Gender inequality - New right explanations

Question 1

What did Abbot and Wallace (1992) look at?

Answer 1

The family and new right in the UK and USA

Question 2

What do the new right think about government policies?

Answer 2

argue that some government policies have been undermined in society

Question 3

What are the new right for?

Answer 3

The family

Question 4

what are the new right against?

Answer 4

Abortion and feminism

Question 5

What did Gillick campaign for?

Answer 5

to stop girls under the age of 16 getting contraception without their parents’ consent

Question 6

Why do the new right promote that “Families need fathers”?

Answer 6

they feel that the nuclear family is under threat from social change and government policy, and this could lead to society becoming less stable

Question 7

Why does the new right believe that the modern day family cannot carry out their roles effectively?

Answer 7

This is because working mothers (which is very common nowadays) are failing to put their children’s needs first. This has led to an increase in divorce and the rise of single parent families

Question 8

What problems do single parent families cause?

Answer 8

Single parent families causes problems in society such as increase in crime and delinquency

Question 9

What do the new right think encourages single parent families to form?

Answer 9

The welfare system as this makes divorce and abortion easier

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of Abbott and Wallace’s research?

Answer 10

• Contradicted by marxist sociologists - Criticised by Feminists

Question 11

Why would Marxists contradict new right theories?

Answer 11

would argue that females should not have the role of staying at home and being a traditional housewife, but should aim to be a reserve army of labour

Question 12

Why would feminists criticise the new right?

Answer 12

radical and liberal feminists would argue that women have the freedom and the right to choose what they do in terms of their sexuality, fertility and reproductive choices.

Question 13

What change occurred in 1979 from the conservative government?

Answer 13

Shutting down psychiatric hospitals. Families were expected to care for sufferers

Question 14

Finch and Groves (1983)

Answer 14

stated that community care is mainly done by the family (women)

Question 15

Parker on New right and family - Government policies

Answer 15

5 million people in Britain are carers for elderly, children and sick and disabled in 2021. 29% of women aged 40-59 provide such care, and 50% of females will provide this help and care at some point in their lifetime.

Question 16

What did the Equal Opportunity Commission find about people looking after elderly relatives?

Answer 16

found 3 times as many women than men looking after elderly relatives, many women found it difficult to cope

Question 17

What is a result of women looking after elderly relatives more?

Answer 17

They experience more poverty than men, as they have spent more time at home (and out of work) looking after children. Women might have less pension and less savings than men because of this issue.

Question 18

Bernard

Answer 18

“Marriage makes women sick” whereby they have more rates of illness than men. Married women have the worst health compared to married men and single women.

Question 19

Why does “Marriage make women sick”?

Answer 19

because they have the double stress of caring for children and the household as well as caring for sick and elderly relatives too (women are referred to as the sandwich generation “in the middle”)

Question 20

What are the disadvantages of the New right and the Family?

Answer 20

• The term community care has been criticised
• Allan (1985) has criticised the welfare state idea

Question 21

Why has the term community care been criticised?

Answer 21

seen as a euphemism for an under sourced system that relies on individual members of the family to look after relatives. This creates gender inequality as this is usually women who will do this job cheaply (for free), men are not able to do this role as they are too busy at work etc

Question 22

Why does Allan (1985) criticise the idea of the welfare state?

Answer 22

As the family take on more responsibility, it draws attention away from the reality of family life. This makes it more difficult for extended families to offer their support and it usually ends up with women doing the majority of informal care

Question 23

What does Redwood think of family life?

Answer 23

Supports nuclear family and that it is a natural institution

Question 24

What does Redwood think has threatened traditional norms and values of family life?

Answer 24

Social changes

Question 25

Which social changes does Redwood think has threatened traditional norms and values of family life?

Answer 25

sexual permissiveness, homosexuality, cohabitation, unmarried mothers, high divorce rates and increases in single parent family

Question 26

Instead of marrying, what are people doing according to redwood?

Answer 26

Cohabiting

Question 27

In single parent families (2023), what percentage are headed by a female?

Answer 27

84%

Question 28

How many single parent families exist as of 2023 in the UK?

Answer 28

2.9 million

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of the New right and Family life?

Answer 29

- Nuclear family is a minority now - Marxist and feminists argue against nuclear family

Question 30

How is the nuclear family a minority now?

Answer 30

Less than 50% of households in the UK make up the nuclear family in 2022

Question 31

Why would marxists and feminists argue against the nuclear family?

Answer 31

Because there are alternative family forms that are possible in contemporary capitalist society

Question 32

What is the advantage of new right ideas on the family?

Answer 32

There are more single parent families because it is easier for females to get out of bad relationships and Duncombe and Marsden (1995) support this