Families and Households - Couples

Question 1

Define ‘domestic division of labour’.

Answer 1

The roles men and women play in relation to housework, childcare, and paid work.

Question 2

Parsons (1955) and roles:

Answer 2

Men and women are naturally suited to different roles, biologically; this division also serves wider society. The man will take the ‘instrumental role’ and go out and provide for the household’s fiscal needs with work and not provide emotional or domestic support, whereas the wife will take the ‘instrumental role’ and stay home and take care of the children, providing for the family’s emotional needs and not the family’s fiscal needs.

Question 3

Give a criticism of Parson’s (1955) functionalist perspective of the domestic division of labour.

Answer 3

Walklate (2003): Although Parsons attempts to focus on social roles, his theory is based in the biological assumption that, because women are capable of childbearing, they are best suited to the expressive role of raising children.

Question 4

Bott (1957) and conjugal roles:

Answer 4

• Segregated conjugal roles: where the couples have separate roles like Parsons (1955)
• Joint conjugal roles: where the couples share tasks

Question 5

Young and Willmott (1962) and an investigation into traditional conjugal roles:

Answer 5

• Study of traditional working-class extended families in Bethnal Green in the 1950’s.
• Men were the breadwinners, not involves in home life, and spent leisure time with workmates
• Women were housewives, solely involved in home life and spent little leisure time with female kin.

Question 6

What view do Young and Willmott (1973) take?

Answer 6

March of Progress: they see family life as long-term trending towards equality and becoming the ‘symmetrical family’.

Question 7

Define the ‘symmetrical family’

Answer 7

A family in which the roles of the husband and wife are not the same, but are similar and equitable, such as both going out to work and taking care of housework

Question 8

Who is the ‘symmetrical family’ more common among and what factors promote it?

Answer 8

Young and Willmott (1973) argue that the young, those geographically and socially isolate, and the more affluent are the most likely to have a symmetrical family. It is also promoted by:
- Changes in women’s positions
- Geographical mobility
- New technology and labour saving devices
- Higher standards of living.

Question 9

How did Oakley (1974) criticise Young and Willmott (1973)?

Answer 9

In their research, they found husbands ‘helped’ their wives once a week, but this could include small tasks like taking the kids for a walk or making breakfast once.

Question 10

Oakley (1974) and the role of husbands in childcare:

Answer 10

Men are more likely than previously to partake in childcare but only the pleasurable bits, causing the mothers to lose the rewarding part of childcare, like playing with the children, and were simply left with more time for housework - ultimately more harmful than helpful.

Question 11

Warde and Hetherington (1993) and sex-typing:

Answer 11

Relationships are not becoming more ‘symmetrical’ because sex-typing of tasks is still strong: wives are 30x more likely to have been the last to do the washing and the husbands 4x more likely to have washed the car last.

Question 12

Give each part of the debate for whether couples are becoming more equal:

Answer 12

• Domestic labour
• Responsibility for children
• Responsibility for ‘quality time’

Question 13

Gershunny (1994) and the March of Progress:

Answer 13

Women working-full time is leading to a more equal division of labour, with these women doing less domestic work than others.

Question 14

British Attitudes Survey (2013) and hours of housework and care:

Answer 14

Women are doing 5 more hours of housework and 13 more hourss of family care than their husbands.

Question 15

Allan (1985) and satisfaction:

Answer 15

Women’s tasks, such as washing and cleaning, are less intrinsically satisfying and fulfilling than men’s tasks, such as repairing.

Question 16

How are fathers taking more responsibility for their children?

Answer 16

BSA (2012): men are doing 10 hours of care for the faimly per week.

Question 17

How do father’s have less responsibility for children?

Answer 17

They are ultimately not responsible for their wellbeing - Dex and Ward (2007): although fathers have high levels of involvement with their children (78% playing with their 3-year-old), only 1% took main responsibility when caring for them when sick.

Question 18

Braun et al (2011) and the role of the father:

Answer 18

Most fathers are ‘background fathers’ where helping with the child is more about their relationship with the partner; many also had a ‘provider ideology’, believing that their role was as a breadwinner, not active carer (reflecting Parsons (1951)).

Question 19

Duncombe and Marsden (1995) and emotional burden:

Answer 19

Now that more women are going in to work, they have to work a ‘triple shift’ of domestic, emotional, and paid work.

Question 20

Hochschild (2013) and emotional work:

Answer 20

One type of labour that is often neglected by ‘March of Progress’ theorists is ‘emotional labour’: women, unlike men, have to make sure that everyone is calm and happy (such as by settling disputes) while exercising control over their own emotions.

Question 21

ONS (2018) and leisure time:

Answer 21

Although there is a perception that women are taking more leisure time so are becoming more equal to men, women are actually taking 1 hour per week less than in 2000, now putting them at 5 hours less than men. This may possibly be due to triple shift.

Question 22

Southerton (2011) and leisure time:

Answer 22

Due to social changes like the 24/7 society, although quantitatively men and women have an equal amount of leisure time, men are more likely to have consolidated blocks, whereas women are more likely to have small spurts, giving less rest and fulfillment.

Question 23

What are Crompton and Lyonette’s (2008) 2 explanations for the unequal gender division of labour?

Answer 23

• The cultural or ideological explanation: patriarchal values and norms are socialized into men and women to perpetuate inequality
• The material or economic: women often earn less than men so it is rational that they do more domestic work

Question 24

Gershuny (1994) and the effect of socialisation on housework:

Answer 24

Couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share housework equally themselves, suggesting that role models are important - we are seeing greater equality because socialisation is adapting to women entering the workforce.

Question 25

Future Foundation (2000) and the changing amount of domestic labour:

Answer 25

Most men claimed to do more housework than their father and most women claimed to do less than their mother, suggesting a generational shift in behaviour is occurring.

Question 26

Dunne (1999) and lesbians and domestic labour (cultural argument):

Answer 26

Lesbian couples are more symmetrical because of the absence of 'gender scripts', norms that ste out different gender roles about what each should be responsible for.

Question 27

Dunne (1999) and lesbians and domestic labour (material argument):

Answer 27

Although lesbian couples are more likely to be equal, couples where one partner did much more paid work than the other, the time that each partner spent on domestic work was likely to be unequal, thus suggesting that material factors are still at play.

Question 28

Kan (2001) and the rate of domestic labour per salary:

Answer 28

For every £10,000 a year more a woman earns, she does two hours less housework per week.

Question 29

Arber and Ginn (1995) and labour saving devices and domestic labour division:

Answer 29

Material factors are important, not just in how they divide labour, but in the ease of labour itself - m/c women are more able to buy labour-saving devices, domestic help and childcare, rather than having to spend time carrying out labour-intensive domestic tasks themselves.

Question 30

Barret and McIntosh (1991) and financial support:

Answer 30

Men gain far more from women’s domestic work than they give back in financial support, with it often being unpredictable and coming with ‘strings’ attached - men also make decisions about spending on important items like houses.

Question 31

Kempson (1994) and spending:

Answer 31

Among low-income families, women are more likely to deny their own needs, like eating smaller portions or skipping meals, in order to make ends meet - this is because, in many households, women have no entitlement to any share of household resources so often feel that anything they have should be sent on essentials for the family.

Question 32

Pahl and Vogler (1993) and money management:

Answer 32

There are two systems of money management, with the latter on the rise: - Allowance system: husband has control and gives a budget to meet the family's needs - Pooling: couple has equal access to income and joint responsibility to expenditure This is seen as more equitable but, even in pooling, men still control the pooled income and make the major financial decisions

Question 33

Hardill (1997) and important decision making:

Answer 33

Even in dual-career professional couples, important decisions are usually made by the husband or jointly, his career taking precedence in things like housing decisions. This is in line with Finch (1983), which argues that women's lives tend to be structure around their husband's careers.

Question 34

Give evidence of a move towards greater equality in financial decision making.

Answer 34

Gershunny (2000): 70% of couples report equal say in decisions

Question 35

Vogler et al (1993) and cohabiting couples:

Answer 35

Cohabiting couples are more likely to keep their money seperately but more likely to divide labour equally; pooling money does not necessarily mean equality

Question 36

What is the 'personal life' perspective on control of money?

Answer 36

Nyman (2003): given that pooling money or keeping it seperately do not equate to equality or inequality, we must take a closer look at how couples give meaning to money.

Question 37

Smart (2007) and control of money:

Answer 37

Gay couples were less likely to care about who had control of the money in the relationship, not seeing money as equalling equality or inequality - this is because they do not enter relationships with the same 'historical gendered heterosexual baggage of cultural meanings around money.'

Question 38

Dobash and Dobash (2007) and the immediate cause of domestic violence:

Answer 38

Violent incidents by abusive partners are more likely to be set off by a percieved challenge to that partner's authority - marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives.

Question 39

Give evidence that the gender gap in abuse is narrowing.

Answer 39

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (2013): 7.3% and 5% of women and men reported having experienced abuse in the previous year.

Question 40

Dar (2013) and the number of reports of domestic violence:

Answer 40

It can be difficult to count seperate incidents as abuse is often continuous or incredibly frequent.

Question 41

Ansara and Hindin (2011) and abuse:

Answer 41

Women suffer more severe violence and control in abusive relationships than men that leads to harsher psychological effects, with more reporting fearing their partner

Question 42

What are the two reasons, and evidence, for why we cannot trust official statistics on domestic violence

Answer 42

Between 2006-11, 6.5% of reported cases were prosecuted Unwillingness to report - Yearnshire (1997): a woman suffers 35 assaults before reporting Unwillingness to record or investigate - Cheal (1991): The state is often unwilling to get involved with 'private' family life

Question 43

What are the two explanations of domestic violence?

Answer 43

- The radical feminist - The material

Question 44

Give the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence.

Answer 44

RadFems like Millet (1970) and Firestone (1970), argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy that subordinates women, domestic violence is then an inevitable product of a society that socialises young men into believing that women owe them something.

Question 45

Give 2 criticisms of the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence

Answer 45

- Elliot (1996) rejects the claim that all men benefit from violence against women, many adamantly oppose it. - It can't explain variation within victims - ONS (2014): younger, poorer, disabled or with long term illness, and other specific groups of women are more likely to experience DV

Question 46

Give the materialist explanation of domestic violence.

Answer 46

Wilson and Pickett (2010) see DV as the reult of stress caused by social inequality; families experiencing poverty or overcrowded accomodation will be less able to maintain stable caring relationships.

Question 47

Give an evaluation of the materialist explanation of domestic violence.

Answer 47

It fails to explain why more women are the victims of domestic violence than men.

Question 48

How do marxist feminists merge the explanations for domestic violence?

Answer 48

Ansley (1972) sees women as 'the takers of shit' and that they recieve the frustrations men have at the capitalist system in the form of violence.