couples Flashcards
what role do males / females have in parsons (functionalist) theory relating to the domestic division of labour?
- the husband has the instrumental role
- wife has the expressive role
explain parsons (functionalist) theory of instrumental and expressive roles
the husband is the breadwinner, and the wife is the homemaker.
this division is based on biological differences because women are ‘naturally suited to the nurturing role.
what does parsons (functionalist) say the differences between men and women are based on?
biological differences
what type of theorist is parsonons?
functionalist
what type of theorist is Bott?
functionalist
what does Bott think male and female roles are?
segregated conjugal roles,
joint conjugal roles
describe what “segregated conjugal roles” means
the couple have separate roles, a male breadwinnwer and a female home maker
the leisure activities also tend to be seperate
describe “joint conjugal roles”
where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together
evaluate Parsons (functionalist) theory about the domestic division of labour
- young and wilmott
men are doing housework and women are becoming wage earners - feminists
division of labour is not natural and only benefits men
whos study reinforces Botts (functionalist) theory about joint and segregated conjugal roles?
Young and Willmotts
what study reinforces Botts (functionalist) theory about joint and separate conjugal roles?
Young and Willmott
identified a pattern of segregated conjugal roles in their study of traditional WC extended families
describe Young and Willmott’s (functionalist) view of the history of the family
march of progress
explain Young and Willmotts (functionalist) ‘march of progress’ view
the family life is gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic
what do Young and Willmott (functionalist) argue male and female roles are?
we are moving away from segregated conjugal roles and more towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical’ family
what is meant by the ‘symmetrical’ family?
one in which the roles of husbands and wived, although not identical, are now much more similar
how is the family becoming more symmetrical?
-women now go out to work, although this may be part time rather than full time
-men now help with housework and childcare
-couples now spend their leisure time together
describe Young and Willmott’s study about the symmetrical family
more common in younger couples, who are more geographically and socially isolated, and the more affluent (better off)
define affluent
better off
what social changes have led to the rise in the symmetrical nuclear family during the past century?
-changes in womens positions
-geographical mobility
-new technology
-higher standard of living
what type of sociologist are Young and Willmott?
functionalists
what type of sociologist is Ann Oakley?
feminist
evaluate the march of progress view when relating to the symmetrical family
feminists argue little change has been made
dual or triple burden
describe Ann Oakley’s (feminist) study about families
only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework, and only 25% had a high level of participation in childcare
husbands were more likely to share in childcare than housework, but only the more pleasurable parts
evaluate Oakley’s (feminist) point of view on families
it can be hard to research how much housework people do because people may lie
complete the sentence:
radical feminists argue that heterosexual relationships are…
patriarchal and will always be unequal
what sociologist researched into the division of labour in lesbian couples?
Dunne (1999)
describe Dunne’s (1999) study of lesbian couples
they have a more equal division of labour because heterosexuals are under pressure to conform to ‘gender scripts’
what sociologists identify two resaons of unequal division of labour?
Crompton and Lyonette (2008)
state the two reasons for the unequal division of labour identified by Crompton and Lyonette
-cultural / ideological explanations
-material / economic explanations
explain the two reasons for the unequal division of labour
- cultural / ideological:
patriarchal norms and values and socialisation - material / economic:
women perform domestic roles because generally men earn more money and are more busy doing so
what sociologists attempted to give evidence for the cultural explanation of inequality?
Gershuny
the Future Foundation
Dunne
what did Gershuny’s study find? (explaining gender division of labour, culturally )
couples whose parents shared housework more equally were more likely to share house work equally themseleves