SOCIOLOGY - FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS

Giddens 1990

It’s easier to be cohabitating or LAT

Freedom, allows people to escape abuse

Partners stay together for their own needs rather than obligation or ‘because it is the norm’

Leach

Nuclear family too isolated and causes too much emotional pressure

Dobash and Dobash 1979/2011

DV is part of patriarchy and male violence

Has to be understood in a historical and structural context eg. Acceptance of violence against wives as punishment

109 wives interviewed

Walklate 2004

DV is more widespread

Male perpetrators aren’t atypical to other men

Root is in patriarchal society, male violence is a way of “doing gender” that maintains patriarchal control

Gilchrist et al 2003

Anti-social Narcissistic - hostile to women, saw DV as acceptable, can be threatening

Borderline/Emotionally Volatile - can makes threats when being physically violent, controlled money, controlled who their partner went out with

Cohen 2006

Class differences between migrants

Citizens (full rights), Denizens (privileged foreigners), Helots (exploitable and disposable labour)

Cashmore

WC mothers able to get away from abuse and raise their children due to welfare

Women can be single by choice

Allan and Crow

Marriage isn’t seen as a binding contract but rather a self-fulfilment where satisfaction is more important

Gibson

Secularisation - religion has less influence over people’s lives

Society is pluralistic and lacks the shared values that once would have stabilised marriage

Quereshi et al 2015

Increase in lone parent families and divorce has softened attitudes towards it and caused people to become more individualistic

Townsend

Ageing population has been turned into a social problem by the media and politics who construct age as a dependency

Schafer 2008

Subjective ageing

Connections with the timing of life-altering events impacts development eg. Parental death can cause maturity

Mckeown 1972

Improved nutrition reduces death rates

Less TB deaths, more resistance to infection, more health conscience

Harper 2012

Change in women’s mindset has led to fewer children being born eg. Women know their babies won’t die (IMR) so will have less children

Palmer 2007/10

Rapid technological and cultural change have damaged children’s development

Jenks 2005

Childhood is changing

Preparation into adulthood, schools promote futurity, children are seen as vulnerable

Aries 1973

Childhood didn’t exist in medieval times

Children were seen as small adults, child mortality rate meant many children didn’t live through childhood + people would die sooner, life stages were shorter or non-existent

Malinowski 1957

Trobriand Islanders

Sexual activity in children was viewed with tolerance and amused interest

Firth 1970

Tikopia

Children obey adults when they want to

Benedict 1934

Children in non-industrial societies are treated differently due to responsibility

Less value on obedience and sexual behaviour

Pilcher 1995

Separateness > laws, clothes and advertisements

Inequalities in class and gender (ageing) > MC are better off as they have high pensions and more savings from high paying work, WC have lower life expectancy, gender pay gap means women have lower pensions, women have more negative stereotypes attached to them

Wagg 1992

Childhood is socially constructed, there is no universal childhood experience

Childhood should be distinguished by biological maturity

Gittens 1998

Childhood is a product of age patriarchy, children are structured around and controlled by adults (usually male adults)

Murdock 1949

Stable satisfaction of sex drive

Reproduction of the next generation

Socialisation of the young

Meeting economical needs

Nuclear family is universal

Dench et al 2006

People still value marriage and conventionality

Early family patterns have disappeared and family diversity has taken over

New Individualism > identity is no longer fixed by community or tradition

Less reliance on the family and more on the welfare state

Oakley 1974

Little progress of equality between husband and wife, few men do equal tasks to women in the household

Wilmott

Dispersed extended family - relatives are geographically separated but maintain frequent contact for child rearing and support

Young and Willmott

The Symmetrical Family - husband and wife share chores and decisions, marriage is stronger and more geographically mobile

Extended families lasted longer than people thought > extended families important for support, women can be connected to women

Family has changed to meet societal and economical needs

Hochschild and Ehrenreich 2003

Care, domestic and sex work are done by women from poor countries

Hochschild 2011/13

Capitalist values sink into private/emotional life, relationships have been commodified which has increased alienation

Home is more frustrating for women as they are undervalued > 2013 - women end up performing emotion work for dependant relatives

Parsons

Expressive and instrumental roles - biology governs how the genders should act

Functional Fit Theory - family performs functions based on the society they are in

Nuclear families have geographical and social mobility in industrial societies

Warm bath theory

Zaretsky

Family is a haven from the exploitation of capitalism, haven is an illusion and women are exploited as domestic slaves

Engles

Women sexuality is under male control and are tools for wealthy men to have children

Blames capitalism for gender inequality

People used to live in promiscuous hordes without any restrictions on relationships

Hart 1976

Value attached to marriage has decreased which raises divorce rates and makes “empty shell marriages” a commonality

Bruce 2011

No need to marry in a church, different religions and opinions on marriage decreases the need/meaning

Gibson 1994

Modernity encourages individualism and choice, and encourages conflict in marriage and self-fulfilment not being achieved

Secularisation has caused divorce not to be stigmatised as society has become too different

Almond 2006

People are concerned with emotional needs and desire over society’s need to raise children, this is damaging society

Delphy and Leonard

Women working has added to oppression as they now have a dual burden (household and work) and a triple shift (paid, domestic and emotional work)

Red

Women’s labour is used and abused

Oppression is caused by women’s role being to reproduce the labour force, absorb anger and be a reserve army of cheap labour

Somerville

Family is becoming more equal with women having more choice, men performing more around the household and socialisation of children being equal

Wants more policies to help working parents have flexible employment

Smart

Family can adapt without falling apart

Chosen families are a result of homosexuals being rejected by their family

Family life hasn’t declined, relationships outside of the family are just stronger and have more impact on identity and belonging

Murray 1984/9

Favours the decline in children as it reduces the burden of dependency on tax payers

Benefits reward irresponsibility, they are a perverse incentive towards creating a dependency culture

1984 - the welfare state breeds a dependency culture that encourages teen pregnancy and lone parents (dysfunctional families)

Lone parents are responsible for most crimes as lone mothers lack authority and cannot socialise their sons properly