Views On The Family
What is a family?
A social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction.
Types of family
Firstly, to understand the views on the family, we must look at the most common family types in the uk.
The nuclear family is a family unit made up of two parents of the opposite sex and their children, who live together in the same household.
The extended family is where relatives such as uncles/ aunts or grandparents reside permanently in the same household as those making up the nuclear family.
The reconstituted family refers to two partners living in one household sharing parental duties for one or more children, but only one of them is the biological parent.
The lone parent family refers to one adult with one or more children living in one household.
The same sex family is two adults of the same sex living together with children.
Functionalist views on family
They believe families maintain social order and cohesion by fulfilling a number of key functions that help meet the basic needs of society.
Murdok believed family is so useful to society that it is inevitable and universal. This means that it’s impossible not to have family units in society. He argued there are 4 functions of the family.
Sexual function - regulates sexual behaviour and encourages fidelity (faithfulness) and promotes marriage as a social goal.
Reproductive - yields the the next generation, also children function to stabilise marriage.
Educational - adults provide children with primary socialisation
Economic - family pools resources and provides for all members, dependancy creates productive workers
Murdock’s definition of the family is very ethnocentric and reflects an outdated context of 1940s America. His emphasis on two parents, and particularly heterosexual marriage, is politically conservative: he believed there were ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to organise family life.
Parsons believed family structures and relationships have been shaped by the industrial revolution.
He believed that before, small farming communities and extended families often lived on and worked on the same plot of land to provide for the whole family. Family gave children the basic skills and education they needed to take on the role of an adult on the farm. Lastly, everyone was responsible for caring for the other members - grandparents looked after children when parents were working; the elderly were looked after.
However after this, the nuclear family moved away from their extended families for wage-labour opportunities. once adults were earning wages in factories, they no longer had the time to produce their own food, shelter etc, therefore dependent on - and help create demand for - businesses to provide resources like food. Family no longer had time to educate its children or care for its elderly, so the state eventually took over these functions.
Simillar to Murdok, Parsons also believed the family provided vital functions.
Primary socialisation of children - a child could only become a responsible and effective social adult if socialised into shared norms and values (value consensus). Families were ‘personality factories’
The stabilisation of adult personalities - relieves stresses of everyday living/working for adults of the family which was essential as extended family no longer close by. A good analogy for this was the warm bath theory which stated the nuclear family could act as a ‘warm bath’ - Soothes and relaxes the mind and body after a day of being exposed to the stresses of the workplace and modern-day living. Parsons believed that marriage was crucial to this.
Additionaly Steel and Kidd (2001) note that the home is a place where you can ‘let yourself go’. This stabilises the adult personality and strengthens social stability in wider society because it gives men and women clear and distinct social roles.
The husband - instrumental leader - responsible for economic welfare, living standards and protection. Wage earner. Head of household.
The wife - expressive leader - socialisation of children and responsible for emotional care and support of family members.
Feminist view on family
Like Marxists, Feminists are conflict theorists and have been highly critical of the family. They introduced the study of areas of family life such as housework and domestic violence into Sociology claiming that men obtain greater benefits from families than others.
Liberal feminists argue women's oppression is gradually being overcome due to changes in the law and changes in people's attitudes. They believe we are moving towards greater equality but full equality depends on further reforms and changes in socialisation of children.
McRobbie notes economic changes have led to a dramatic cultural change in women's attitudes towards family responsibilities and education/ careers compared with their grandmothers.
no longer see their lives as defined simply by marriage, family and children; more likely to aspire to careers and economic independence.
Marxist Feminists argue The patriarchy is deliberately constructed by the ruling class and designed to reproduce and justify gender exploitation because it benefits capitalist society. Women reproduce the domestic labour force which is unpaid but has great value.
Benston argues that the nuclear family, especially women's nurturing role produces the future workforce at little cost to the capitalist state.
Women's unpaid domestic labour - housework as well as sexual services – also ensures that the male workforce is fit and healthy for work
Mother’s Penalty (Craig, 2007) notes that mothers are financially worse off over their lifetime because having a baby results in a 1/2 to 2/3 increase in housework.
Radical feminists argue a reordering of society is heavily needed, where male supremacy is eliminated especially in the context of the family. Family and marriage are the key institutions in patriarchal society. We should all partake in political lesbianism as sexual orientation is a political and feminist choice
reject the functionalist idea that "the family is a cooperative unit founded on common interests and mutual support between husband and wife".
Instead they argue nuclear family functions mainly to benefit men by teaching children patriarchal ideology and that the sexual division of labour is 'natural and unchangeable’
Lastly, difference feminists argue we cannot generalise about women’s experiences- they all have very different experiences of the patriarchy and family. They criticise feminism for being about white, western, heterosexual, middle-class women.
recognises that there is increasing family diversity today and women may not be equally exploited in all family types
Calhoun (2003) points out women in lesbian families cannot be exploited by men.
therefore suggesting that not all women are equally exploited in the family
Marxist views of the family
marxists are very critical of the functionalist view that the modern family has evolved in order to benefit society. Marxists generally see the nuclear family as serving the interests of the ruling class because it promotes capitalist or ruling class ideology.
However, this structural theory fails to consider how individuals experience and interpret the family - neglects the positive emotional and social satisfaction people get from the family
Zaretsky argues family socialises children into capitalist ideologies. Nuclear family stabilises the worker away from responding to oppression from the capitalist workplace (married men are less likely to strike). The nuclear family is an essential component of capitalism because it is the major unit of consumption.
However some critics argue he fails to consider that some parents may resist ruling class ideology by teaching their kids values and norms of working class culture. Some people are aware of the pitfalls of capitalism, but go along with it as they believe it provides a better standard of living than communism.
Engels argues the nuclear family became popular after the Industrial Revolution because the ruling class wanted to protect their property and wealth; marriage is a tool to ensure wealth and inheritance stayed within the bloodline.
However, some argue this view is too economic as he fails to recognize other aspects of family life (emotional bonds). Also, the sole purpose cannot be passing on wealth because working class people continue to marry and have families
New right views of the family
The new right argue nuclear family/ moral character of the young are under attack or threatened by government social policies which encourage a dependency culture and more liberal/ permissive society. They say the nuclear family plays an important role in shaping the moral order of society. (each generation is socialised into values such as discipline, respect and responsibility). This would lead to a 'morally healthy' family, and consequently a 'socially healthy' society.
They were not fans of:
1967 Abortion Act
1970 Equal Pay Act
2013 Same sex marriage
Charles Murray argued lone-parent families lack positive role models, leading to higher rates of crime, hooliganism, and educational failure.
Butler argues "broken families" lack stability and are more likely to produce children who break the law or stay unemployed.