couples Flashcards
household
one person living alone or people living together, this can be families or friends
nuclear family
the traditional view of a family, a man and woman with dependant children
extended family
family of 3 generations
reconstituted family
a family with a step parent
same sex family
2 same sex parents and a child
19th century victorian family
very patriarchal - male dominated
man owns home and money
wife does domestic labour and brought up children
men were breadwinner - made the money
womens property and belongings given to men when married
functionalist sociologists argument
domestic division of labour
society is built on shared values (consensus) and free from major conflict
they see laws (social policies) as helpful to all
feminists argument
domestic division of labour
all social institutions (e.g. education, religion, family) help to maintain womens inferior (subordinate) position and unequal gender division in the family
Oakley (1974)
found men were starting to help but their contribution to household help was small. Their version of contribution might involve ironing their shirt for work or playing with the children on the weekend.
Boulton (1983)
backed up Oakleys claims when her research fount that less than 20% of husbands has a major role in childcare
found that women take care of their childs security and well being
impact of paid work in todays society
today over 3/4 of women who are married/ in a relationship (cohabiting) are in some form of employment
this contrasts Oakleys study of housewives in 1974 where less than 50% of women had a job
has this led to men taking o the fair share of household duties or whether the wife now has the ‘dual burden’ of paid work and domestic work
dual burden
when a woman has the responsibility of raising the children, taking care of the domestic chores as well as working outside the home
Young + Wilmott
found that in Bethnal Green the symmetrical family was more common amongst young people
Bott
joint conjugal roles are where a couple share housework, childcare and leisure time
Gershuny (1994)
found that couple are more likely to share homework if their parents did
The British Social Attitudes survey (2013)
suggested that less than 10% of under-35s agreed with traditional gender divisions of labour but 30% of over-65s did
this shows a change in cultural norms and values leading to more equal relationships
Arber + Ginn (1995)
found that better paid middle-class women could afford cleaning devices and childcare, meaning they didn’t have to do as much and could successfully hod down a career
whereas the working class women can’t afford this and so are stuck in low paid part time employment
Ramos (2003)
found that men do more domestic tasks if they are unemployed and the women is the main breadwinner
The March of Progress View
Gershuny fun that housewives did 83% of the housework, whereas those who worked full time did 73%
Gershuny believed the gap between men and women was getting smaller in terms of household duty share
Warde + Hethering
found men would only carry out routine tasks the their partners weren’t around
Morris (1990)
found that unemployed men avoided housework as they felt that it degraded their masculinity
Gregson + Lowe (1994)
found that middle class families often hired nannies and cleaners to carry out domestic labour and childcare
Duncombe + Marsden (1995)
argue that women have to perform the ‘triple shift’ of housework, paid work and emotional work
Dunne (1999)
studied 37 lesbian couples with children and found a much more equal division of labour
radical feminists argue
that heterosexual relationships are patriarchal and will always be unequal
Barrett + McIntosh (1991)
men gain a lot more from womens unpaid domestic work than they actually give back in financial support
the financial support that wives get from husbands is often random an d comes with ‘strings attached’ (e.g. extra housework)
men usually make decisions about spending on important things (e.g. car/holiday)
Kempson (1994)
working class women are much more unlikely to have an unequal share of money
Vogler (1993) pooling
joint responsibility between partners about the amount of money to spent
and the access to income (joint bank accounts)
Vogler (1993) the allowance system
the man (breadwinner) gives the wife a certain amount of money to spend on households needs
meaning they have to budget and reduce costs
then any money left over goes to the man
Finch (1983)
the lives of women get structured around their husbands careers
Edgell (1980)
very important decisions - men have final say e.g. finances/ moving house
important decisions - made joint, not usually wife alone e.g childs education
less important decisions - made by wife e.g. home decor, food purchases
why are there inequalities in decision making?
its argued women have less say in decisions as generally they earn less than their partners and are therefore dependant on them economically
generally the mens careers are a priority over the womens putting them in power over certain decisions
domestic violence sociological definition
psychological, physical, emotional of financial abuse in a relationship to in the home
domestic violence home office definition
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
domestic violence statistics
40% of domestic violence is suffered by men
domestic violence accounts for nearly 25% of recorded violent crime (womens aid 2014)
women are more likely than men to experience domestic violence ( Coleman et al. 2007)
Dobash + Dobash (1979:2007)
interviewed victims (women)/ looked at statistics + found that these victims were slapped, pushed, beaten, raped, + even killed by husbands
this often happened when a woman challenged her husbands authority
Walby + Allen (2004)
women were much more likely to be victims of multiple incidents of abuse
Ansara + Hindin (2011)
women much more likely to be psychologically affected by violence
England and Wales crime surveys (2017)
1.2 million women experienced domestic violence
700,000 men experienced domestic violence (4%)
official statistics domestic violence
46 arrests per 100 domestic related crimes recorded by 39 police forces in the year ending in June 2017
70% of domestic homicides including female victims
radical feminists explanations for domestic violence
argue all societies are founded on patriarchy and that men are the oppressors and exploiters of women
they believe marriage is a key institution of a patriarchal society and men dominate through the threat/ use of domestic violence
this helps explain why most domestic violence is committed by men, they provide an explanation by linking patterns of domestic violence to social norms about marriage
not all men are aggressive and violent (Elliot 1996)
fails to explain why young women, WC women or disabled women experience it more often
fails to explain domestic violence committed by women in lesbian relationships, violence against men and child abuse by women
materialist explanations for domestic violence
focus on economic and material factors such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk
Wilkinson + Picketts study shows that not all people are equally in danger of domestic violence: those with less power, status + wealth are at greatest risk
doesn’t explain why women are more likely to be victims than men
marxist feminists like Ansley say that this fails to blame capitalism for domestic violence she says that women are the ‘taker of shit’
