1.3.1 Families and Households: Couples Flashcards
The Domestic Division of Labour
Feminist’s perspective on March of Progress (Oakley and Boulton)
Oakley
* found little evidence for ‘new man’ and symmetry in families.
Boulton
* argues we need to look at who is responsible for tasks, not just who performs them - women reponsible for children even when men ‘help’ occasionally
The Domestic Division of Labour
Reasons for the symmetrical family
(5)
- higher living standards
- labour saving devices
- better housing
- women working
- smaller families
The Domestic Division of Labour
Young and Willmott
(March of progress)
Symmetrical family
roles are more similar and equal between sexes.
* Women go to work
* Men help with domestic tasks (‘the new man’)
* Couples spend leisure time together
The Domestic Division of Labour
Bott
(March of progress view)
- Segregated conjugal roles - division of labour between male breadwinner and female homemaker as defined by Parons
-
Joint conjugal roles
- involve couples sharing division and leisure tasks.
The Domestic Division of Labour
Parsons - two roles
(Functionalism)
-
The instrumental role
- the role of the male breadwinner.
-
The expressive role - the role of the female homemaker.
- Sees these roles as biologically based.
- The New Right agree with Parsons that this division of labour is best.
Resources and decision making
The personal life perspective on money
- Nyman - argues that different couples give different meanings to money which reflect the nature of their relationship.
- Smart - found that same sex couples did not see the control of money as meaning inequality. Free from heterosexual expectations.
Resources and decision making
Explanations for inequalities in decision making
- Material- men often earn more so have more power in decision making whereas women are more financially dependent and so have less power.
- Cultural - Gender role socialisation in patriarchal society instils the idea that men are the decision makers.
Resources and decision making
Edgell’s study of decision making
Found that even in dual earning households, inequalities in decision making still occured
* Very important decisions (e.g finances, housing) - men had the final say
* Important decisions - jointly
* Less important decisions (e.g food purchases) - taken on by woman.
Resources and decision making
Pahl and Vogler
Identify two types of control over family income:
* The allowance system - where men work and give their non-working wives an allowance from which they budget to meet the family’s needs.
* Pooling - where partners work and have joint responsibility for spending e.g a joint bank account.
Are couples becoming more equal?
The feminist view- Dual burden
Women carry a dual burden of paid work and domestic work.
Are couples becoming more equal?
The feminist view- Dex and Ward
Found that only 1% of fathers took main responsibility to care for their sick child.
Are couples becoming more equal?
The feminist view- Duncombe and Marsden
Triple shift- women required to carry a triple shift of domestic work, paid work, and emotional work.
Are couples becoming more equal?
March of progress view
- Sullivan - found women now do less domestic work and men do more traditional ‘women’s’ tasks leading to a more equal division of labour.
- March of progres theorists (e.g young and willmott) argue that there is a more equal split of labour due to women working.
Domestic Violence
Marxist feminists - Ansley
Found that male workers are exploited at work and take their frustrations out on their wives.
Domestic Violence
The materialist explanation
- Women are not the only group at risk - children and young people, the poor and lower classes, alcohol and drug users.
- Lack of resources
- Wilkinson and Pickett found that stress on family caused by social inequalities increases risk of violence.
