Couples Flashcards
According to Parsons what roles do the husband and wife play within a household?
The husband has an instrumental role (being successful at work, being the breadwinner) and the wife has an expressive role (socialization of children, meeting the family’s emotional needs, being the homemaker).
What are the two types of conjugal roles identified by Elizabeth Bott?
Segregated conjugal roles where the couple holds separate roles within the household (+leisure activities tend to be separate) and
joint conjugal roles where the couple shares tasks such as housework and childcare (+leisure time spent together).
What do Young and Willmott argue about the domestic division of labour?
‘March of progress’ view; there’s a long-term trend away from separated conjugal roles, towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical family’.
Describe the ‘march of progress’ view.
This view sees family life as gradually improving for all its members (becoming more equal and democratic) and sees men as taking a greater share of domestic tasks while women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home.
What is meant by the term ‘symmetrical family’?
A family in which the roles of the husband and wife, are much more similar than they have been in the past.
In what ways is the family now more symmetrical?
Women go out to work, men help with housework and childcare, and couples spend their leisure time together (rather than separately with workmates or female relatives).
What did Young and Willmott find in their study of families in London?
The symmetrical family was more common in younger couples, those who are geographically and socially isolated, and those who were better off.
According to Young and Willmott, what caused the rise of the symmetrical nuclear family?
Changes in the position of women, an increase in geographical mobility, and higher standards of living.
What view do feminists take on housework?
Feminists reject the march of progress view, arguing that little has changed and that men remain superior, with women still doing most of the housework.
What do feminists argue causes the inequality present in regards to housework?
Both the family and society as a whole are male-dominated and patriarchal, with women occupying subordinate and dependent roles.
Which sociologist criticises Young and Willmott’s view that family is now symmetrical? Why?
Oakley (1974) argues that their claims are exaggerated. While the husbands interviewed claimed they ‘helped’ their wives at least once a week, Oakley sees this evidence as hardly compelling of a symmetrical family since this could include simple tasks which require little effort on their part (e.g. taking the kids for a walk or making breakfast one day). It was always the mother who was responsible for the child’s security and well-being.
What did Warde and Hetheringon find in their research?
They found that sex-typing of domestic tasks remains strong (e.g., wives were 30x more likely to be the last person to have done the washing, while husbands were 4x more likely to be the last person to wash the car).
Their general findings were that men would only carry out routine ‘female’ tasks when their partners were not around to do them; however, younger men no longer assumed that women should do the housework, and were more likely to think they were doing less than their fair share.
What two questions stem from the impact of paid work? (March of Progress/Feminism)
‘Is paid work leading to a more equal division of domestic tasks?’ (March of Progress), and ‘does it simply mean that women now carry a ‘dual burden’?’ (Feminism)
What did Sullivan find in her national analysis of representative data collected in 1975, 1987 and 1997?
There was a trend toward women doing a smaller share of the domestic work, and an increase in the number of couples who had an equal division of labor, with men participating more in traditional ‘women’s’ tasks.
What did the British Social Attitudes survey (2012) find?
A fall in the number of people who think it’s the man’s job to earn money, and the woman’s job to look after the home and family.
In 1984, 45% of men and 41% of women agreed with this view, but by 2012 this had dropped to only 13% of men and 12% of women.
Why do feminists argue that women going into paid work has not led to greater equality in the domestic division of labour?
There is still little sign of a ‘new man’ and women continue to hold a ‘dual burden’.
What is meant by the term ‘dual burden’?
Women go out to do paid work while also being responsible for domestic work.
What did the 2012 British Social Attitudes survey find about domestic work?
Men carry out 8 hrs of housework per week while women complete 13 hrs; men complete 10 hrs of care for families, compared to 23 hrs for women; women did twice as much as men, and 60% of women felt this division of labor was unjust because they were doing more than their fair share.
What does the 2012 British Social Attitudes survey claim about couples?
They continue to divide household tasks along traditional gender lines with patterns being as much the same in 2012 as they were in 1994.
What do surveys such as the 2012 British Social Attitudes survey fail to mention about domestic labor?
Qualitative differences in the tasks that men and women perform; Allan argues that women’s tasks, such as washing and cleaning, are less intrinsically satisfying.
What do surveys such as the 2012 British Social Attitudes survey tend to focus on? What is the problem with this?
Easily quantifiable aspects such as who performs which tasks and/or how much time is spent doing them (gives no details about who is responsible for ensuring that tasks are completed).
What does Boulton point out about childcare?
Although fathers may help by performing specific childcare tasks, the mother is usually the parent who takes responsibility for the child’s security and well-being.
What studies are there to support Boulton’s view?
Ferri and Smith (1996), Dex and Ward (2007), and Braun/Vincent/Ball (2011)
What did Ferri and Smith’s (1996) study find?
Fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families
