families and household book notes so far

Question 1

what functionalist believes there is a clear division of labour between spouses?

Answer 1

Parsons
in Parsons’ (1955) functionalist model of the family there is a clear division of labour between the spouses:

Question 2

Describe parsons functionalist model of the family

Answer 2

• The husband has an instrumental role: geared towards achieving success at work so that he can provide for the family financially. He is the breadwinner
• The wife has an expressive role: geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family’s emotional needs. She is the homemaker, a full-time housewife rather than a wage earner

Question 3

What does parson argue the division of labour is based on?

Answer 3

• Parsons argues the division of labour is based on biological differences, with women ‘naturally’ suited to the nurturing role and men to that of the provider

Question 4

What do young and willmott have to say about parsons functionalist model of the family?

Answer 4

• Michael Young and Peter Willmott (1962) argue that men are now taking a greater share of domestic tasks and more wives are becoming wage earners

Question 5

What do feminists have to say about parsons functionalist model of the family?

Answer 5

• Feminists’ sociologists reject Parsons’ view that the division of labour is natural. Additionally, they argue that it only benefits men

Question 6

what two roles does elizabeth bott distinguish between within the marriage?

Answer 6

segregated conjugal roles and joint conjugal roles

Question 7

describe segregated conjugal roles

Answer 7

• Segregated conjugal roles: where the couple have separate roles; a male breadwinner and a female homemaker/carer, as in Parsons’ instrumental and expressive roles. Their leisure activities also tend to be separate

Question 8

describe joint conjugal roles

Answer 8

• Joint conjugal roles: where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together

Question 9

what does a symmetrical family mean according to young and willmott?

Answer 9

means the roles of husbands and wives are now much more similar (not identical)

Question 10

what view do young and willmott take on the history of the family?
(phrase)

Answer 10

a ‘march of progress’ view

Question 11

describe in detail young and willmott’s view on the history of the family ?

Answer 11

• Young and Willmott (1973) take a ‘march of progress’ view of the history of the family.
• They see family life as gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic
• They argue there has been a long-term trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical family.’

Question 12

Give ways in which the roles of husband and wives are more similar according to the symmetrical family view

Answer 12

• Women now go to work part-time/ full-time
• Men now help with housework and childcare
• Couples now spend their leisure time together instead of separately with workmates or female relatives

Question 13

• In their study of families in London, where did Young and Willmott find that the symmetrical family was more common?

Answer 13

the symmetrical family was more common among :
- younger couples,
- those who are geographically and socially isolated,
- and the more affluent (better off)

Question 14

Young and Willmott see the rise of the symmetrical nuclear family as the result of major social changes that have taken place during the past century:

what are these changes?

Answer 14

• Changes in women’s positions, including married women going out to work
• Geographical mobility – more couples living way from the communities in which they grew up
• New technology and labour-saving devices
• Higher standards of living

Question 15

what do feminist sociologists think of young and willmott’s march in progress view?

Answer 15

• They reject their view arguing little has changed: men and women remain unequal within the family and women still do most of the housework
• They see this inequality as stemming from the fact that the family and society are male-dominated or patriarchal
• Women occupy a subordinate and dependent role within the family and in wider society

Question 16

What is Anna Okly’s view on housework?
does she criticise young and willmott’s view?

Answer 16

• She argues that their claims are exaggerated
• In Oakly’s research on housewives, she found some evidence of husbands helping in the home but no evidence of a trend towards symmetry.
• Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework and 25% in childcare
• Husbands were more likely to share in childcare than in housework but only as its one of the more pleasurable acts.

Question 17

what is mary bulton’s view on housework?
who’s research does she support ?

Answer 17

• Mary Boulton (1983) supporting Oakley’s research found that fewer than 20% had a major role in childcare.
• She argues Y&W exaggerate men’s contribution by looking at the tasks which involved childcare rather than the responsibilities
• A father may help with specific tasks, but it was almost always the mother who was responsible for the child’s security and well-being

Question 18

What did wade and hetherington find in their research?
explain in detail

Answer 18

research in the 1990s by Wade and Hetherington found that sex-typing of domestic tasks remained strong
- e.g., wives were 30x more likely to be the last person to have done the washing, while husbands were four times more likely to be the last person to wash the car
- Wade and Heatherington found that men would carry out routine ‘female’ tasks when their partners were not around to do it for them.
- Nevertheless, they did find a slight change in attitude among younger men.
- They no longer assumed that women should do the housework, and were more likely to think they were doing less than their fair share

Question 19

what is a problem with surveys ?

Answer 19

they often focus only on easily quantifiable aspects such as who performs which tasks or how much time they spend doing them

Question 20

What did the researchers below find ?
Ferri and Smith (1996)
Dex and Ward (2007)

Answer 20

• Ferri and Smith (1996): found that fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families
• Dex and Ward (2007): found that, although fathers had quite high levels of involvement with their three-year-olds (e.g., 78% played with their children), when it came to caring for a sick child,
• only 1% of fathers took the main responsibility

Question 21

what did Braun , Vincent and Ball (2011) find?

Answer 21

• found that only three families out of 70 studied was the father the main carer.
• Most were ‘background fathers;’ helping with childcare was more about their relationship with their partners than their responsibility towards their children.
• Most fathers held a ‘provider ideology’ that their role was as breadwinners
• while the mothers saw themselves as the primary carers
• This was underpinned by ideas about ‘intensive mothering’ in the media telling women how to be good mothers.

Question 22

describe what Arlie russel (2013) refers to as ‘emotion work’

Answer 22

• Feminists have noted that women are often required to perform emotion work, where they are responsible for managing the emotions and feelings of family members, such as handling jealousies and squabbles between siblings, ensuring everyone is kept happy, while exercising control over their own emotions.

Question 23

What do Duncombe and Marsden (1995) believe women have to perform other than ‘emotion work’

Answer 23

• Duncombe and Marsden (1995) argue that women have to perform a ‘triple shift’ of housework, paid work, and emotional work.