Family - Family and Social Policy - 2.8

Question 1

Social Policy

Answer 1

> Plans/actions of state e.g. laws for marriage/divorce which directly affect family

> Compulsory school indirectly affects families and keeps children dependent for longer

Question 2

Cross-Cultural Examples of State Polices

Answer 2

> China’s One Child Policy
Communist Romania
Nazi Family Policy

Question 3

China’s One Child Policy - Cross-Cultural Examples of State Polices

Answer 3

> Population control policy discouraged people from having more than one child e.g. women need permission from employer for pregnancy

> If people conform, they get benefits e.g. free childcare & a higher tax allowance

> But no compliance means fines

Question 4

Communist Romania - Cross-Cultural Examples of State Polices

Answer 4

> Made policies to increase the birth rate, - stopped contraception & abortion

> Lowering age of marriage to 15, childless couples had to pay more tax

Question 5

Nazi Family Policy - Cross-Cultural Examples of State Polices

Answer 5

> Encourage healthy & racially pure to breed a master race - stopped abortion/contraception

> Sterilised disabled people, and later murdered them in contraception camps.

Question 6

Perspectives on Families & Social Policy (Key Studies)

Answer 6

> Flecther (Functionalist view on Social Policy)

> Donzelot (Policing the Family)
Condry (Policing the Family)

> Almond (New Right on Policies undermining the nuclear family)
Murray (New Right view on Welfare Policy & Dependency Culture, Solutions)

> Hayton (Modernist & Traditional Division & Policies criticising the New Right) (Coalition Gov 2010-15)

> Land (Feminism & Social Policy)
Leonard (Feminism & State Policies)

> Drew (Gender Regimes, EU)

Question 7

Fletcher’s view on Social Policy (Functionalist)

Answer 7

> Policies improve family life, welfare state, supports families in caring for their members better e.g. NHS etc.

Question 8

Marxist & Feminist (Criticisms of Functionalism)

Answer 8

> Only benefits men at the expense of women

> Policies reduce progress e.g. cutting welfare benefits

Question 9

Donzelot (Policing the Family)

Answer 9

> Conflict view policies are state control over the family, a form of surveillance widespread in society

> Doctors/Social Workers watch the family, turning them into cases

> The working class are surveilled more as they are seen as the cause of anti-social behaviour & Crime.

Question 10

Condry (Policing the Family)

Answer 10

> State control family through parenting orders by courts.

> Parents of young offenders are forced to go to parenting classes

Question 11

A03 Perspectives on Families & Social Policy (Key Studies)

Answer 11

> Marxist & Feminist (Criticisms of Functionalism Policing Family)

> Functionalist (Criticisms of New Right)

> Feminists (Criticisms of New Right)

> Abbott & Wallace (Criticisms of New Right)

Question 12

Marxist & Feminist (Criticisms of Policing of Family)

Answer 12

> Policies work in the interests of the upper class

> Men benefit from policies

Question 13

Almond (New Right on Policies undermining the nuclear family)

Answer 13

> Divorce easier undermines marriage & now increased rights for cohabitants e.g. adoption

> LGBT marriage, shows state don’t see heterosexual as better

> Tax discriminates against the nuclear family as they pay more

Question 14

Murray (New Right view on Welfare Policy & Dependency Culture, Solutions)

Answer 14

> Policies encourage lone parent families and removes work ethic - they encourage dads to abandon the family

> Solution is to cut benefits to give an incentive for men to work to pay for their children, social housing should not be given to teenage mothers

Question 15

Feminists - AO3 of New Right view on Policy

Answer 15

> Justifies patriarchy and subordinates women, they restrict them to the housewives role.

> Patriarchal nuclear family is a form of social control

Question 16

Abbott & Wallace - AO3 of New Right view on Policy

Answer 16

> Critical of the New Right view on cutting welfare benefits as this could tip families into poverty

Question 17

Conservative Gov (1979-97) - Gov Policies in Favour of NR

Answer 17

> Stopped promotion of LGBT & set up child support so men were more responsible

Question 18

Conservative Gov (1979-97) - Gov Policies against the New Right

Answer 18

> Divorce easier, children born to unmarried couples had the same rights as those born to married couples.

Question 19

New Labour Gov (97-10) - Gov Policies against New Right

Answer 19

> Favoured dual earner families more than the traditional nuclear family & made civil partnerships legal for same sex couples

> Redistributing income to poor with increased benefits to lift children out poverty

Question 20

New Labour (97-10) Policies in favour of dual earner families

Answer 20

> Increased maternity leave
Right to have time of work for family reasons
Tax relief on childcare costs.

Question 21

Hayton (Collation Gov 2010-15)

Answer 21

> Modernists recognise family diversity and the need for reflection in policies, but Traditionalists with a New Right view reject it

> Introduced gay marriage opposed by Traditionalists, modernist influences were weakened by Lib Dem coalition

Question 22

Land (Feminism on Social Policy)

Answer 22

> Policies often assume the traditional nuclear family with the patriarchal family as the norm, this creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, disadvantaging women and maintaining their subordination

> e.g. Maternity leave longer than paternity, reinforces women’s responsibility for childcare therefore subordinating women to the domestic role

Question 23

Feminists view on Areas of Policy supporting Nuclear Families

Answer 23

> Tax & Benefit Policy

> Childcare & Care for OAP

Question 24

Tax & Benefit Policy - Feminists view on Areas of Policy supporting Nuclear Families

Answer 24

> Assume men are breadwinners with women as dependent, so can’t have social security benefits, as men are expected to provide.

Question 25

Childcare & Care for OAP - Feminists view on Areas of Policy supporting Nuclear Families

Answer 25

> Women do the school run, so it is hard for women to work full time with expensive childcare, the gov still assumes family cares for older family members

> Women are therefore forced to be financially dependent on men

Question 26

Leonard’s (Feminist view on State Policies)

Answer 26

> Child benefits given to women, gives separate income reinforces childcare responsibility

> Child benefits are low anyway, so they are still dependent on men

Question 27

Evaluation of Feminist View on Policies

Answer 27

> Not all policies maintain patriarchy e.g.

> Equal Pay & Sex Discrimination
Rape in marriage Criminalised

Question 28

Drew’s (2 Gender Regimes)

Answer 28

> Familistic Gender Regimes

> Individualistic Gender Regimes

Question 29

Differences between familistic gender regimes and individualistic gender regimes

Answer 29

> Familistic - Policies assume traditional division of labour with male breadwinner & female housewife e.g. Greece no childcare so women do the traditional role

> individualistic - See men and women as equal and both responsible for breadwinning/domestic tasks e.g. Sweden have Childcare so women can work

Question 30

Drew’s (Gender Regimes in EU)

Answer 30

> EU move towards individualistic gender regimes promoting gender equality

> Global recession in 2008 & cutbacks on spending, so increased pressure on women to stay in traditional role

Question 31

Trends towards Neo-Liberal Welfare policies (State vs. Market)

Answer 31

> Individuals encouraged to use market, not state to meet needs
e.g. private pension provision & care for old