families in households run through

Question 1

functionalist perspective

Answer 1

1. Murdock’s trad nuclear family - 4 key functions (EVAL: Zaretskty, feminist, PLP, meeting functions out of nuclear family, ‘dark side’ not stable)
2. Parsons functional fit - type of family is according to the needs of that society, Nuc: modern industrial / extended: pre industrial (EVAL: Laslett / Young and willmott / Anderson)
3. Parsons - gender roles allows socialisation (EVAL: Feminist (eval internal of EQA 1970/SDA 1975), PM - nuclear shouldnt be unit of analysis)

Question 2

Marxist perspective

Answer 2

1. Engels: Inheritance of private property (PP) - linked nuclear w PP EG. primitive communism ‘world historical defeat of the female sex’. (EVAL: family diversity challenge relevance, Fem - marxs underplays role of patriarchy, oversimplify evolution of family (ignores social/emotion behind marriage and parenting)
2. Ideological functions - Cooper: family is ideological conditioning device, Zaretsky: offers ‘false haven’ from capitalism + emotional support (EVAL: deterministic ‘receiving ideology’, PLP - family not controlled by econ but relationships, emotions and choices
3. Unit of consumption: adverts/media target families (children - ‘pester power’ to maintain social status ‘keeping up with the joneses’ - if dont conform face ‘social stigma’ (EVAL: risks reducing families for economic units - loosing other functions / some families engage in conscious consumption or alernative lifestyles, capitalism also driven by individual agency)

Question 3

feminist perspective

Answer 3

1. Liberal feminists - gender inequality decreasing eg. Sex Discrimination act (1975) + improvements to children socialisation (girls/boys same expectations). Young and willmott ‘march of progress’ families becoming symmetrical (50% of couples dual earners) - attitudes progressing. Oakley (80s research) woman more domestic ‘dual burden’ -> expanded by Duncombe and Marsden introduced ‘triple shift’. Trad gender roles significant even when they in public sphere (inevitable) can be overcome eg. flex work hours -> equal/ Hvr, covid 19 woman take on more domestic labour. (eval: radical: underestimate patriarchy, espeically at home (private sphere) eg. only 3% of men work partime with their wife working full time (breadwinner norm persists). Lib fem focus on hetero/two parent fams - limits to account for fam diversity + other forms of inequality (race/class/sexuality)
2. Marxist feminists -> Bensen: oppression not men but capitalist system which benefits of womans unpaid/emotional labour (reinforce subordination). Ansley - wives ‘takers of shit’. Feeley: womans role in family = authoritarian unit teaching children passive + accept heirachy (ideological conditioning). Marx: ‘reserve army of labour’. -> all of these create instability of woman = keeping them reliant + preventing husbands from challenging capitalism (patriarchy to maintain capitalism) Benston - this reduces bargaining powers in workplace -> not revolt. (EVAL: reduces female oppression to just class based (overlooks patriarchy as independant force eg. gender inequality in pre capitalist society eg. tribes / social change since 70s - shared parental leave (2015) act + extneded free childcare 2024 -> avoid full time housewife role. Also no gender pay gap in younger workers + woman out earn men in some sectors HVR: only 44% woman return back to work after 3yr childbirth
3. Radical feminists -> inherenty patriarchal

Question 4

Explain two ways in which gender roles have impacted childhood

Answer 4

1. Men are more involved in housework -> willmott and young ‘symmetrical family’ -> aries ‘child centredness’
2. Woman are working and do not have time for children -> Duncombe and Marsden ‘triple shift’ -> palmer ‘toxic childhood’

Question 5

Sociology should be closely related to social policy

Answer 5

Economic and social research council spent £225 million in 2014-2015 -> nesessary

Giddens -> sociology helps our lives + iradicate social problems they identify

Positivism + functionalism -> durkheim + comte scientific approach -> used in enlightenment project + state serves interest of society as a whole (EVAL: marxists argue that edu policies aimed to equalise are often defeated by poverty

Social democratic-> development of relative poverty (townsend) -> anti poverty programmes by labour/new labour. Black report identified cultural/structural causes of inequalities in health -> believe gov should focus on fixing this

Lib feminists -> campaigns -> changes in edu to prevent bias against girls + led to DV taken more serious by police

New Labour -> Giddens (Tony blairs advisers following new labour victory) -> helps create third wave philosophy (combine left + right wing policy) -> influenced active welfare

Sociologist researchers have part in gov eg. In home office been involved in successfullness of ASBOs + electric tagging of offenders

Sociologists indirect role = ‘climate of opinion’ for gov to act on eg. Cultural deprivation -> compensatory edu policies (operation head start)

Question 6

Sociology should not be closely relsted to social policy

Answer 6

New Right -> believe in minimal stste intervention -> individual responsibilty stressed over state welfare -> Murray (welfare creates ‘dependancy and a dangerous underclass’). new right supports policies aligned with their ideology (eg. Nuclear family support + restrictions on gypsy) EG. BREAKDOWN BRTAIN -> supprted mothers

Marxists -> sociologists in social policy prevents class consciousness. Westergaard and Resler (welfare buys off w/c and delays revolution). State serves capitalism : 1. Ideological legitimisation (eg welfare (caring)), 2. Maintains workforce eg. NHS keeps workers healthy for exploit, 3. Prevents revolution - welfare state post ww2 pacify wc resistance. (EVAL: unpractical + unrealisitic (social democrats) who say research brings progressive change in capitalism)

Feminism -> promotes gender equal materials in edu, shaped teacher training = reduce gender bias (liberal fem aim through anti-discrimination reforms). Society is patriarchal -> assume normal family is nuclear, thus SP benefits married couples not cohabiting -> self fulfilling prophecy (ignore family diversity) (EVAL: Rad fem critisize lib fem for advocating anti discrimination policies -> rad think womans emancipation can only be achieved by dismantling patriarchy eg. Seperatism.

Postmodernists -> sociologists no position to make social policy-> not possible to objectively identify truth + sociology knowledge is ‘uncertain’ -> no valid basis for it. BAUMAN-> sociologists should take role of interpreters (in PM time) and not legislators as they did in modernist time

Question 7

Ethnicity

Answer 7

Black families:
Mirza - lone parent families in black not due to disorganisation but value black woman place on independance
Reynolds - stats are misleading - many lone families are in stable non cohabiting relationships

Asian Families:
Ballad - extended family ties provides support for migrsting asians (50/60s)