Theories Of The Family Flashcards
(36 cards)
What were Murdocks(1994) 4 functions of the family
Educational: children are taught the norms and values of society (also known as primary socialisation)
Economic: the family provides an economic function to all its members by pooling resources and ensuring all have what they need.
Reproductive: produces the next generation of the society.
Sexual: ensures that adults’ sexual relationships are controlled and stable.
What theory is Murdock from
Functionalism
What did parsons(1951) say the two irreducible functions of the family were
primary socialisation: families taught children social norms and values.
secondary socialisation: he argued that the family specifically taught children the norms and values associated with their family and/or community, while other institutions, such as schools, the media, religion, etc. taught children the universal norms and values of wider society.
What was parsons warm bath theory
Parsons also argued that families helped to prevent adults from behaving in disruptive or dysfunctional ways, instead encouraging them to conform to social norms, especially at times of stress. The family provides emotional support to its members.
Parsons famously described this in his warm bath theory. This was the idea that when a man came home from a hard day at work, he could relax into is family like a warm bath and it would take away the stress and refresh him for the next day’s work.
What do Marxists and feminists criticise functionalists for
Marxists and feminists who argue that this paints too rosy and idealistic a picture of family life. Families are certainly not like that for everyone. Many people have negative experiences of family life, and indeed they can cause stress as well as relieve it.
What does Marxist-feminist Fran Ansley think about parsons warm bath theory
The Marxist-feminist Fran Ansley offers a different perspective on Parsons’ warm bath theory when she describes women in the family as takers of shit. By this she means that men coming home from work may have their stress relieved by the family, but only by dumping it on their wives.
What is the functionalist view on families
Functionalists argue that all institutions in society have important roles to play in the smooth and functional running of society, and the family is no different. They argue that the family has important functions both for society and for individuals.
What is the Marxist view on the family
The traditional Marxist view on families is that they perform a role not for everyone in society but for capitalism and the ruling class (the bourgeoisie).
What was Engels(1884) view on the family
Engels argued that family had a clear economic function for capitalism, by ensuring that wealth remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
Family relations, based on clear legal contracts, facilitate inheritance and therefore when rich people die it is their children who keep hold of their wealth.
For Engels, then, family is all about blood lines and proof of parentage.
What was Zaretskys(1976) view on the family
An interesting variation on Parsons’ warm bath theory, Zaretsky argued that family life gave proletarian men something they could control and a space where they could be the “boss”. This provided a clear function for capitalism because it meant that workers would tolerate the powerlessness and frustration of being exploited at work because they had this private domain where they were “king of the castle” and could take out their stress and frustrations.
*links to fran ansley
What is a criticism of Engels view of the family
Clearly family must be about more than what happens to your money when you die. After all, people who do not have property also choose to live in families (although Engels would argue this is because they are influenced by bourgeois ideology).
What did functionalists criticise Marxists for
Functionalists point out that, in the vast majority of societies, humans live in families and that in fact the essential form and function of those families remain quite similar: it is not simply a feature of capitalist society.
How can zaretskys theory be criticised
Zaretsky’s theory is clearly outdated: it assumes the worker is male and that there is only one worker in the family. It also ignores the other benefits that all family members may get from family life: the emotional support, comfort and generally the positive benefits.
What theory did zaretsky believe in
Marxism
What theory did Engels believe in
Marxism
What do feminists believe about the family
Feminists, such as Ann Oakley, agree with Marxists and functionalists that the family is essentially a conservative institution that preserves the social order. They disagree with functionalists and agree with Marxists that in doing so it benefits only a powerful group within society. For feminists, this group is men. They argue that families preserve, support and embed patriarchy.
What do liberal feminists believe about families
Liberal feminists focus on striving for legal equality between the sexes. The family has long been a clear source of inequality. Marital rape was not formally recognised as a crime in the UK until 1991
Divorce laws have been reformed on many occasions to make them more equal, but it used to be much easier for a man to get a divorce than a woman
Liberal feminists argue that most of those battles for legal equality have been won, however there is clearly still inequality between the sexes
What do radical feminists believe about the family
Radical feminists do not believe that changing the law will ever be enough, on its own, to end the oppression and subjugation of women. They argue that men will always oppress women and the family is a vehicle for that oppression. As such women should find alternative ways of living where they are not subject to male oppression. This has led some radical feminists to favour gender separatism.
Radical feminists argue that girls are socialised (not least through families) to believe that oppression and inequality are normal and therefore they accept the inequality of family life: indeed they dream of it and work for it.
Marxist feminist view of the family
Marxist feminists argue that families help to preserve both capitalism and patriarchy, and that the two work hand in hand. They point out that the capitalist system gets the benefit of unpaid female work as their workforce (and the next generation) are fed, looked after and kept happy to ensure they keep working hard and making profits for the bosses.
What is the main criticism of feminists
As with Marxism, feminists may paint too negative and gloomy a picture. While some families may be unequal and male-dominated, there may well be families that are much more equal.
What are radical feminists particularly criticised for
for presenting women as too passive. Postmodern feminists, for example, would point to how women do not have to accept patriarchy or inequality, and do not have to make a choice between family life and equality: they can take the initiative and resist oppression and assert their own power.
What is the new right perspective of the family
Sociologists from the New Right argue that the nuclear family is the bedrock of society
The New Right argue that the nuclear family is essential for the functioning of a good society, but that various government policies and social attitudes have combined to undermine the family.
What was Charles Murray’s perspective on the family
He argues that the welfare state has led to a dependency culture where an underclass of people live off benefits and have no aspiration to work for a living. He argues that teenage girls see pregnancy and single parenthood as a route to financial support and housing.
He further argues that, while Murdock suggested that the family had an economic function, for underclass families this function is now carried out by the state.
What’s the main criticism of the new right
A lot of sociologists strongly disagree with the New Right view. They are accused of “blaming the victim”. It is a theory that tends to blame the poor for their own poverty, rather than seeking other explanations for why people find themselves in need of welfare payments, etc.
