Couples Flashcards
what is the difference between a household and a family
household: person living alone or a group of people sharing meals
family: monogamous married couple with children sharing residence. Also any set arrangement which is considered a family
what is a nuclear family
a married heterosexual family who have their own biological family
what is the division of labour
roles that men and women play in reaction to housework, childcare and work
what did parsons (functionalist) say about the family and roles
- husband-breadwinner (instrumental), wife (expressive) -primary socialisation of children.
-based on biological differences, women
“nurturing”, men “providers” - division of labour is beneficial to men, women and children as well as society
-new right also hold this view
what are the criticisms of parsons (functionalist) view
- young and Willmott: men are taking a greater share of homework, more women earners
- feminists: not natural and only benefits men
what did Bott state about joint and segregated roles
segregated: separate roles including leisure interests
joint : share housework and childcare and spend leisure time together
what did young and Willmott find about segregated roles in the 1950s
(east London ), men were breadwinners, spent leisure time in men’s clubs and pubs. women had sole responsibility for housework, leisure time sport with female kin
what did young and Wilmott say about the symmetrical family
- ‘march of progress’- trend away from segregated roles towards joint ‘symmetrical ‘ roles
- although not identical, much more familiar
- eg women work even part time. men work with housework couples spend leisure time together
- more common younger couples and socially isolated
what is the rise of symmetrical family due to
1) changes in womens position
2) geographical mobility
3) new technology
4) higher standards of living
what are feminist views on the march of progress and joint and conjugal roles
- reject march of progress
- men and women remain unequal, society still patriarchal
what did Oakley (feminist) state about joint and conjugal roles
claims exaggerated ‘helping’ wives does not count. Taking the dog for a walk does not count as symmetrical
-did a study: 15% men did housework, 25% childcare
what did Warde and Hetherington argue
‘sex typing ‘ strong eg men more likely to wash car, men do female tasks when their not around. Although there is a shift in attitudes about women doing all the housework
what is argued in the march of progress view towards men
men are becoming more involved in the housework and childcare just as women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home
what does Gershuny argue
Gershuny argues that women working full time is leading to a more equal division of labour in the home. using time tables he found that these women did less domestic work than others
what did sulivan find
similar to Gershuny, sulivan found a trend towards women doing domestic work and men doing more
what did the British social attitudes survey show
(2013) found a fall in the number of people who think its a man job to earn money and the women’s job to look after the home and family
what studies support Boultons view
Hoschild- emotion work-taking responsibilities for other family members. feminists have noted that women are often required where they are responsible for managing the emotion and feelings of family members
Duncombe and Marden- triple shift- argue that women have to perform a triple shift of housework, paid work and emotion work
why are men more likely to experience consolidated ‘block’ or uninterrupted leisure time
men are more likely to experience unerupted leisure time, whereas women’s leisure is often punctuated by childcare. women are more likely to multitask. this indicates that women are facing a dual burden
what did Barret and Mcinton argue about trends
- men gain more women’s domestic work than they give back in financial gain support.
- financial support is unpredictable and strings attached
- men usually make decisions about spending on important items
what did Kempson argue about low income families
women denied their own needs; rarely going out , eating smaller portions or skipping meals. In many houses women have no entitlement to a share of household resources. As a result, she is likely to see anything she spends on herself as money that should be spend on poverty. This leaves a lot of women in poverty
what do Pahl and Vogler argue about coupes
(feminists) two types of control
1) Allowance system- wives given a budget for family, any extra keeps for himself
2) pooling both have access to income and joint responsibility
pooling is on the increase and now most common
why is there still an inequality in couples
when the pooled income is controlled by men , gives him for power to make financial decisions (pahl and Vogler)
what did Hardill study find
study of 30 dual career couples found :
1) important decisions found by man alone or jointly
2) his career took priority
3) women’s lives are structured around men’s
what did Egewell argue about couples
- husbands have the final say about moving house/job
- important decisions such as children’s education rarely made by women alone
- less important decisions such as home décor made by the wife this is because the men earn more
what did Gershuny argue about couples
- some evidence of a move towards equality
- high earning, well qualified. women are more likely to have a say
- 70% of couples said they had an equal say
what is a cultural explanation for the gender division of labour
Dunne found that lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of traditional heterosexual ‘gender transcripts’ (norms that are set out for the different gender roles to play
what are a material explanation for division of labour
Kan found that every 10,000 a year more a women earns, she does two hours less housework per week
what did Vogler argue about couples
- cohabitating couples less likely to pool money
- but more likely to share domestic tasks
- money has no automatic meaning and couples define it in different ways
what is the personal life perspective on couples
- one person controlling the money may not be seen as ‘unequal’
- smart: same sex couples placed no importance to who controls the money. control of money does not define equality
- greater freedom for same sex couples to do what they want, don’t have ‘cultural meanings’ attached to money
what did Dobash and Dobash argue about domestic violence
(radical feminists) argue domestic violence is evidence of patriarchy. Dobash and Dobash found that violent incidents could be set off by what they saw a challenge to authority. Also argue that Marriage legitimates violence against women conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives
what are radical feminist explanation of domestic violence
emphasises the set of role of patriarchal ideas, cultural values and institutions
what are the criticisms of radical feminists
rejects the radical feminists claim that all men benefit from the violence against women. Not all men are aggressive and most are opposed to domestic violence.
