1. perspectives on the family (f&h)

Question 1

what did George Murdock (1949) do?

Answer 1

-looked at 250 societies and claimed that some form of family existed in each
-argued that basic family unit across the world is nuclear comprised of a mother,father, & offspring
-concluded that nuclear family is universal

Question 2

what are some criticisms of George Murdock?

Answer 2

-outdated as was completed in 1949
-only looked at 250 societies therefore doesnt apply to the whole world

Question 3

what characteristics did murdock define family as a social group by?

Answer 3

-common residence
-economic co-operation
-reproduction
-adults of both sexes
-one or more children

Question 4

what is the evaluation of Murdocks study?

Answer 4

-definition includes at least one adult or each sex, yet many children raised in households that dont have both sexes
-main focus of this family type is that the rearing of the child is sole responsibility of family
-callahan (1997) argued gay couples should be seen as family as theyre allowed to get married, their relationships are not significantly different to heterosexual relationships

Question 5

what is kibbutzim and their ideas?

Answer 5

-child rearing kept separate from marriage
-children kept apart from natural parents & raised by metapelets
-natural parents have limited time with kids
-children would move to different houses until adulthood
-today 4-5% of israel live in a kibbutz

Question 6

what are communes and the ideas?

Answer 6

-developed in western europe, britain and usa in the 1960s
-alternative lifestyle to ‘conventional society’
-allowing children & adults to live and work together
-children seen as responsibility of group rather than just bio parents
-very few communes left in britain

Question 7

what is the nayar and their ideas?

Answer 7

-south-west of india this tribe had no form of nuclear family present
-women in the tribe could have sexual relationships with any man (max 12)
-mothers brother would be responsible for looking after mother and child
-no link between cohabitation/marriage and biological parents rearing the child

Question 8

what is foster care and childrens homes and their ideas?

Answer 8

-link between natural parents and the rearing of children can be separated
-nuclear family not considered universal due to shift in society
-parents may have several partners in the space of childs lifetime
-may not be able to provide appropriate care for child due to mitigating circumstances

Question 9

what was talcott parsons theory?

Answer 9

-‘functional fit theory’=society changes, type of family that ‘fits’ that society, and the functions it performs change. pre-industrial society is extended family, industrial society is nuclear family
-industrial society has two essential needs which requires nuclear family to work
-geographically mobile workforce (people move where jobs are)
-socially mobile workforce (people gain their status through their efforts)

Question 10

what was loss of functions?

Answer 10

parsons argues that the family in modern society has lost many of its functions as it becomes a unit of consumption. this means that in modern society the nuclear family has two essential functions (primary socialisation of children, stabilisation of adult personalities)

Question 11

what are some evaluations of functionalist views?

Answer 11

-comes from conflict theorists like marxists + feminists that its too rosy and idealistic of family life
-conflict theorists question if roles of family benefit whole of society or just powerful groups within
-marxist-feminist Fran Ansley offers different perspective on ‘warm bath theory’ where she describes women in the family as ‘takers of shit’
-by this she means men come home stressed from work and dump it on their wives

Question 12

what was the inheritance of wealth theory by Engles?

Answer 12

-suggested the family developed so men could control women & children + pass property to their biological offspring
-development of private property & class of men who secured control of means of production. this brought about the patriarchal monogamous nuclear family
-according to Engles, monogamy was essential due to inheritance of private property

Question 13

what was the socialisation of children theory by Althusser and Poulantzas?

Answer 13

-argues families socialise the children into capitalist societies
-Poulantzas argues family is part of superstructure used to control + create values to support capitalism
¬>family is nothing more than an ‘ideological conditioning device’

Question 14

what was the unit of consumption theory by Zaretsky?

Answer 14

-family is prop in capitalist system. unpaid work of housewives support future generations of workers
-families play vital role in generations profit for bourgeoisie. the workers are paid less than amounts charged for products they make. family then targeted by adversities to buy products theyre creating by saying they need to keep up with the latest

Question 15

what was the cushioning effect theory by Zaretsky?

Answer 15

-similar to parsons warm bath theory in that the family is comfort from stresses and strains of society.
-he believes the family allow men to feel in control and powerful which they dont in the workplace

Question 16

what are some criticisms of marxism?

Answer 16

-assume nuclear family is dominant and ignores wide & increasing variety of family structures
-deterministic-overemphasise role of family in maintaining capitalism + ignores other inequalities like role of family in maintaining patriarchy
-functionalists argue marxists ignore real benefits family provides for its members
-Zaretsky criticised for exaggerating extent which family can be an escape from oppression workers face, ignores family can be place of cruelty

Question 17

what are some positives of marxism?

Answer 17

-useful for highlighting importance of economic influences of family life + it raises possibility that family as an institution benefits some social groups more than others

Question 18

what is the family as a place of work theory?

Answer 18

-feminists argue housework is as real as waged work outside of home
-housework & childcare in family which are mainly performed by women are unpaid and not recognised as work
-men are often the ones to gain from this

Question 19

what was Oakley’s (1974) theory?

Answer 19

-emphasises housework is hard, routine and unrewarding, housework remains primary responsibility of women though men sometimes help

Question 20

what is the myth of the symmetrical family theory?

Answer 20

-feminists attack idea of symmetrical family proposed by Young and Willmott, as idea of growing equality is not the case
-this is emphasised by the following points
*women perform most housework tasks
*make sacrifices to buy children clothes
*less likely to make important financial decisions
*more likely to have career in paid employment impacted

Question 21

what is the greater dependency of women on mens earnings theory?

Answer 21

-average pay of women is approximately 85% of that of men, largely linked to womens traditional roles of housewives and mother in the family
-2023: men earn on average 14.9% more than women

Question 22

what is the domestic violence theory?

Answer 22

-women are more likely than men to be victims of serious domestic violence
-1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men will experience some form of domestic violence in their lifetime
-7 women are killed every month by a current or former partner in england and wales

Question 23

what is the social reproduction of labour?

Answer 23

-family providing place where children can be born and raised with sense of security. achieved in 3 ways:
*providing place for eating, drinking, relaxing
*producing & maintaining labour which is free of cost to capitalists through unpaid housework of women
*socialising children into dominant ideas of society & preparing them for the necessity + routines of work

Question 24

what is the social control of the working class?

Answer 24

-means of keeping people conforming to dominant norms and values of society
-expectation ‘good parents’ must work to provide material comforts for child
-family acts as ‘safety valve’ providing release from lack of power at work
-Delphy & Leonard (1992) argue safety valve provided by women, is important role of womens domestic labour
-helps prevent frustration at work from going against the system

Question 25

what are some criticisms of marxist feminism?

Answer 25

-David Morgan argues traditional nuclear family is becoming less common, so theory is less applicable
-marxist feminists ignore how women have made progress in family life

Question 26

how do liberal feminists plan to improve the position of women?

Answer 26

through reform measures within present system

Question 27

what do these reform measures include?

Answer 27

-changing socialisation + parent practices, to avoid gender stereotyping
-asserting legal rights of women as individuals
-establishment of equality in maternity + paternity leave
-better & cheaper childcare to enable women & men to combine childcare + work
-sharing of household work
-stronger action against domestic violence

Question 28

what are some criticisms of liberal feminism?

Answer 28

they dont tackle fundamental inequalities that women face as result of patriarchy and capitalism

Question 29

what was Jennifer Somervilles theory?

Answer 29

-argues many young women dont feel sympathetic towards feminism yet still feel some grievance
-Somerville argues radical and marxist feminists fail to acknowledge progress for women

Question 30

what is women as wives?

Answer 30

-Greer argued there is strong ideology suggesting being a wife is most important female role
-married men report higher satisfaction than non-married men. single women report higher satisfaction than married women
-Greer refers to it as ‘ghastly figure of the bride’, expresses traditional conceptions of femininity. marriage settles into pattern where husband spends more time outside of home than wife, does less housework etc

Question 31

what is women as daughters ?

Answer 31

-men expect to exercise more control over women
-she believes daughters are likely to experience sexual abuse from fathers, step fathers, or male relatives
-‘it is understood heterosexual men fancy young things, no one is sure how young is too young’

Question 32

what is women as mothers?

Answer 32

-Greer says motherhood can be satisfying, argues it isnt valued enough in society
-‘mothers bear children in pain, feed them from their bodies, cherish and nourish and prepare to lose them’
-Greer suggests following pieces of evidence to demonstrate mothers are undervalued:
*in child-birth, focus is mainly on well-being of child
*mothers and babies generally not accepted in society
*women expected to return to work shortly after birth
*feminine ideal is to be slim and hipless
*expected to regain figure shortly after birth
*final role for mothers is to take blame if child goes bad

Question 33

what are some solutions for radical feminism?

Answer 33

-Greer believes women would be better in matrilocal households, where all adults are female. she believes these have lots to offer women, especially if they incorporate many older women living alone

Question 34

what are some evaluations of radical feminism?

Answer 34

-problem with Greers work is that it makes generalisations that arent backed by evidence
-Somerville is very critical of Greer, arguing she doesnt take into account progress women have made in family life

Question 35

what is the personal life definition of the family?

Answer 35

-developed alongside interactionist approaches to family
-takes definition of family beyond ties of blood & marriage

Question 36

what do sociologists from this perspective (interactionist) believe?

Answer 36

in order to understand families, we must start from the point of view of the individuals concerned

Question 37

what did Carol Smart reject?

Answer 37

assumptions about decline of family life found in theories of individualisation

Question 38

what was Carol Smart’s approach?

Answer 38

prioritises bonds between people, importance of memory and cultural heritage, significance of emotions, how family secrets work + change over time

Question 39

overall, what did Carol Smart say?

Answer 39

family is not in decline, it is just very different and much more diverse and complex than ever before

Question 40

what are two positive evaluations of Carol Smart?

Answer 40

-helps to understand how people themselves construct & define their relationships as ‘family’ rather than imposing traditional sociological definitions of family
-unlike functionalism, PLP recognises relatedness is not always positive

Question 41

what are two negative evaluations of Carol Smart?

Answer 41

-PLP can be accused of taking too broad a view, by including wide range of personal relationships, we ignore whats special about relations based on blood
-PLP rejects top down view, does see intimate relationships as performing the important function of providing sense of belonging

Question 42

what is the postmodernist view of the family?

Answer 42

-Lyotard (1984) and Baudrillard (2001) believe contemporary society is changing, people questioning range of values, morals and norms
-people no longer constrained by social structures like family, social class or religion, rejecting ideas about traditional family
-society becoming mass of individuals who make their own choices about what they choose to believe in
-diversity & consumer choice two key features of postmodernist society. consumer choice is reflected in disintegration of family
-Beck-Gernsheim (2002) and Stacey (1996) argue its being replaced by diversity of relationships. no longer feel bound by traditional ideas about marriage, parenthood
-rising divorce rates, cohabitation etc all reflect way people are adopting new lifestyles

Question 43

what did giddens say about postmodernist view of family?

Answer 43

no family stays in the same structure or division or they change as circumstances change (relative to parsons functional fit theory)

Question 44

what does Beck say about postmodernist view of family?

Answer 44

roles and power structure within the family is negotiated by the members to satisfy all members

Question 45

what does Stacey say about postmodernist view of family?

Answer 45

‘postmodernism family has an ambivalent and undecided character. western family arrangements are fluid and diverse’

Question 46

what is a positive evaluation of the postmodernist approach?

Answer 46

they dont seek to judge family or relationship set-ups as either right or wrong

Question 47

what are some negative evaluations of the postmodernist approach?

Answer 47

-exaggerate degree of social change that modern societies are experiencing
-patriarchy is still a large issue that postmodernists dont account for
-Somerville agrees that theres more diversity in family life, only 5% will
never marry
-Chester argues most adults still marry + have children, most marriages continue until death

Question 48

what do political parties often blame family breakdown on?

Answer 48

teen pregnancies, sexual promiscuity, educational failure, welfare dependency, poverty, drug abuse, crime

Question 49

what do feminists and marxists suggest about state policies?

Answer 49

-many state policies are formed around a dominant family ideology
-ideology mainly reflects the way functionalists view family
-stereotype which has been called patriarchal ‘cereal packet’ family

Question 50

what are the key aspects of the cereal packet family?

Answer 50

-husband plays instrumental role as main breadwinner and decision maker, takes primary responsibility for family discipline
-wife carries out expressive role- cares for house, childcare etc
-safe and harmonious refuge from uncaring world
-seen as most desirable form of family, by the new right, presented as symbol of natural, wholesome

Question 51

what are some criticisms of cereal packet family ideology?

Answer 51

-Barrett and Mcltosh (1982) argue stereotype is patriarchal, harmful, antisocial
-involves exploitation of women through domestic labour, emotional labour, paid employment
-benefits men as women remain disadvantaged in paid work bc of responsibilities
-state policies (more generous maternity than paternity leave) encouraged traditional gendered division of labour in family

Question 52

why is the cereal packet family ideology harmful?

Answer 52

-suggests those living in other relationships, living alone, are threat to normal life
-when politicians make appeals to ‘strengthen family’, theyre condemning those who live outside such family
-lone parents have been subject to attack by conservative politicians of new right and media as theyre seen as inadequate for bringing up kids
-devalues life outside family. social life centres round family activities
-discourages alt households & relationships
-Fox Harding (1995) housing policy favours married couples, single parents receive worst social housing

Question 53

what are the main types of social policies aimed at families?

Answer 53

-aimed at providing direct material support for families-cash benefits to increase family prosperity and reduce adult + child poverty
-those to help parents balance demands of paid employment and family life, & support kids- maternity & paternity leave, early years childcare, child protection policies, supporting lone parents into paid employment