Changes in relationships within families and households Flashcards
Parsons- Division of labour
-Functionalist argued that in a traditional nuclear family the role of the husband and the wife is separate. there is a clear division of labour between the spouses.
-Husband- breadwinner instrumental role
-Wife- Carer and houseworker, expressive role
-Men and women are biologically suited to these roles so its only natural that men are the breadwinners and women are the stay at home wives.
-Division of labour is based on biological differences.
-Supported by many new right thinkers.
Parsons evaluation
-Ansley- Marxist feminists disagrees with the idea of women needing to conform to the arm bath theory, as it harms them. Men are often frustrated and alienated by their jobs so they take this frustration out on their female partners to compensate for their lack of power outside the family. This often takes the form of domestic violence as wives are acting as safety valves for capitalism as men are not directing their anger at the real cause.
-Oakley- women are socialised into being wives and carers thiught their gender identity
Wilmott and Young.
-They found that as time progressed things became more equal, especially for younger couples who had moved away.
-Argue that the rise of the symmetrical nuclear family is due to changes that have taken place in society. (changes in the position of women, geographical mobility-couples living away from where they grew up, new tech and higher standard of living)
-72% of men did housework other than washing up during the week.
Wilmott evaluation
-Ann Oakley- radical feminist
-Inadequate methodology, a man who helps with the children once a week would be included in this % so would a man who ironed his shirt one day a week.
-Industrialisation led to the separation between housework and paid work, so women got excluded from the workforce while men became the sole breadwinners.
-Enforced women’s economic dependence on men, so the housewife role was socially contracted rather than being biological and natural.
-The housewife role is still women’s primary role.
-Crompton- until we have truly equal pay between sexes then the division of labour in the home will remain unequal
Duncombe and Marsden
-argue that women are not only expected to do a double shift of housework and paid work, but also to work a triple shift that include emotion work.
-David Morgan illustrates thus with the example of caring for a sick child.
Evaluation of Marsden
-hakim rejects the idea that distribution of domestic labour is shaped by a patriarchal ideology or capitalism. she suggests that most women rationally choose to be mothers and some are more happy than others to support their husband career by taking on the bulk of the domestic work, not interested in equality
