Families Topic 1 - Couples Flashcards
(58 cards)
1
Q
Domestic Division of Labour
Define the domestic division of labour
A
- The domestic division of labour refers to the roles of men and women and what tasks and responsibilities they play in households
2
Q
Domestic Division of Labour
What is Parsons view on Domestic Division of Labour?
A
Instrumental and Expressive role:
* Instrumental role (men): Breadwinner, focussed on providing financial support
* Expressive role (women): Caregiver, focussed on emotional support and nurturing family
3
Q
Domestic Division of Labour
What is the role of the husband?
A
- To be the main provider and responsible for emotional stability
4
Q
Domestic Division of Labour
What is the role of the wife?
A
- To be responsible for emotional well-being, childcare, and household management
5
Q
Domestic Division of Labour
What is the feminist view on Domestic Division of Labour?
A
- They argue Parsons’ view reinforces patriachal norms and traditional gender roles, limiting equality
6
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Bott - Conjugal Roles
What are Conjugal roles?
A
- Conjugal roles are roles played by husbands and wives in a household
7
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Bott - Conjugal Roles
What is segregated Conjugal Roles?
A
- These are distinct roles for men and women (e.g. Men work, Women care for home)
8
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Bott - Conjugal Roles
What is joint Conjugal Roles?
A
- These are shared responsibilities in household tasks and decision making
9
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Young + Willmott - Symmetrical Family
What are the roles of men and women at home (Young + Willmott view)?
A
- Symmetry in roles with shared responsibilities in houseowork, childcare, and decision making
10
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Young + Willmott - Symmetrical Family
Where is symmtry in roles commonly found?
A
- This is found in middle class families, urban settings, and among younger couples
11
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Young + Willmott - Symmetrical Family
What are the features of a symmetrical family?
A
- Equal contribution to household tasks
- Joint decision making
- Shared leisure activities
12
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Young + Willmott - Symmetrical Family
What are some scoial changes affecting/encouraging symmetrical family?
A
- Women’s Position: More women working
- Geographical Mobility: Families moving away from their communities
- Technology: Labour saving devices (e.g. washing machines)
- Standard of Living: Higher income and better standard of living
13
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
Why do feminists reject March Of Progress view?
A
They think:
* Men and women are still unequal in the family
* Women peform most of the housework; society remians patriarchal
* Women are in subordinate roles
14
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
What is Oakley’s criticism on Young & Willmott
A
- Their claims about symmetrical family is overexaggerated
- Husbands helping occasionally is NOT equal
15
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
What evidence supports Oakley’s claims?
A
- Only 15% of husbands helped with housework
- Only 25% contributed to childcare
- Husbands ‘chose’ the more enjoyable childcare tasks
16
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
What evidence has Boulton found to counter Young & Willmott’s views?
A
She found:
* Less than 20% of husbands help with childcare
* Young & Willmott overstate men’s involvement
* Mothers still bear the primary childcare responsibility
17
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
What is ‘Sex Typing’ of domestic tasks and whose study is this?
A
-
Warde and Hetherington (1983):
Evidence of gendered domestic tasks: - Women are more likely to do laundry
- Men are more likelt to wash the car
- Men avoided traditionally ‘female tasks’
18
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Feminist views on housework
AO3: Why might it be difficult to research how much housework couples do?
A
- There is variation accross different households
- Sociologists cannot find out what it is like in every single household
19
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is the March of Progress view?
A
- They argue that there is increased equality in domestic tasks and decision making
OVERALL argument
20
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Young & Willmott’s (1973) view?
MOP sociologist
A
- Women’s involvement in paid work leads to equal division of labour
- Men more involved in housework and childcare
21
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Gershuny (1994) view?
MOP sociologist
A
- Working women do less housework than non-working women
- Equality increases as more women are working
22
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Sulivan (2000) view?
MOP sociologist
A
- National data shows trend of men doing more domestic work
- Equal divison of labour becoming more common
23
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What does the British Social Attitudes survey show?
MOP view
A
- Decline in people believing it’s a man’s job to earn money
- Shifting attitudes towards shared roles
24
Q
Domestic Division of Labour - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is the Feminist view?
A
- They say despite progress, women still bare the greater burden of domestic work
25
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What does the British Social Attitudes survey show?
| **Feminist View**
* Women still do twice as much housework as men
* Traditional gender roles persist in task division
26
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Dax and Ward (2007) view?
| **Feminist Sociologist**
* Fathers less likely to take responsibility of childcare
* Women manage more of children's childcare
27
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Braun et tal (2011) view?
| **Feminist Sociologist**
* Majority of fathers are 'Backround Fathers'
* They have a 'provider ideology' - just being the breadwinner
28
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Duncombe & Marden (1995) view?
| **Feminist Sociologist**
* Women take on a 'triple shift': Paid work, Domestic labour and Emotional support
29
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is hochschild (2013) view?
| **Feminist Sociologist**
* Women manage emotionaal well-being in the family
* They ensure harmony and resolve conflicts
30
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is Southerton (2011) view?
| **Feminist Sociologist**
* Women manage quality family time, often interrupting their own
* Men's leisure time is often uninterrupted
31
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is the cultural/ideological explanation?
| **Crompton & Lyonette - Explaining gender divison of labour**
* Patriarchal norms and societal values shape gender roles
* Women peform more domestic labour because it is socially expected of them
32
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What is the Material/Economic explanation?
| **Crompton & Lyonette - Explaining gender divison of labour**
* Women earn less than men, making it economically rational for them to do more domestic tasks
* Men spend more time earning money
33
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
Will Equality ever be achieved?
| **Cultural Explanation**
* Equality will only occur when norms and societal attitudes change
34
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What evidence supports this Cultural Explanation?
| **Cultural explanation of Will equality ever be achieved?**
* British Social Attitudes (2013): Found a long term shift in attitudes, showing that younger generations increasingly favour equal partnerships
35
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
When will Equality be achieved?
| **Material Explanation**
* Equality will happen when women earn as much as men
36
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Are couples becoming more Equal?
What evidence supports this Material Explanation?
| **Material Explanation of Will Equality be achieved**
* Higher paid women can afford services like child care instead of doing it themselves
* Labour saving devices reduce women's domestic burdens
37
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What are the 3 main arguments of Barret & McIntosh
* Men make most decisions on expenditures
* Finanacial support from husbands is often unpredictable and often comes with 'strings attached'
* Men gain more from women's domestic work than they give back in financial support
38
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What is the Allowance system?
| **Pahl and Volger (1991)**: Money Management
* Allowance system is when men give their wives a set budget to meet the family's needs. The man keeps the money left over for himself
39
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What is Pooling and is it always equal?
| **Pahl and Vogler (1993)**: Money Management
* Pooling is when both partners share access to income and jointly manage expenses (e.g. a joint bank account)
* Not always equal as contributions and spending decisions may not always be equal
40
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
How can couples ensure Pooling is equal?
| **Pahl and Vogler (1993)**: Money Management
* Make sure both partners contribute a percentage of their income
* Jointly discuss and agree on spending
41
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What is an evaluation for Pooling?
| **Pahl and Vogler (1993)**: Money Management
* Uequal contributions in Pooling can lead to unequal decision making power
42
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
Who did he study and what were his findings?
| **Hardill,1977 - Decision Making**
* He studied **30 dual-earner couples**
**He found:**
* Importnat decisions weer made either by the man or jointly
* Men's careers were prioritized in important decisions like relocating for a new job
43
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What are the 3 types of decisions made between couples?
| **Edgell - Decision Making**
* Very Important: Usually made by husbands, if taken jointly, husband gets final say
* Important Decisions: Taken jointly, or less commonly by the wife
* Less important: Typically made by the wife (e.g. day-to-day purchaces)
44
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What is the feminist approach on decision making between couples?
| **Feminist Perspective - Decision making**
* They believe society is still patriarchal, with cultural norms favouring men as decision makers
* They argue for the need to challenge these ingrained gender roles
45
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What is the personal life perspective on money?
| **Personal life Perspective**
Focus:
* Examines the meanings couples attach to who controls money in the relationship
* Money and r/s dynamics: Some couples don't view one partner controlling money as inequality
46
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Resource and Decision Making
What does Smart (2007) say about same sex couples?
| **Personal life perspective on Money**
## Footnote
who controls money
* Same sex couples often do not attribute importance to who controls money. Money is not seen as a source of power in these relationships.
47
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
Define Domestic Violence
* Domestic violence: Any incident or series of incidents involving controlling, threatening, or abusive behaviour between individuals aged 16 and over who are intimate partners or family members, regardless of age, sex or sexuality
48
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
What are different types of Domestic Violence?
* Phsycological/Emotional: Confinement, Isolation, Verbal abuse
* Physical: Intentional harm or injury to another person
* Sexual: Unwanted sexual behaviour by one person towards another
49
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
What are the scoiological views on Domestic Violence?
* Domestic violence (DV) is not just caused by a 'sick few individuals' or purely phsycological reasons
1. DV is too widespread
2. DV doesnt occur randomly; It is primarily men's violence against women
* 1:5 Adults experience DV (2.4m Women: 1.6m Men)
* In one year, 2.9m adults were victims (2.7m women: 690,000 Men)
50
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
What did Dobash and Dobash reasearch and what were their findings?
| **Dobash and Dobash (1978) - Domestic Violence**
* They conducted interviews with women's refuges in Scotland
* They used police and court records to investigate DV
**They Found:**
* Husbands often resorted to violence when their authority was challenged
* Marriage legitamises violence by granting men power
* This shows that DV is deeply rooted in societal structures, particularly patriarchy
51
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
What are some official statistics of DV?
* 99% of incidents against women are commited by men
* Nearly 1:4 women have been assaulted by their partner some time in their lives and 1:8 repeatedly so
52
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
What is the AO3 evulation - Official statistics?
* Underreporting: Victims are not likely to report to the police - about less than 1:3 assaulted are reported
* Under-recording: Police are unwilling to record, investigate and prosecute DV cases as they dont want to interviene in the 'private sphere' of the family.
* They fail to see the 'dark side' of the family
* Police view women as 'free agents' - they will leave if they experience anuse
53
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Domestic Violence
Why might some victims find it hard to leave an abusive relationship?
* Children: Fear of impacting their welfare
* Family reputation: Cultural or Social stigma
* Threats: Fear of retaliation or harm
54
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Explanations of DV
What is the radical feminists explanation of DV?
* Findings (e.g. Dobash and Dobash) are seen as evidence of patriarchy
* Millet (1970) and Firestone (1970) argue societies are founded on patriarchy
* Men are viewed as the opressors and exploiters of women
* DV is a way of men to keep power over women
55
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Explanations of DV
What is the AO3 evlauation for radical feminists?
| **For Domestic Violence**
* Elliot: rejects claims, noting not all men are aggressive or support DV
* Fails toe explain female violence, such as child abuse
* 18% of men experience DV
* Not all women are victims of patriarchy violence
56
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Explanations of DV
What is the Materialist explantion of DV?
* Economic and material factors such as inequality explain why certain groups are at higher risk
* Richard Wilkinson: Inequality leads to stress and hardship, increasing DV risk
57
# **Domestic Division of Labour** - Explanations of DV
What is the AO3 evaluation for Materialist explantion?
| **For Domestic Violence**
* Highlights the impact of social inequality and stress
* Families in lower social class face higher hardship and consequently, higher stress levels leading to violence
* Does not explain women are predominantly the vicitims
* Middle + Upper class families also experience DV which this theory overlooks
58
