Conceptualising gender equality in relationships

Question 1

The 1950s – The Traditional Nuclear Family and Segregated Conjugal Roles
Talcott Parson’s (1955) argued that the ideal model of the family was one characterised by segregated conjugal roles, in which there was a clear division of labour between spouses. Parsons argued that in a correctly functioning society, there should be a nuclear family in which

Answer 1

• The husband has an instrumental role geared towards achieving success at work so he can provide for the family financially. He is the breadwinner
• The wife has an expressive role geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting the family’s emotional needs. She is the homemaker, a full time housewife rather than a wage earner.

Question 2

The 1970s – The symmetrical family and joint conjugal roles
Young and Wilmott (1973) took a ‘march of progress’ view of the history of the family. They saw family life as gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic. They argued that there was a long term trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles

Answer 2

Segregated conjugal roles – where couples have separate roles: A male breadwinner and a female homemaker/ carer, and where their leisure activities were separated
Joint conjugal roles – where the couples share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together.

Question 3

Wilmott and Young also identified the emergence of what they called the ‘symmetrical family’: one in which the roles of husbands and wives, although not identical are now much more similar:

Answer 3

1. Women now go out to work full time
2. Men now help with housework and child care
3. Couples now spend their leisure time together rather than separately

Question 4

Relationships today – The Egalitarian and Negotiated FamilyGiddens argues that in recent decades the family and marriage have become more egalitarian because:

Answer 4

Contraception has allowed sex and intimacy rather than reproduction to become the main reason for the relationship’s existence
Women have gained independence because of greater opportunities in education and work

Question 5

Ulrich Beck puts forward a similar view to that of Giddens, arguing that the traditional patriarchal family has been undermined by two trends:

Answer 5

Greater Gender Equality – This has challenged male domination in all spheres of life. Women now expect equality both at work and in marriage.
Greater individualism – where people’s actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self-interest than by a sense of obligation to others.

These trends have led to the rise of the negotiated family. Negotiated families do not conform to the traditional family norm