Couples

Question 1

What roles do the wife and husband take on in a relationship according to Parsons?

Answer 1

The husband takes on an instramental role, achieve success in the work place
The wife takes on an expressive role, home maker/childcare

Question 2

What are the criticisms of Parsons?

Answer 2

Young & Willmot - men now take greater share in domestic labour and women earn a living wage.
Feminists reject this as division of labour still benefits men

Question 3

What is a segregated conjural role?

Answer 3

When a couple have different roles, man breadwinner, women home maker, often spend leisure time apart.

Question 4

What is a joint conjural role?

Answer 4

When couples have an equal share of tasks and spend leisure time together.

Question 5

What did Young and Willmot identify in the 1950s?

Answer 5

In traditional working class family there was pattern of segregated conjural roles.

Question 6

What is a symmetrical family?

Answer 6

When husbands and wives have more similarity in roles.

men help with childcare women work

Question 7

Why is there a rise of the symmetrical family?

Answer 7

Changes in womens position, geographical mobility, new technology, higher standards of living.
Interlink men and women as a higher wage comes in they can spend more on labour saving devices.

Question 8

What is the feminists view on the march of progress?

Answer 8

Its wrong, men and women are still unequal, they think it stems from society being patriarchal.

Question 9

Who criticises Young and Willmot?

Answer 9

Oakley - claims are exaggerated, found only 15% husbands help with housework, 25% with childcare, no signs of symmetry

Question 10

What does Boulton find?

Answer 10

<20% husbands had major role in childcare, Y&W may just look at tasks not responsibilities. Wife usually responsible for the childs wellbeing & safety

Question 11

What is the dual burden?

Answer 11

Gursheny found women are still doing a lot round the house while balancing a full time job taking on twice the amount men do.

Question 12

What is the triple shift?

Answer 12

When women go to work, come home do housework and then look after their children and also deal with the emotions.

Question 13

Why is there a division in labour?

Answer 13

Due to patriarchal norms and the socialisation of society as it is expected of women to do more.

Question 14

What did Dunne find?

Answer 14

Lesbian relationships were more symmetrical due to the absence of heterosexual ‘gender scripts’.

Question 15

What is the economic reason for inequality?

Answer 15

Women earn less so its more rational that they do more housework and childcare.

Question 16

A03

Answer 16

women earn less than men, due to working part time as they have young children. If women joined labour force & worked equal shifts may see fairer share of domestic labour

Question 17

What did Pahl & Vogler identify as two main types of control in money management?

Answer 17

Pooling - joint access to income and responsibility for expenditure
Allowance system - men give wife allowance in which must budget needs of family, men spend surplus on themselves

Question 18

What did Edgells find?

Answer 18

Finance decisions made by husband alone/having final say
Childrens education/holiday made jointly
Home decor/food made by wife alone

Question 19

Evidence of moving towards equality in finance decisions…

Answer 19

70% couples have equal say, well qualified women more likely to say yes according to Laurie & Gershuny

Question 20

What types of abuse are there in families?

Answer 20

Sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse & emotional abuse

Selbourne - largest murder victims are children >5 at hands of family member

Question 21

What is the radical feminists explanation for domestic violence?

Answer 21

Family & marriage key institutions in patriarchal society & main source women oppression
Domestic violence/fear of it lets men hold power over women
Male dominance in state institutions explains police reluctancy to take DV seriously

Question 22

A03 - domestic violence

Answer 22

Robertson Elliot - rejects claim all men benefit from violence against women, fail to explain female violence (child abuse, violence against men & lesbian couples), fail explain women most likely to be victims

Question 23

Wilkinson view on material and stress.

Answer 23

Economic factors lack of resources, inequality in income, low income/crowded living

Question 24

A03 - material & stress

Answer 24

Show how social inequality produce stress & triggers violence, explains class differences in DV, doesnt explain why women main victims

Question 25

Domestic violence stats

Answer 25

DV accounts 1/6 violent crime
6.6m assaults a year 1/2 physical
99% cases against women committed by men
1 in 4 assaulted by partner once, 1 in 8 repeatedly
Assaulted on average 35 times before reporting it
Most cases go unreported