F+H - Gender Roles Flashcards
What are instrumental and expressive roles in the family?
Parson argued that:
- Instrumental role = husband as breadwinner (income/decisions).
- Expressive role = wife (emotional support/childcare/domestic tasks).
How did sociologists challenge Parsons’ view of family roles?
Young and Willmott found middle-class families increasingly shared domestic tasks, moving toward egalitarian relationships.
What is a feminist argument about the housewife role?
Oakley argued it’s socially constructed (not biological) and benefits men by maintaining unequal labor division.
What are segregated conjugal roles?
Bott said there were traditional separate roles (e.g., husband=breadwinner, wife=homemaker), common in working-class families with close-knit networks.
What are joint conjugal roles?
Bott said this is where couples share domestic tasks/decision-making equally, typical in middle-class families with loose social networks.
What four social changes did Young & Willmott link to joint conjugal roles?
- Rising living standards.
- Women’s employment.
- Geographical mobility.
- Changing attitudes.
What is the “symmetrical family”
Young and Willmott said this is a family where couples share domestic roles, decision-making, and leisure time equally.
What is the “dual burden”?
Oakley said this is when women are doing paid work AND most unpaid domestic labor.
What is the “triple shift”?
Duncombe and Marsden said this is women doing paid work + domestic labor + emotional work (managing family emotions).
What did Boulton find about childcare responsibility?
Fathers might help with tasks, but mothers bear primary responsibility (e.g., organizing appointments/emotional needs).
How did Braun et al. describe middle-class mothers’ childcare role?
Mothers act as “managers” (organizing schedules/decisions), while fathers are “helpers.”
What criticism did Hochschild make about gender roles?
Structural inequalities (e.g., lack of flexible work) force women into the “second shift” of unpaid labor.
What did Duncombe & Marsden find about emotional work?
Women do invisible, draining emotional labor (e.g., maintaining family bonds), often taken for granted.
What did Dermott argue about modern fathers?
They’re increasingly involved in emotional parenting, challenging the idea that it’s solely a female burden.
What symbolic role does Gabb say mothers play in families?
Routine acts (e.g., feeding) reinforce family bonds and express love, beyond practical needs.
What did Edgell find about decision-making in families?
- Very important (e.g., finances): Husband decides or has final say. 2. Important (e.g., holidays): Joint decisions. 3. Less important (e.g., groceries): Wife decides.
What are the five money management systems in families?
Vogler said they were:
1. Female whole wage
2. Male whole wage
3. Joint pooling
4. Partial pooling
5. Independent management
How does class affect childcare?
Braun et al. found that middle-class mothers face more pressure to manage children’s education/extracurriculars, increasing their invisible labor.
What criticism did Reynolds make about family studies?
They neglect cultural differences (e.g., extended families reduce mothers’ burden in some cultures).
Why might women still do more housework despite working?
Oakley argued traditional norms persist, especially near extended kin, and part-time work reinforces domestic roles.
What is the “privatised nuclear family”?
Young and Willmott described this as a home-centered family where couples share responsibilities due to reduced kinship ties.
How does media influence gender roles?
Young and Willmott argued adverts/TV normalize men doing housework, promoting egalitarian ideals.
What is a patriarchy?
A system where the eldest male is head, and lineage is traced through men.
What is the dark side of the family?
Abuse and neglect within families, often targeting women and children.
