Conjugal Roles and the Domestic Division of Labour

Question 1

Define ‘conjugal roles’.

Answer 1

Roles played by the male/female partner in a relationship.

Question 2

Define ‘segregated conjugal roles’.

Answer 2

Bott (1957) identified it as when men do stereotypically masculine chores (e.g. DIY) and the women do stereotypically feminine chores (e.g. cooking).

Question 3

Define ‘joint conjugal roles’.

Answer 3

Bott (1957) identified it as when couples share chores and roles equally.

Question 4

Define ‘instrumental role’.

Answer 4

The individual (stereotypically a man) in a family who holds the characteristics such as the breadwinner and the authority figure providing for the family.

Question 5

Define an ‘expressive role’.

Answer 5

The individual (stereotypically a woman) in a family who holds the characteristics such as caring, loving, affectionate.

Question 6

Explain a change in conjugal roles with Wilmott and Young’s (1973) questionnaire.

Answer 6

• Questionnaire asking 2,000 people about domestic roles
• Found 72% of married men claim to ‘help their partners at least once a week’
• Argued the ‘new man’ has started to emerge
• This means that men are more in touch with their feminine side and so are more likely to help out in the house with chores, leading to a symmetrical family

Question 7

Why was Ann Oakley critical of Wilmott and Young’s (1973) research?

Answer 7

• Wilmott and Young only asked if the men helped out more than once a week
• This does not define what ‘helping’ is as it doesn’t account for jobs they do alone
• Only male respondents were asked to create the 72% figure which can have bias of social desirability

Question 8

What did Ann Oakley (1974) summarise in ‘The Sociology of Housework’, including a statistic.

Answer 8

• Women found housework boring
• There has been an improvement in men doing housework
• She also compared housework to working in a factory due to it being boring and monotonous with no one enjoying doing it
• Fathers do the pleasant aspects of childcare, such as entertaining their child whilst the mother cooks dinner

Question 9

What criticisms could be made of Ann Oakley’s (1974) research?

Answer 9

• Some people might enjoy housework
• The ‘new men’ help out more
• She used a small sample so it wasn’t representative

Question 10

Define ‘second shift’, give an example.

Answer 10

Someone having two work loads, such as having a job and doing housework.

Question 11

Describe Hochschild’s (1983) research.

Answer 11

• 46% of males made no reference to their home or domestic matters
• This shows that they don’t share conjugal roles even when they are also working, showing they do second shifts

Question 12

Define ‘triple shift’, giving an example.

Answer 12

When a parent is responsible for three jobs at a time, such as caring for kids, having a job, and housework.

Question 13

Define ‘emotion work’.

Answer 13

Management of your own feelings in a conscious effort to maintain a relationship.

Question 14

What did Duncombe and Marsden (1995) find?

Answer 14

• Women feel their male partners lack ‘emotional participation’ and so they carry out more work
• This is due to men finding it hard to express their emotions

Question 15

What did Fiona Devine (1992) argue?

Answer 15

Men’s involvement in domestic labour increased when their wives re-entered paid work.

Question 16

What did Gershuny (1994) argue?

Answer 16

• Stated that men’s roles have changed but there is a ‘lagged adaption’
• Women do the majority of housework and childcare
• Men will eventually catch up

Question 17

What did Kan (2001) find?

Answer 17

• Sample of 2,000
• Women did 18+ hours or housework a week
• Men did 6 hours of housework a week
• Higher income gave women more bargaining power

Question 18

Identify a survey and issues that it might have with identifying how much housework a gender partakes in.

Answer 18

• British Household Survey (2001)
• Might over estimate the time spent doing work
• Can under estimate too
• Some people may think ‘helping’ is entertaining their child whilst their partner does chores

Question 19

How have the roles of fathers changed?

Answer 19

• Involvement in the home has increased

- Playing central roles for play mates with their children

Question 20

What aspects of men’s roles have remained traditional?

Answer 20

• Being the main provider and the head of the family

- Working longer hours than their female partner

Question 21

What obstacles prevent men from playing a more active role in their children’s lives?

Answer 21

• If they are a step father or not
• Being at work all the time
• Constrained by traditional expectations
• Sandwich generation - looking after older relatives instead of children

Question 22

What did Catherine Hakim (2000) find?

Answer 22

• 20% of women wanted to play a more active part in the workplace
• 20% of women wanted a more traditional set up and are happy to be full time housewives/mothers
• 60% are adaptive

Question 23

Define ‘shift parenting’.

Answer 23

When both parents work but at different times so that one of them is there to look after the child.

Question 24

Give 2 pros of shift parenting.

Answer 24

1) There is always someone there to look after the child

2) Both parents can still gain an income, increasing their disposable income

Question 25

Give 2 cons of shift parenting.

Answer 25

1) Children may grow up unhappy due to never seeing parents together and limited family outings
2) More stress

Question 26

Define ‘economic power’, giving an example.

Answer 26

Using money to gain power over someone else (e.g. men being the breadwinner means women can’t leave)

Question 27

Define ‘political power’, giving an example.

Answer 27

Influencing people using political aspects (e.g. decision making - men have more power in decisions)

Question 28

Define ‘physical power’, giving an example.

Answer 28

Using force to control someone (e.g. domestic violence - men being the main perpetrators)

Question 29

Define ‘sexual power’, giving an example.

Answer 29

Using sexual mans to control someone (e.g. men using rape - socialised to objectify women)

Question 30

What did Edgell (1980) find?

Answer 30

• Women make small decisions, such as interior decor

- Men have the main power in marriages

Question 31

What did Pahl (2004) find?

Answer 31

• The lowest levels of marital satisfaction were recorded when the husband controlled the finances
• Women’s greater economic power leads to greater political power in the household
• Checking the bank statements correlates with power and decision making

Question 32

Summarise conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour using decades in between 1950s and 1990s.

Answer 32

1950s - Conjugal roles were segregated into male (e.g. DIY) and female (e.g. cooking). Parsons argued the inevitability of the division of labour was due to biology
1970s - Wilmott and Young (1973) argued the emergence of the ‘new man’ with 72% helping leading to a more symmetrical family v.s Ann Oakley (1974) who criticised that 28% of men still didn’t participate in housework
1980s - Traditional roles were challenged due to major economic changes allowing women to enter the workplace demanding a new system of labour at home
1990s - Devine (1992) argued men’s involvement in domestic labour increased when their wives entered paid work leading to more symmetry however Gershuny (1994) argued there was ‘lagged adaption’ stopping an equal division of labour

Question 33

Identify 2 theories which state segregated conjugal roles are functional to society.

Answer 33

1) Functionalism

2) New Right

Question 34

Describe Functionalism’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 34

• Natural division due to biology (Parsons)
• Expressive and instrumental roles must be fulfilled
• Segregated conjugal roles are functional to society as allows the breadwinner to go out and work whilst the housewife cleans and cares for their child
• Men working more gives them more power

Question 35

Identify 3 sociologists who would agree with Functionalism’s perspective.

Answer 35

1) Duncombe and Marsden (1995) - expressive role
2) Edgell (1980) - men have power
3) Hakim (1996) - some women enjoy housework

Question 36

Identify 3 criticisms of Functionalism’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 36

1) Ann Oakley (1970) found that women find housework boring and don’t like doing it
2) Pahl (2004) argued that women’s economic power leads to political when they work and so women are gaining more power
3) Expressive and instrumental roles don’t need to be specified to a gender, as with gay parenting

Question 37

Describe the New Right’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 37

• Sexual equality from feminism causes crisis of masculinity
• Nuclear family is the best model as the division of labour can be divided accordingly and socialisation of both roles occurs
• Women are less committed to working outside the home

Question 38

Identify 2 sociologists who would agree with the New Right’s perspective.

Answer 38

1) Murray (1984) - there is a lack of instrumental role for single mothers
2) Wilmott and Young (1973) - the ‘new man’ causes crisis of masculinity as more feminine

Question 39

Identify 3 criticisms of the New Right’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 39

1) Ann Oakley (1974) criticises Wilmott and Young (1974) for only asking one question that required men to help at least once a week to establish equality with lack of definition on ‘helping’
2) Radical Feminists argued there isn’t complete sexual equality
3) Kan (2001) found that women do an average of 18+ hours of housework a week compared to 6 for men

Question 40

Identify 2 theories which state division in conjugal roles are unequal.

Answer 40

1) Marxism

2) Feminism

Question 41

Describe Marxism’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 41

• Middle class women have more control in relationships than working class women
• Inequality in conjugal roles passes on ruling class ideology of hierarchy and exploitation to children

Question 42

Identify 2 sociologists who would agree with Marxism’s perspective.

Answer 42

1) Pahl (2004) - women having economic power equates to political
2) Althusser (1970) - ideological state apparatus

Question 43

Identify a criticism of Marxism’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 43

Dated explanation as working world and class division have changed meaning there is less exploitation.

Question 44

Identify the 3 main types of Feminism.

Answer 44

1) Liberal
2) Radical
3) Marxist

Question 45

Describe Liberal Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 45

• Parents socialise children differently
• Laws challenge patriarchal division and create more gender equality (e.g. Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975)
• This demands changes to how domestic labour is divided as women enter work

Question 46

Identify 2 sociologists who would agree with Liberal Feminist’s perspective.

Answer 46

1) Ann Oakley (1974) - men participate in pleasant work

2) Hakim (1996) - some women want active roles in work

Question 47

Identify a criticism of Liberal Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 47

There are obstacles for fathers socialising their children, such as having a job, being a step-father, etc.

Question 48

Describe Radical Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 48

• Equality is an illusion
• Patriarchal society dominates and suppresses women’s power through physical and sexual means (e.g. domestic violence and rape)

Question 49

Identify 2 sociologists who would agree with Radical Feminist’s perspective.

Answer 49

1) Hochschild (1983) - 46% of men didn’t address housework, second shift
2) Hartmann (1981) - employed women still have bulk of housework

Question 50

Identify 2 criticisms of Radical Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 50

1) Fiona Devine (1992) argued that men participate in housework more when their wives are employed
2) Gershuny (1994) argued that men’s roles have changed they only experience ‘lagged adaption’ but will see equality eventually

Question 51

Describe Marxist Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 51

• Division of labour functional for contemporary families who have dual income
• Shift parenting creates natural division
• Male breadwinner causes economic disadvantage in power for women

Question 52

Identify a sociologist who would agree with Marxist Feminist’s perspective.

Answer 52

Pahl (2004) found the lowest marital satisfaction when only men had economic power.

Question 53

Identify 2 criticisms of Marxist Feminist’s view on conjugal roles.

Answer 53

1) Shift parenting can lead to child growing up unhappy due to limited family time
2) There are more diverse types of families that don’t involve a single male breadwinner