social policies and family life

Question 1

how do feminists view social policies?

Answer 1

• as assuming what is right and normal in a patriarchal society
• assuming male as breadwinner and female as homemaker

Question 2

how do new rightists view social policies?

Answer 2

• as undermining the need for a traditional nuclear, heterosexual family unit
• failure to support this leads society to disintegrate

Question 3

how do functionalists view social policies?

Answer 3

• ways to help families carry out their functions in society
• support policies to sustain the importance of families for educational, economic, sexual functions

Question 4

how do Marxists view social policies?

Answer 4

• way of maintaining control of the working class through family ensuring that capitalism is maintained

Question 5

what did the conservative family policy, the child support agency 1993 do?

Answer 5

• ensured absent fathers paid maintenance for the upbringing of their children (this included chasing down fathers where there was no loner contact)

Question 6

what did conservative family policy, section 28 do?

Answer 6

• the government introduced a rule, in 1988 that prevented local gov from “promoting” homosexuality and included the provision that schools could not teach “the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”

Question 7

what did the conservative family policy, back to basics do?

Answer 7

• John Major urged a ‘back to basics’ approach which he put forward as traditional family values (nuclear fam)

Question 8

what do Marxists argue about New Right/ conservative policies?

Answer 8

• that the new right is really an ideology to justify policies that benefit the ruling class and capitalism
• would point to something like the child support agency and say that while the goal appeared to be encouraging parental responsibility, really it was about cutting state expenditure and therefore cutting taxes for the rich (saving money to spend on things that benefited the rich)

Question 9

what do some sociologists argue about conservative family policies?

Answer 9

• thought they were trying to encourage a particular family from through tax benefit changes is a good idea in any case

Question 10

what did Labour’s family policy, paid paternity leave do?

Answer 10

• statutory paternity pay is for up to 2 weeks depending on when baby is due - employer starts paying it on the date agreed with the employee or worker

Question 11

what did labours family policy, repeal of section 28 do?

Answer 11

• teaching of the acceptability of gay couples was allowed

Question 12

what did labours family policy, sure start and education maintenance allowance do?

Answer 12

• 1998 - establishment of community centres in impoverished English students - child learning, emotional support for parents and to young mums

Question 13

why do some sociologists criticise labours family policies?

Answer 13

• some say they did not go far enough, for instance the civil partners act missed the opportunity to bring about true equality and introduce gay marriage

Question 14

what were the two coalition policies (2010-15) ?

Answer 14

• shared parental leave - partner could split the maternity leave allowance between themselves to help bond with child and allow women to go back to work earlier
• same sex marriages 2013 - partners of same sex could marry - however this was only passed with cross-party support

Question 15

what evaluative point could be made about same sex marriages?

Answer 15

• introduction of it while leaving the option of civil partnerships on the table has created a new and unusual inequality in UK law
• same sex couples can choose a civil partnership or a marriage but the former is not available to heterosexual couples