Topic 5- Theories/ Role of the family

Question 1

What is Parsons ‘Functional Fit’ theory?

Answer 1

The family performs a functional fit to the needs of society.
1. Nuclear Family - parents and dependent children.
2. Extended family- unit of production and consumption.

Question 2

What 3 functions would Marxists say the family has?

Answer 2

1. Inheritance of property- Patriarchal control over women and children. Those with power (money) have more control.
2. Ideological function - Socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable.
3. Unit of consumption- Families are urged to keep up with the Joneses and consume the latest products.

Question 3

What do Liberal feminists say?

Answer 3

• They believe that women’s oppression is gradually overcome through changing attitudes and through changes to the law.
• We are moving towards greater equality

Question 4

What do radical feminists say?

Answer 4

• Believe that men are the enemy- they are a source of women’s oppression and exploitation
• Family and marriage are key institutions in a patriarchal society.

Question 5

How do liberal feminists criticise radical feminists?

Answer 5

They say that they fail to see how women’s positions have changed

Question 6

What does the personal life perspective believe about families?

Answer 6

Relationships that may not be conventionally seen as family, e.g.
-We have fictive kin - close friends treated as relatives.
- Relationships with dead relatives - we live on through memories
Relationships with pets.