Family couples: topic 1

Question 1

which sociologist came up with the instrumental roles + expressive?

Answer 1

PARSONS

Question 2

PARSONS: what was the husbands role

Answer 2

instrumental

Question 3

PARSONS: what was the wives role?

Answer 3

expressive

Question 4

What was parsons reason for his division of labour in the home?

Answer 4

-based on biological differences.
- women ‘naturally’ suited nurturing role.
-men suited provider.
-benefical to both genders, children + society

Question 5

Who shares parsons views?

Answer 5

NEW RIGHT (conservative)

Question 6

CRITICISM of parsons (In + Ex roles)

Answer 6

-YOUNG + WILLMOTT argue men taking a greater share of demestic tasks + wives becoming wage earners.
- FEMINISTS, reject parsons view division of labour is natural. Only benefits men.

Question 7

which sociologist came up with joint and segregated conjugal roles?

Answer 7

Elizabeth Bott

Question 8

What were the two types of conjugal roles?
(bott)

Answer 8

-segregated:
male breadwinner, female homemaker. Leisure also separate.
-joint:
couples share tasks, housework, childcare, spend leisure time together.

Question 9

Young + willmott study:
traditional working-class exteneded families in Bethnal Green East London (1950s)

Answer 9

Findings:
- men were the breadwinners, played little part in home life + spent leisure time with workmates in pub.
- women full-time housewives sole responsiblity for housework + childcare, helped by other female relatives.

Question 10

The symmetrical family: what view did young + willmott take?

Answer 10

MARCH OF PROGRESS:
-view of history in the family
-see family life as gradually getting better, more equal + democratic.

Question 11

What does symmetrical family mean?

Answer 11

-the roles of husband and wife although not identical are now more similar

Question 12

examples of family becoming more symmetrical:

Answer 12

• women now go out to work, although may be part-time
  -men now help with housecare + childwork
  -couples now spend leisure time together instead on separate.

Question 13

Major social changes in past century that resulted in more symmetrical families:

Answer 13

• changes in womens position, married women going out to work.
  -Geographically mobility- more couples living away from the communities they grew up in.
• new technology and labour saving devices
  -higher standards of living.

Question 14

Whats the feminist view of housework?
Ann Oakley

Answer 14

-reject ‘march of progress view’
AO:
- criticse young + willmott for being exaggerated.
-men still hardly helped with housework + childcare.
- only 15% husbands had high partcipation in housework
- only 25% had high partcipation of childcare.

Question 15

what was the impact of paid work?

Answer 15

• is it leading to more shared division of domestic labour creating the ‘new man’
• or create womens ‘dual burden’

Question 16

example for proof of the March of progress view

Answer 16

British social attitudes survey:
Q. think its mans job to earn money and womens job to look after the home:
-1984, 45% men + 41% women agreed.
-2012 13% men + 12% women agreed.

Question 17

The feminist view of impacts of paid work:

Answer 17

women going into paid work has not led to greater equality in division of domestic labour.
still little sign of the ‘new man’.
women now carry dual-burden

Question 18

taking responsibility of women

Answer 18

Ferri + smith found: fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families
-Dex + Ward found although fathers had high level involvment with 3 year olds 78% played with their children. ONly 1% took main responsibility for sick children.

Question 19

Triple-shift:
Dunscombe and Marsden

Answer 19

house work, paid work, emotional work

Question 20

Crompton and Lyonette:
what were the two explanations of gender divisions of labour

Answer 20

1) the cultural or ideological explanation of inequality
-division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms + values that shape gender roles in our culture. e.g. women perform domestic labour because our society expects them to + has socialised them to do so.
2) The material or economic explanations of inequality.
=women generally earn less than men means it econmically rational for women to do more housework + childcare as men spend more time earning money.

Question 21

Dunne: same-sex couples and ‘gender scripts’
study

Answer 21

Dunnes study of 37 lesbian couples with dependent children found that they were more likely than heterosexual women to:
-describe their relationship as equal, share housework + childcare equally + view childcare postively.
-give equal importance to both partners careers.
argues this is because:
hetrosexual are under pressure to conform to deeply ingarained masculine + feminine gender scripts via domestic tasks. Contrast lesbain relationships are not linked to any particular gender scripts. Allows to create more equal relationships.

Question 22

resources + decision making in households

Question 23

Pahl + vogler:
The allowance system pooling.

Question 24

smart ‘personal life’ perspective on money