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
