Families and households

Question 1

Young and Willmott (couples)

Answer 1

March of progress view -They said that couples were becoming more equal. Men were taking more housework jobs or looking after children as well as women. - Development of the symmetrical family.

Question 2

Dobash and Dobash (couples)

Answer 2

Found that domestic violence was a reaction to husbands having their authority challenged - evidence of patriarchy in society. Marriage legitimated violence (radical view).

Question 3

Parsons (couples)

Answer 3

Men perform an instrumental role - breadwinner and economic and decision making functions.

Women perform an expressive role - housework, emotion work and care for children and husbands.

Question 4

Bott (couples)

Answer 4

There are two types of marriages - segregated conjugal roles and joint conjugal roles.

Question 5

Sullivan (couples)

Answer 5

Women do a bit more housework than men today, but thins are much more doing more than ever before - more equal roles.

Question 6

Postman (childhood)

Answer 6

Childhood is disappearing - worry over sexualization of children.

Question 7

Aries (childhood)

Answer 7

In the past, children were mini adults, but now we are in a cult of childhood. Childhood is a separate stage.

Question 8

Palmer (childhood)

Answer 8

Childhood is now toxic - concerns over negative influences in technology, obesity, abuse etc.

Question 9

Jenks (Childhood)

Answer 9

Childhood is a social construct and not a biologically defined stage.

Question 10

Gittens (childhood)

Answer 10

Age patriarchy

Question 11

Smart (childhood)

Answer 11

New sociological approach focuses on the view of the child and their experience. E.g. children’s role in divorce

Question 12

Greer (theories)

Answer 12

Radical feminist - argues a matrilocal household - having heterosexual relationships is ‘sleeping with the enemy’

Question 13

Ansley (theories)

Answer 13

women are the “takers of sh*t” in the family

Question 14

Murdock (theories)

Answer 14

Four functions of the family - stabilization of sex drive, economic , socialization, reproduction.

Question 15

Parsons (theories)

Answer 15

Extended family moved to nuclear family to nuclear family as there was need for a geographically mobile workforce.

Question 16

Zaretsky (theories)

Answer 16

Family provides an ideological function - a safe haven outside of the exploitation of capitalism.

Question 17

Althussers (theories)

Answer 17

Family is part of the ideological state apparatus

Question 18

Engles (theories)

Answer 18

Family reproduces inequality by ensuring that property and wealth stays in the hands of the rich (aka, inheritance).

Question 19

Smart (theories)

Answer 19

Personal life perspective - family is more than just blood ties - includes pets, fictive kin, friends, dead relatives, donor families.

Question 20

Murray (policy)

Answer 20

Critical of welfare policy - creates a dependency culture of reliance on housing and welfare benefit and encourages non-traditional family structures.

Question 21

Donzelot (policy)

Answer 21

Increase in policy on the family is a form of power and control over families. Certain classes are targeted more than others. (Uses Fouclaut’s ideas about control and surveillance)

Question 22

Chester (diversity)

Answer 22

Some family diversity but most still live in the nuclear family or aspire to live that way. Therefore, people live in the neo-conventional family.

Question 23

Stacey (diversity)

Answer 23

The greater diversity in family has benefitted women - They can escape patriarchal oppression and shape their families around their needs.

Question 24

Rappaports (diversity)

Answer 24

Five types of family diversity - organizational, cultural, social class, life stage, generational.

Question 25

Mckeown (demography)

Answer 25

Improved nutrition played a significant part in the reduction of the death rate.

Question 26

Tranter (demography)

Answer 26

Fall of deaths is mainly due to the fall in number of infectious diseases.

Question 27

Hirsch (demography)

Answer 27

The traditional age pyramid is disappearing . Now more equal sized block - increasing the dependency ratio due to ageing population.

Question 28

Brass and Kabir (demography)

Answer 28

They argue that the trend to smaller families began not in rural areas, but urban areas where the IMR remained higher for longer, so it is not connected to the fall in birth rates

Question 29

Weeks (family patterns)

Answer 29

Chosen families - in same sex relationships roles are created around kinship and friendship - they are as stable as traditional families.

Question 30

Giddens (family patterns)

Answer 30

Pure relationship - relationships are based on love and last only as long as couples are happy.

Question 31

Beck (family patterns)

Answer 31

Individualisation - people now pursue their own self-interest - relationships now are more fragile as people focus on themselves. Negotiated families - we created roles based on our needs