Topic 1 - Couples Flashcards
(28 cards)
1
Q
what is the domestic division of labor ?
A
- Refers to the distribution of housework, childcare, and paid work between men and women.
2
Q
what does parsons argue about domestic roles?
A
- Based on the traditional nuclear family with segregated roles: Instrumental role (husband): financial provider; focused on work success.
Expressive role (wife): emotional support; responsible for children and homemaking - Believed these roles were based on biological differences. This division benefited men, women, children, and society.
- Supported by New Right thinkers
3
Q
what are the critics of Parsons ?
A
- Young and Willmott (1962): Men are increasingly involved in domestic tasks; more wives are working
- Feminist sociologists: Reject the idea that the division is “natural”. Argue it benefits men only.
4
Q
What does Bott discover ?
A
- Defined two types of conjugal (marital) roles:
- Segregated roles: clear separation (male breadwinner, female homemaker); separate leisure.
- Joint roles: shared domestic tasks; shared leisure time.
5
Q
What did Young and Willmott’s study find ?
A
- Found segregated conjugal roles among traditional working-class families.
- Men: breadwinners; spent leisure time in pubs or clubs.
- Women: full-time housewives; responsible for home and children; leisure time spent with female kin
6
Q
What do Young and Wilmott argue ?
A
- Take a “march of progress” view: family life is improving and becoming more equal.
- The symmetrical family: Roles of husband and wife are more similar, though not identical. For example
Women work (often part-time).
Men help with housework and childcare.
Couples spend leisure time together. - In their London study they found symmetrical families were more common among younger couples ,Geographically/socially isolated couples and more affluent families
7
Q
what are reasons for the rise in symmetrical family ?
A
- Changes in women’s roles (e.g., married women working).
- Geographical mobility (couples moving away from childhood communities).
- New technology and labour-saving devices.
- Higher standards of living
8
Q
What do critiques of Young and Wilmott argue ?
A
- Feminist sociologists reject the “march of progress” view
- They argue that little has changed in terms of gender roles, and that men and women remain unequal in the family
- They also argue women still do majority of the housework and that this inequality is due to patriarchy
9
Q
What does Oakley argue and find ?
A
- Criticised Young and Willmott’s claim that the family is now symmetrical.
- Argued their evidence is exaggerated:
- Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework and only 25% of husbands had a high level of participation in childcare.
- When men did help with childcare, it was often with the more enjoyable aspects (e.g., playing).
- Fathers playing with children was often seen as “helping”. This deprived mothers of the rewarding parts of childcare. Mothers were often left with more time for housework,
10
Q
What did Boulton find ??
A
- Supported Oakley’s findings.
- Found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare.
11
Q
what did Gershuny find ?
A
- Used time studies to examine division of labour.
- Found that women who worked full-time did less housework than those who didn’t.
- This suggests a shift towards a more equal domestic division of labour.
12
Q
what studies support that burden still largely falls on women ?
A
- Ferri and Smith (1996)
Found that fathers took main responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families. Suggests that most fathers remain secondary caregivers, despite changes in family roles - Dex and Ward (2007)
Looked at fathers of three-year-olds: 78% played with their children. But when the child was sick, only 1% of fathers took on main responsibility. Shows that fathers may be involved in play, but not in serious or demanding aspects of childcare.
13
Q
what are women expected to do ?
A
- Women are often expected to take responsibility for emotion work within families:
Managing the emotions of others (e.g., settling disputes between siblings, keeping everyone happy). While at the same time, women must regulate their own emotions. - This emotional labour is often invisible and undervalued, yet it adds a significant burden
14
Q
What did Duncombe and Marsden argue ?
A
- That women perform the triple shift
- Paid work, Housework and Emotion work
- this highlights the emotional and physical intensity of women’s unpaid and paid labour roles.
15
Q
What do Crompton and Lyonette identify ?
A
- two main explanations for why domestic labour is still unequally divided between men and women:
- Cultural Explanation of Inequality, The division of labour is shaped by patriarchal norms and values in society, and women do more domestic work because they have been socialised to believe it’s their role
- Material Explanation of Inequality, Women earn less on average than men and It is seen as economically rational for women to do more housework while men focus on earning.
16
Q
What evidence is there that supporting the cultural explanation of inequality ?
A
- Man Yee Kan (2001): Younger men tend to do more domestic work than older generations.
- Gershuny (1994): Couples whose parents had more equal roles were more likely to share housework equally. Suggests that parental role models and socialisation are important. Also argues values are slowly changing as more women work full-time, creating new norms.
17
Q
Evidence supporting material explanation
A
- Man Yee Kan: For every £10,000 more a woman earns, she does two hours less housework per week.
- Sullivan: Found that working full-time (rather than part-time) has the biggest impact on how much domestic work women do. More equal division of labour is linked to equal time in paid work
18
Q
what do Pahl and Vogler identify ?
A
- Identifies 2 main types of money management styles
- Allowance system: Man gives wife an allowance to budget for family needs. He keeps surplus income for himself.
- Pooling: Both partners share income and are jointly responsible. Pooling is now more common, especially among working couples.
19
Q
What did Edgell find ?
A
- In a study of professional couples she found
- Very important decisions (e.g., finances, job changes, moving house): Usually made by the husband alone or jointly with his final say.
- Important decisions (e.g., children’s education, holidays): Usually made jointly, rarely by the wife alone.
- Less important decisions (e.g., home décor, food shopping): Usually made by the wife.
- Edgell explains this by linking it to income: men earn more, so have more decision-making power.
- However By 1995, 70% of couples said they had equal say in decisions.
20
Q
What is the Personal life perspective on money?
A
- Focuses on the meanings individuals attach to money and decision-making.
- Carol Smart (2007) In same-sex couples, control of money was not linked to power or inequality. Some were happy for one partner to manage the money – it didn’t imply domination.
- For example, same-sex couples may have more freedom to negotiate roles since they are not shaped by traditional gender scripts.
21
Q
What do Sociologist challenge ?
A
- That domestic violence is caused by a few psychologically disturbed individuals.
- Instead they argue It is too widespread to be attributed only to a few disturbed people.
- Crime Survey for England and Wales (2013): 2 million people reported experiencing domestic abuse in one year.
- Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner.
22
Q
What do Dobash and Dobash find ?
A
- Violence often triggered by perceived challenges to male authority (e.g., wife questioning lateness).
- Argued that marriage legitimates violence by giving men power and making women dependent.
23
Q
Why do people under report crimes?
A
- Victim reluctance to report, On average, a woman suffers 35 assaults before reporting. Victims may: Think it’s not a police matter or believe it’s too trivial(little importance) and may also fear retaliation
- Reluctance by police/prosecutors, State agencies hesitant to intervene due to assumptions: Family is a private sphere (limited state access) and they also believe the family is inherently good (ignoring the abuse) and that individuals are free agents (assumes women can just leave)
24
Q
What are the 2 types of explanations of domestic violence ?
A
- Radical Feminist, Focuses on patriarchal ideas, cultural values, and institutions.
- Materialist, Focuses on economic factors, such as lack of resources
25
What do Radical Feminist argue about domestic violence?
- Millet and Firestone argue All societies are patriarchal – male domination is the foundation.
- Men are oppressors and exploiters of women.
- The family and marriage are central to maintaining patriarchy and are the main sources of women’s oppression.
- Domestic violence (or threat of it) is a tool men use to dominate women within the family.
- Domestic violence is widespread and inevitable in a patriarchal society.
- It serves to maintain male power over women.
– Male dominance of state institutions (like the police and courts) explains why these agencies are often reluctant to intervene effectively.
26
Eval of Radical Feminist view
- Not all men are violent; most oppose domestic violence.
- Radical feminists ignore non-violent men.
- fail to explain female violence, such as: Women abusing children, Women committing violence against male partners, Violence in lesbian relationships.
27
What is the Materialist explanation of Domestic Violence ?
- argue economic inequality leads to stress, which increases the risk of domestic violence in some families.
- Wilkinson and Pickett argue Domestic violence results from stress caused by social inequality.
- Families with fewer resources (e.g., low income, overcrowded housing) experience higher stress levels.
- Stress undermines stable, caring relationships and raises the risk of conflict and violence.
- For example Financial worries, job insecurity, and poor housing can lead to domestic conflict due to heightened tension.
28
Eval of Material explanation
- Shows how social inequality creates stress, leading to violence.
- Doesn’t explain why not all male workers abuse their partners.
- Fails to account for female perpetrators of domestic violence
