1.3.6 Families and Households: Social Policy and the Family

Question 1

perspectives on social policies

What is section 28 1988 by the conservative government?

Answer 1

Prevented goverment from promoting homosexuality and preventing schools from teaching that homosexuality is okay.

Question 2

perspectives on social policies

What are Drew’s gender regimes?

Answer 2

• Familistic gender regime - traditional patriarchal devisions between male breadwinner and female homemaker. - Greece - little state funded childcare.
• Individualistic gender regime - policies are based on the belief that men and women should be treated the same - Sweden - policies treat men and women as having equal responsibilities for both breadwinning and homemaking.

Question 3

perspectives on social policies

What is some evaluation of the feminist view on policies?

Answer 3

Not all policies maintain patriarchy - equal pay (1970) and sex discrimination (1975) acts.

Question 4

perspectives on social policies

What are some policies that feminists believe support the patriarchal family?

(2)

Answer 4

• Childcare - not enough government funded childcare to permit parents to work full time. Gov also controls school timetables and holidays.
• Care for sick and elderly - gov policies assume family will provide this care which falls to women and prevents them from working full time.

Question 5

perspectives on social policies

How do feminists see policies as a self fulfilling prophecy?

Answer 5

• policies are based on assumptions that the normal family is a patriarchal nuclear family and so policies often reinforce that family type, making it harder to live in anything else.
• E.g - the state assumes that married couples is the norm so offers tax incentives to married couples that are not available to cohabitating couples, which then encourages marriage and discourages cohabitation.

Question 6

perspectives on social policies

What are some criticisms of The New Right?

(4)

Answer 6

• Feminists argue they attempt to justify the traditional patriarchal family and opress women.
• Wrongly assumes the patriarchal family is biological, not socially constructed.
• Ignore that many policies support and maintain nuclear family.
• Abbott and Wallace - argue that cutting benefits would simply drive many poor families into greater poverty and make them even less self reliant.

Question 7

perspectives on social policies

Why is Murray (The New Right) critical of welfare benefits?

Answer 7

He argues that welfare benefits undermine the role of the father, leading to more lone parent families and more delinquency.
Creates a ‘perverse incentive’ to have children and rely on the state.

Question 8

perspectives on social policies

What is The New Right’s perspective on policies?

Answer 8

state policies encourage family diversity (which is a negative) and undermine the nuclear family.

Question 9

perspectives on social policies

What is Foucault’s theory - ‘the policing of families’? (Used by Donzelot too)

Answer 9

• He argues that social workers, health visitors, doctors, and professionals can use their knowledge to control and change families.
• Surveillence is not equally targetted, but poor families are likely to be seen as ‘problem families’.

Question 10

perspectives on social policies

How does Denzelot view policies?

Answer 10

Sees policies as a form of state power and control - conflict view of society.

Question 11

perspectives on social policies

What are the criticisms of the functionalist view on policies?

(2)

Answer 11

• Assumes that all members of the family benefit equally from policies ( feminists argue that policies often benefit men at the expense of women)
• Assumes there it a ‘march of progress’ with social policies steadily making life better ( marxists would argue that policies can also make this worse - cutting benefits)

Question 12

perspectives on social policies

What is the functionalist perspective on social policies?

Answer 12

Believes the state acts in the interests of society so policies are for the good of all and make life better.

Question 13

A comparative view of family policy

What other policies are there that have impacted families?

(3)

Answer 13

• 1969 divorce reform act
• 2013 same sex couples marriage act
• 2002 adoption and children act

Question 14

A comparative view of family policy

How do democratic societies view the family?

Answer 14

As a private sphere and don’t intervene unless child abuse

Question 15

A comparative view of family policy

How many boys are there for every 100 girls being born in China?

Answer 15

120

Question 16

A comparative view of family policy

How many disabled people did the nazis forcefully sterilise?

Answer 16

375,000

Question 17

A comparative view of family policy

What was the nazi family policy?

Answer 17

• encouraged birth of healthy, ‘racially pure’ children
• discouraged the reproduction of those deemed ‘unfit’

Question 18

A comparative view of family policy

What did communist Romania do to increase population size?

(4)

Answer 18

• restricted contraception and abortion
• set up infertility treatment centres
• made it difficult to get a divorce
• lowered marriage age

Question 19

A comparative view of family policy

What are the negative impacts of chinas one child policy?

(4)

Answer 19

• preference for male children
• increase in bare branches (men with no wife) due to decline in women
• increase in female foetus abortions
• unsupported aging generation with insufficient working generation.

Question 20

A comparative view of family policy

What are the positive impacts of Chinas one child policy?

(2)

Answer 20

• economic growth
• increased support and healthcare for mothers and children

Question 21

A comparative view of family policy

How did China enforce its one child policy?

(4)

Answer 21

• Extreme fines for those with another child
• Benefits for those with one child
• Propoganda
• Forced abortions