and values that shape gender roles)

\-Material or economic explaination (Women earn less than I men so it is economically rational)

Kan

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Younger men tend to do more domestic work

Dunne

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Lesbian couples had more symmetry in their relationship as they felt no need to adhere to gender roles

Ramos

\-Conjugal Roles

\-When the woman is the full time breadwinner and the man is unemployed, he does as much housework as she does

Pahl and Vogler

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Identified two main types of control over family income:

* The allowance system - men give wives an allowance
* Pooling - Both partners have access to income

\-Even when pooling was most common, men usually made the most important financial decisions

Edgell

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Studied professional couples in the 1980s and found:

* Very important decisions, including financial, were made by men
* Important decisions, including children’s education, were made jointly
* Less important decisions, including decoration choices, were made by women

Smart

\-Conjugal Roles

\-Gay couples attached no importance to who controlled the money

\-There is greater freedom for same-sex couples for them to do what suits them as a couple

Functionalist view of Policy

Social policies help families perform their functions more effectively

Flectcher

\-Functionalist (social policy)

\-The introduction of the welfare state and policies such as a free NHS, compulsory education and housing policies all help families take better care of its members

Marxist view of Policy

The state and its policies benefit and support capitalism, such as the low level of state pension: though these appear to benefit the lower classes

Donzelot

\-Marxist (social policy)

\-Policy is a form of state control over families, with social workers, doctors and teachers using their knowledge to control and change families

Althusser (SP)

\-Marxist (social policy)

\-Policies are part of the ideological state apparatus which maintains false class consciousness by suggesting capitalism has a ‘friendly face’ e.g. minimum wage

Feminist view of policy

Social policies assume the ideal family is patriarchal - with a male provider and female home maker (firestone)

e.g. universal child credit is paid to women, so assumes they take care of the children

Leonard (SP)

\-Radical Feminist (sp)

\-Where policies appear to support women, they still may reinforce the patriarchal family and act as a form of social control upon women e.g maternity leave policy

Liberal Feminist view of Policy

Legislation and the changing of law is key in being able to create greater levels of gender inequality

New Right view of Family

\-Family should be based on heterosexual marriage between two parents - it forms the building blocks of society and is essential to its stability

\-All other family structures are deviant and a threat to society

\-Family diversity creates welfare dependency

Murray

\-New Right (sp)

\-Benefits/Council Housing encourages dysfunctional family types as they offer ‘perverse incentives’

(rewarding irresponsible or anti-social behavior and discouraging society to uphold moral values)

New Right view of Policy

\-Policy needs to change with cuts in welfare spending and benefits

\-The less the state intervenes, the better: policies only support a reduction in state involvement

e.g child support agency, withdrawal of benefits

\-Introduced clause 28 under Thatcher

New Labour view of Family

\-Saw the family as the basis of society and needing to be headed by a married heterosexual couple

\-Reject the view that the nuclear family is the only acceptable family form

New Labour view of Policy

\-Policy should be used to support different families

\-Issued ‘supporting families’ recognising family diversity

e.g. longer maternity/paternity leave, working families tax credit, civil partnerships

Coalition Gov view of Policy

\-Found it difficult to take a consistent line in policy due to differing opinions in the government

e.g. legalised gay marriage and introduced shared maternity leave

Postmodern view of Policy

\-Family diversity needs to be supported with policy as it emphasises that families should be shaped by the needs and wishes of the individuals (Beck - individualisation thesis)

Changing marriage patterns

\-Fewer marrying, more remarriages (4/10 in 2005), People are marrying later and couples are less likely to marry in church (35% in 2005)

\-Due to changing attitudes to marriages/divorce/alternatives and secularisation

Divorce

\-Has increased massively since the 1960s: numbers in 2001 were 6x higher than 1961

\-Due to changes in the law and position of women, declining stigma, secularisation and rising expectations of marriage itself

Divorce Reform Act

1969 - widened the grounds for divorce to a ‘irretrievable breakdown’

Fletcher

\-Divorce patterns

\-People place higher expectations on marriage which has lead to a increase in the divorce rates

Gittins

\-Divorce patterns

\-Divorced men are more likely to remarry than divorced women

\-Argues because women are more disillusioned with marriage

Beck and Giddens

\-Divorce patterns

\-In modern society, traditional norms such as staying with the same partner for life have lost their hold over individuals

(individualisation thesis)

Giddens

\-Divorce patterns

\-There has been a move towards confluent love: focused on intimacy and closeness as the key factor in relationships over duty and obligation

Who Divorces?

\-The earlier the age of marriage the more likely divorce is to occur

\-The lower class position of the husbands the more likely divorce is to occur

\-Remarriages are more likely to end in divorce

Kiernan and Mueller

\-Divorce Patterns

\-Unemployment, reliance on benefits and low income are all associated with divorce rates

Cohabitiation

\-Involves an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together. Rates have increased due to decline in stigma, growing youth acceptance etc

Chester

\-Changing family patterns

\-For most people cohabitation is part of a process of getting married

Same-Sex relationships

\-Estimated 5-7% of adult population, has increased due to acceptance and legislative equality

\-2004 civil partnerships

\-2014 same sex marriage

Weeks

\-Changing family patterns

\-Increased social acceptance of same sex couples has lead to more ‘chosen families’

One person households

\-Has increased (3 in 10 adults in 2013)

\-Due to increases in seperation and divorce, and death in old people

Living apart together

\-Has increased (1 in 10)

\-Involves adults in a significant relationship but are not married or cohabiting

\-Shows trend toward less formalised relationships

Child Bearing

\-More children born outside of marriage (4 in 10)

\-Women are having children later and having less of them

\-More women are remaining childless

Lone parent families

\-Make up 22% of all families with children

\-Has risen due to increases in divorce and women not marrying at all but having children

Murray

\-Changing family patterns

\-The growth of lone-parent families has come from an overgenerous state, meaning single mothers come to rely on benefits

Step-families

\-Account for around 10% of all families with dependent children

\-More children are from the mothers previous relationship

Ethnic differences in changing family patterns

\-Black families have the highest proportion of lone parent households

\-Asian families tend to be larger than others and sometimes contain 3 generations

Ballard

\-Changing family patterns

\-Extended family ties provided an important source of support among asian migrants in the 50s and 60s

Pilcher

\-Childhood

\-The key feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness from adults

Wagg

\-Childhood

\-For millions of children, childhood as we know it never happened

Ennew

\-Childhood

\-In Jamaica children are a part of the workforce and playing is their last priority

Benedict

\-Childhood

\-Children in non-industrial societies are expected to have greater levels of responsibility at home and work

Aries

\-Childhood

\-The modern vision of childhood is a recent development: in old paintings, children are depicted as mini-adults.

Postman

\-Childhood

\-The idea of childhood changed greatly in the 15th century due to the printing press - which created an 'information hierarchy'

Hillman

\-Childhood

\-Found boys are generally allowed more freedom than girls

Brannen

\-Childhood

\-Asian parents are likely to be stricter towards their daughters

Firestone

\-Childhood

\-Extensive care and protection are just new forms of oppression - being banned from paid work is a form of inequality

Gittins

\-Childhood

\-There is an age patriarchy of adult domination that keeps children subordinate and dependent

Smart

\-Childhood

\-Children are not merely passive victims of socialisation but are agents in creating their own childhoods (new sociology of childhood)