Couple and Gender Roles Flashcards
Domestic Division of Labour - Traditional Functionalist View
- Parsons (1955) - conjugal roles segregated in traditional NF.
- Husband performs instrumental role, wife performs expressive role.
- This division based on biological differences - beneficial to men and women, society and children.
- Conservative thinkers and New Right agree.
Domestic Division of Labour - March of Progress
- Willmott and Young (1962) interviewed 1,928 people from WC families in East London (1950’s) - 22found evidence of segregated roles.
- Their research in 60’s found more women were becoming wage earners and men taking greater share of domestic tasks - egalitarian and symmetrical.
Domestic Division of Labour - Other Views
- Feminists reject Parsons’ view that division of labour is natural. They argue it benefits men.
- Reject W&Y saying relationships weren’t becoming more egalitarian.
- They do however recognise that change has been made.
Domestic Division of Labour - Willmott & Young (Functionalist)
- Family life gradually improving for all members.
- The Symmetrical Family (1973) - privatised NF which was becoming the norm appeared more family orientated and symmetrical in relation to domestic work and leisure activities.
Domestic Division of Labour - Willmott & Young (Stratified Diffusion)
- Long term trend away from segregated roles.
- Stratified diffusion - starts in UC and works its way down to the WC.
- As a result of SD, change in gender roles and relationships found more in MC than WC.
Domestic Division of Labour - Willmott & Young (Women Working)
- Important factor making relationships symmetrical is increase in women working - increased women’s bargaining position.
- Also found that labour saving devices reduced time spent on labour and that young couples were more symmetrical.
Domestic Division of Labour - Criticism of Willmott & Young
- Feminists reject the ‘MoP’ view - argue little has changed - men and women remain unequal.
- Inequality stems from the fact that the family and society are patriarchal - women occupy a subordinate and dependent role.
Domestic Division of Labour - Oakley (Feminist)
- ‘Sociology of Housework (1974) - idea of symmetrical marriage = a myth. W&Y’s claims exaggerated.
- Critical of W&Y methodology - found that 72% of men ‘helped’ with housework during the week.
- She pointed out that one sole activity would be included in the stats - so does not prove symmetry.
Domestic Division of Labour - Oakley’s Statistics
- Found greater male involvement in childcare and housework - not egalitarian.
- 15% of husbands had high level participation in housework and only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare.
- Domestic labour is still devalued - not seen as ‘real work’.
Domestic Division of Labour - Research supporting Oakley
- Warde et al (1990) - study in North West found males took care of house maintenance and females routine housework and childcare.
- Ferri & Smith (1996) - survey of mothers and fathers - increased employment had little impact on domestic work - women too primary responsibility regardless.
Impact of Paid Work - Functionalist View (Gershuny)
- Some sociologists take an optimistic view.
- Gershuny (1994) - found wives who worked full-time did less domestic work - 73% compared to unemployed who do 83%.
- Longer been in paid employment, more housework the husband did.
- This is lagged adaptation where there has been a gradual change in social values.
Impact of Paid Work - Functionalist View (Sullivan)
- Trend towards greater equality where men were increasingly participating in traditional women’s tasks.
- Man-Yee Kan (2001) - income, age and education affected housework.
- British Social Attitudes - 13% of men and 12% of women believed it’s man’s job to earn money.
Impact of Paid Work - Feminist View (Crompton)
- Crompton (1997) accepts Gershuny’s evidence but explains it in terms of economic factors rather than changing values.
- Women’s earning power increases so men do more. However, men earn more than women meaning division of labour is unequal.
Impact of Paid Work - Feminist View (Silver and Schor)
• Silver (1987) & Schor (1993) emphasise how economic developments reduce burden of housework.
• They claim that:
- housework = commercialised
- women working - afford goods and services.
• Schor - led to the ‘death of the housewife role’.
• Only MC women.
Impact of Paid Work - Feminist View (Ferri & Smith)
- Feminists argue women have acquired a ‘dual burden’ of paid and domestic work.
- Family = patriarchal as men benefit from women’s paid and domestic work.
- Ferri & Smith found evidence of this - sample of 1,589 33 y/o parents - men had childcare responsibility in less than 4% of families.
Impact of Paid Work - Feminist View (Morris)
• Morris (1990) - men who suffered unemployment saw housework as ‘women’s work’.
Impact of Paid Work - Feminist View (Duncombe & Marsden)
- Duncombe and Marsden (1995) - women expected to do a triple shift.
- This included: housework/paid work/emotional work.
- Hochhschild (2019) research confirms this.
Explaining the Gender Division of Labour (Crompton & Lyonette)
- Cultural/Ideological explanation - patriarchal norms and values - women perform labour because they’re expected to.
- Material/Economic explanation - women earn less than men - justifies amount of work women do.
Power Relationships - Power and Finances (Barrett & McIntosh)
• They note:
- men gain more from domestic work than they give back in financial support.
- financial support to wives is often unpredictable.
- men usually make decisions when it comes to spending.
Power Relationships - Power and Finances (Pahl)
- In ‘Money and Marriage’ - examined who has control of finances.
- Study based on interviews with 102 couples.
- Found that each partner’s contribution to family income affects the power and authority they have.
Power Relationships - Power and Finances (Pahl: Types of Control)
- Pooling - both partners have joint access - men usually have more power.
- Allowance System - men give women an allowance.
Power Relationships - Power and Decision-Making (Edgell)
- Edgell studied 38 MC couples.
- He found men were more likely to make important decisions (education, holidays).
- Women make less important decisions (home décor).
Power Relationships - Power and Decision-Making (Hardill)
- Hardill found that in dual earning couples, men still make more decisions.
- Feminists argue it’s due to inequality in earnings.
Power Relationships - Power and Decision-Making (Laurie & Gershuny)
- There are signs of equality.
* Laurie and Gershuny found by 1995 70% of couples said they had equal say in decision making.
