Couples

Question 1

What roles are in Talcott Parsons (1955) functionalist model of the family?

Answer 1

Instrumental role - husband - geared towards achieving success at work so that he can provide for the family - breadwinner
Expressive role - wife - geared towards primary socialisation of children and meeting the family’s emotional needs - homemaker - full time housewife

Question 2

What does Parsons argue about the instrumental and expressive role?

Answer 2

That this division of labour is based on biological differences, with women naturally suited towards the nurturing role and men providers.

He argues that the division of labour is beneficial to both men and women, to their children and to wider society - new right and conservative politicians also hold this view

Question 3

What are the criticisms of Parsons - instrumental and expressive role?

Answer 3

Young and Willmott (1962) argue that men are now taking a greater share of domestic tasks and more wives are becoming wage earners.

Feminist sociologists reject parson’s view that the division of labour is natural. In addition, they argue that it only benefits men.

Question 4

What 2 conjugal roles within marriage did Elizabeth Bott (1957) distinguish

Answer 4

Segregated conjugal roles - couples have separate roles - man is breadwinner, women is homemaker / carer. Leisure activities also tend to be separate

Joint conjugal roles - couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend leisure time together

Question 5

What research did Willmott and Young carry out to distinguish a pattern of segregated conjugal roles?

Answer 5

Studied traditional working class extended families in Bethnal Green, East London in 1950s

Men were the breadwinners - played little time in home life and spent their leisure time with workmates in pubs and working men’s clubs.

Women were full time housewives with sole responsibility for housework and childcare, helped by female relatives. Limited leisure time also spent with female kin

Question 6

What view do Willmott and Young take?

Answer 6

March of progress view - family life gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic.

Argue that there has been a long term trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the symmetrical family

Question 7

What is the symmetrical family?

Answer 7

a family where the roles of the wife and husband are, although not identical, but similar

1. Women now go out to work
2. Men now help with childcare and housework
3. Couples now spend their leisure time together instead of separately with workmates or female relatives

Question 8

How has there been a rise in the symmetrical family?

Answer 8

1. Changes in women’s position, including married women going out to work
2. Geographical mobility - more couples living away from the communities in which they grew up
3. New technology and labour saving devices
4. Higher standards of living

Question 9

What is the feminist view of housework?

Answer 9

Rejection of march of progress view - argue little has changed - men and women remain unequal within the family and women still do most of the housework

This inequality stems from the fact the family and society are male-dominated / patriarchal

Question 10

How does Ann Oakley criticise Young and Willmott?

Answer 10

1974

Argues their claims are exaggerated. Although Young and Willmott found that most of husbands they interviewed helped their wives at least once a week this could be simply taking children for a walk or making breakfast on one occasion. Hardly convincing evidence

Question 11

What evidence did Ann Oakley use to show no trend towards symmetry?

Answer 11

Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework and only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare

Question 12

What evidence did Mary Boulton use to show no trend towards symmetry?

Answer 12

1983

fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare

Question 13

What is the dual burden?

Answer 13

women being responsible for paid work and domestic labour

Question 14

What is the triple shift?

Answer 14

women being responsible for paid work, domestic labour and emotional work

Question 15

What does Boulton point out?

Answer 15

That although fathers may help by performing specific childcare tasks, it is usually the mother who takes responsibility for the child’s security and well being

Question 16

Which studies support Boulton’s view?

Answer 16

Ferri and Smith (1996) - fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families

Dex and Ward (2007) found that, although fathers had quite high levels of involvement with their 3 year olds (e.g. 78% played with their children), when it came to caring for a sick child only 1% of fathers took the main responsibility.

Question 17

What is the cultural explanation for the inequality of division of labour?

Answer 17

The division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values. Women perform more domestic labour as that is what society expects them to do and has socialised them to do

Question 18

What is evidence for the cultural explanation?

Answer 18

Gillian Dune (1999) found that lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of traditional heterosexual gender scripts, that is, the norms that set out the different gender roles men and women are expected to play.

Question 19

What is the material explanation for the inequality of division of labour?

Answer 19

Women generally earn less than men means it is economically rational for women do to more housework and childcare while men spend more of their time earning money

Question 20

What is evidence for the material explanation of inequality of division of labour?

Answer 20

Kan found that for every £10,000 a year more a women earns she does 2 hours less housework per week

Question 21

What is the allowance system?

Answer 21

Where men give their wives an allowance out of which they have to budget to meet the family’s needs, with the man retaining any surplus income for himself

Pooling, where both partners have access to income and join responsibility for expenditure

Question 22

What happens if the pooled income is controlled by the husband?

Answer 22

tends to give men more power in major financial decisions

Question 23

What did Stephen Edgell’s (1980) study of professional couples find?

Answer 23

1. Very important decisions e.g. finance, a change of job, moving house were either taken alone by the husband or jointly but with the husband having the final say
2. Important decisions such as those about children’s education or where to go on holiday were usually taken jointly or by the wife alone
3. Less important decisions - home décor, children’s clothes, food purchases were made by the wife

Question 24

What is domestic violence?

Answer 24

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

Question 25

How have sociologists challenged the view of domestic violence causes being psychological rather than social?

Answer 25

1. Domestic violence is far too widespread. Women’s aid federation (2014), domestic violence accounts for between a 6th and a 1/4 of all recorded violent crime
2. Domestic violence does not occur randomly but follows particular social patterns which have social causes. One is that it is mainly violence by men against women

Ansara and Hindin - women suffered more violence and control, with more psychological effects - more likely to be fearful of their partners. (2011)

Question 26

What is the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence?

Answer 26

The family and marriage are key institutions in patriarchal society and the main sources of women’s oppression. Within the family, men dominate women through domestic violence or the threat of it.

Widespread DV is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power that all men have over all women

Question 27

What is the evaluation of the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence?

Answer 27

Fail to explain female violence including child abuse by women and domestic violence towards men

RF use concept of patriarchy to explain why most victims of DV are women but wrongly assume all women are at risk of it
Office of National Statistics (2014) - young women, disabled women, lower social classes, low income

Question 28

What is the material explanation of domestic violence?

Answer 28

inequality means that some families have fewer resources than others. Those on low income living in overcrowded accommodation are likely to experience higher levels of stress reducing their chances of maintaining stable. caring relationships and increases rick of conflict and violence

Question 29

What is the evaluation of the material explanation of domestic violence?

Answer 29

Don’t explain why women rather than men are the main victims

Useful in showing how social inequality produces stress and triggers conflict and violence in families