couples - topic 1 Flashcards
parsons instrumental and expressive roles - domestic division of labour
in traditional nuclear family role of husband and wife segregated
1 husband has instrumental role, provides for family financially and is breadwinner
2 wife has expressive role, meets family’s emotional needs and is homemaker/housewife
arg division of ,about based on biological differences w women ‘naturally’ suited towards nurturing and men of provider role
division beneficial to both men/women their children and soc
evaluation of parsons - domestic division of labour
1 willmott/young; men now taking greater share of domestic tasks and wives becoming wage earners
2 feminists; rej view division is natural and that only benefits men
Bott; joint and segregated conjugal roles - domestic division of labour
2 types of conjugal roles
1 segregated; couple have sep roles like parsons view w leisure activ also sep
2 joint; couples share tasks ie. housework/childcare and spend time together
joint/segregated conjugal roles study support - domestic division labour
willmott/young; trad w/c extended fami in bethnal green in 1950s
found men breadwinner and women full time housewives
men spent leisure w workmates or at pub while wom had limited leisure that was spent w female kin
willmott/young; the symmetrical family - domestic division labour
take march of progress view of family
family life improving for all members becoming more equal
symmetrical is rolled r not identical but more similar
1 wom now go to work
2 men help w housework/childcare
3 couples spend leisure time together
what did willmott/young find from their study in london families - domestic divison
symmetrical fami +re common w younger couples, who geographically/socially isolated and +re affluent
rise of symmetrical fami result of social changes :
1 changes women’s position
2 geographical mobility
3 new technology
4 higher standards of living
many factors interlinked
feminist view of housework - domestic division
ann oakley; arg W+Ys claims r exaggerated, husbands ‘helping’ wives once a week could be something small like taking kids for walk
in her own research fou no evidence of trends towards symmetry
15% husbands had high lev participation in housework
25% husbands high lev of childcare
husbands +re like to take part in childcare b only the pleasurable acts wh just leaves wife w +re time for housework
boulton; fou fewer than 20% husbands had major role in childcare, arg W+Y exagg men’s involvement by only looking at tasks involved in childcare than the responsibilities
march of progress view - domestic division
arg women working leading to +re equal division of labour at home
men becoming more involved in housework/childcare as wom +re involv in paid work
gershuny; arg wom working full time leading to equal division of labour and fou those wom did less domestic work than others
sullivan; fou fr data collected in 1975, 87 and 97 that trend towards wom doing smaller share of domestic work and men doing more and fou increase in nu of couples w equal division of labour that mean we’re participating +re in trad wom tasks
the feminist view - couples equality
wom in paid work not led to greater equality
now there’s dual burden
survey fr 2012 fou avg men did 8 hrs work and wom 13 hrs, men spent 10 hrs on care and women 23 hrs so wom did 2x as much as men
survey fou couples continue to divide household tasks along trad gender lines
triple shift - couples equality
duncombe/marsden; arg women perform. triple shift of housework paid work and emotional work
taking responsibility for quality - couples equality
southerton; managing familys quality time falls to mothers usually
men +re like to have undisputed leisure time where as wom leisure punctuated by childcare
evidence for cultural explanation - couples equality
division labour determined by patriarchal norms/values that shape gender roles
equality achieved only when norms on gender roles change
1 gershuny; fou couples who’s parent had +re equal relationship are +re likely to share housework equally themselves wh sugg parental role mod import, social val adapt to wom working
2 dunne; fou lesbian couples had +re symmetrical relationships bec of absence of trad ‘gender scripts’ wh r the cultural norms that set out the diff gend roles men/wom expected to play
evidence for material explanation - couples equality
wom earn less than men so economically rational for wom to do +re housework/childcare while men spend more time working
if wom join labour force and earn as much as their partners we should see men/wom doing +re equal amounts of domestic work
1 kan; fou for every 10,000£ a yr wom earn she does 2 hrs less housework per week
2 arber/ginn; fou better paid m/c wom able to buy commercially produced products/services than having to spend time carrying out labour intensive domestic tasks themselves
money management - resource/decision making
pahl/vogler; identify 2 ty contr over family income
1 allowance sys; men give wife allowance wh they have budget to meet family’s needs w man keeping any surplus income for himself
2 pooling; both part have access to income and joint responsibilities for expenditure
pooling now most common sys and increasing
decision making - resources/decision making
edgell; study of proff couples fou
1 very important decisions - ie. finance made by husband
2 important decisions - ie. child’s education made jointly and rarely by wife alone
3 less important decisions - ie. home decor made by wife
arg reason bec men earn more and wom usually dependent on husbands
personal life perspective on money - resource/decision making
focus on meanings couples give to who controls money
1 ex. same sex coupes give diff meanings to contr of money p, smart; fou some gay men/lesbians attached no importance to who controlled money
2 weeks et al; fou typical pattern was pooling some money for household spending and separate accounts for personal spending wh is ‘co-independence’
personal life perspectives are essential to start from personal meanings of actors in situ
views on domestic violence
1 is too widespread; crimes survey for eng/wales fou 2 million peop report been victims of domestic abuse during previous years
2 domestic violence does not occur randomly but follows partic social patterns, mainly violence by men against wom
supported by russell/dobash; fou research in scotland based on police/court records and interviews w wom in refuges, ex of wives being slapped, beaten, raped by husbands
dobash and dobash - domestic abuse
fou violence cou set off by husbands authority being challenged by wife
arg marriage legitimates violence against wom by conferring power/authority on husbands and dependency on wives
supporting data on domestic abuse
1 crime survey fou 7.3% wom experienced domestic abuse in previous years compared to 3.6% men so most victims r women
2 walby/allen; fou wom much +re like to be vict of multiple incidents of abuse/sexual violence
official statistics - domestic abuse
OS understate true extent of problem
1 victims may unwilling to report to police, yearnshire fou on avg wom suffer 35 assaults b4 making report
2 polic may reluctant to investigate as believe : fami priv sphere, family is good so ign dark side, indiv r free agents and women can just leave ign they may be financially dependent
radical feminist explanation - domestic abuse
see fami as key institutions in patriarchal soc and main source of wom oppression
w/n fami men dominate wom thru domestic violence
arg domes vio is inevitable feature of patri soc and serves to preserve pow all men have over wom
view expl why vio commit by men
evaluation of radical feminists - domestic abuse
1 elliot; arg not all men aggr and most oppose domes vio wh radical fem ign
2 fail to expl female vio inclu child abuse and vio against men and w/n lesbian relation, crime survey fou 13.8% men experienced domes vio since 16 yrs
3 assume all wom equally at risk of patriarchal vio and fail to expl wh wom like to be vict
according to OS what women at greater risk of domestic violence
1 young wom
2 those in lowest social class/deprived areas
3 those on low incomes
4 those w high lev alcohol consumption/using illegal drugs
5 those w long term illness
men who suffer domestic vio also like to belong to these groups
materialist explanation of domestic abuse
focuses on economic/material factors ie. inequalities in income and housing to expl why some groups +re at risk
wilkinson/pickett; arg those on low incomes likely to experience high lev of stress wh reduces chance of maintaining stable caring relationships and increases risk of conflict/vio
1 worries about money, jobs may turn to domes confl
2 lack of money/time reduces social support for those under stress
findings show not all peop suff domes vio but at greatest risk
evaluation of materialist explanation of domestic abuse
1 useful in showing how social inequality produces stress/triggers conflict
2 don’t expl why wom rather than men r main vict
3 marxist fem; also see inequality causing domes vio as wom r ‘takers of sh**’ and domes vio product of capitalism as men exploited at work and take it out on their wives at home how fails expla y not all male workers commit acts for vio against part and doesn’t account for fem vio
