Families and households Flashcards
3: What is the Functionalist view of the family?
The nuclear family is superior in society
Murdock- 250 different cultures have nuclear family
4 functions: sexual, reproductive, economic, educational
Parsons- the nuclear family should be ‘geographically mobile’ (able to relocate) no close relatives. nuclear family is important for primary socialisation and stabilization of adult personalities
3:What are the criticisms of the Functionalist Theory of the family?
Laslett + Anderson- Families are rarely extended due to short life expectancy
3:What is the New Right’s view of the family?
There is an underclass: class of people who only take from society, no contributions (benefits)
The nuclear family provides children with stability; lone-parents cause a lack of socialisation, crime, financial issues, alcohol and drug abuse.
Charles Murray: benefits are ‘perverse incentives’ which reward anti-social behaviour, lack of role models
3: What are the criticisms of the New Right view of the family?
Role models don’t have to be parents, can be sibling or extended family, Lone parents aren’t always by choice could be; loss, abuse, divorce
Society is diverse and not always ‘ideal’
3: What is the Marxist view of the family?
Unit of consumption: capitalism exploits workers through labour and gives them a small %, people are mocked for poverty and lack of brands
Inheritance of property: men secure wealth and land to pass on (generational wealth)
Engels: women are baby machines
Ideological Functions: children are socialised to accept inequality, brainwash, hierarchy
Zaretsky: people need to time to relax away from work (Parsons: warm bath theory)
3: What are the criticisms of the Marxist view of the family?
-It is an outdated theory, women have gained power
-Not all adults are obsessed with being relevant and work for big business’
-Assumes the nuclear family is dominant
- Underestimates gender equalities importance
-Ignores the benefits of having a family
3:What is the Marxist Feminist theory of the family?
Focuses of the exploitation of women by men in society, and capitalisms role in patriarchy
Ansley- Wives provide emotional support for men’s frustration from their capitalist jobs (take the shit) this decreases domestic violence.
Beechey: housewives care for husbands (current workers) and future workers (children), and are cheap reserves for labour
3: What is the Radical Feminist theory of the family?
Women are exploited due to men’s power
Delphy + Leonard: men and women should be separated (separatism), family role maintains society and is an economic system where men benefit at women’s expense
Greer: argues for matrilocal households (separatism)
+ highlights societies patriarchal system
- unrealistic, causes more inequality
3: What is the Liberal Feminist theory of the family?
Believes laws are helping gender equality, they want a change to laws and societies norms
+values , doesn’t blame men for women’s oppression
Sommervile: Radical feminists fail to acknowledge women’s progress so far in society, women remarry so men can’t be so terrible
3: What is the Difference Feminist theory of the family?
Highlights that not all women experience the same levels of sexism
different cultures have different experiences and levels of freedom
3: What is the personal life perspective of the family?
Post modernist view: Interactionalist approach: looks at dynamics between people and the meaning attached to relationships
Bottom up approach: meanings and actions of individuals shape relationships and lives
Focus on meanings of relationships and situations, family is beyond blood + marriage, we don’t know the reason for every relationship
Norquist + Smart: social relations are more important that genetic ones, more time and effort is put
Tipper: children view pets as part of the family
3: What are strengths of personal life’s view of the family?
More modern view, realistic, focuses on interactions which shape relationships and individual differences
5: What are the divorce patterns? 1950’s marriage and changes since
1950’s: no choice for women of who they’re marrying, low love expectation. love was a bonus, purely economical
Since 1950: Divorce has increased, peaked in 1993, 40% of marriages get divorced, 65% are by women
5: What are the divorce patterns? Laws
1923- Equal divorce rights for men + women
1949- Divorce Aid (cheaper)
1971- grounds for divorce widened (easier)
5: What are the divorce patterns? Stigma + expectations
Church used to condemn divorce meaning it had a stigma, due to secularisation it is now normalised as religion is loosing its influence in society: Mitchell + Goody (1997)
Marriages now have higher expectations due to societies growth
5: What are the divorce patterns? Today’s marriage
Fletcher(1966): we have expectations that are too high which leads to divorce due to lack of fulfilment
Crow(2001): marriage is seen as personal fulfilment not a contract, therefore divorce is more regular due to easy divorces
5: What are the divorce patterns? Women’s independence + Feminist explanations
Women are now more likely to be able to provide for themselves, allowing access to leave without economic fear
Allan + Crow: ‘marriage is less embedded within the economic system’- family is less financially dependant on each other
Women bear the ‘dual burden’ leading to conflict, marriage remains patriarchal as men benefit
Hochschild(1997): women feel more value at work than at home
Sigle-Rushton(2007): mothers with ‘dual-burden’ are more likely to divorce due to stress
-> Cooke + Gash(2010): there is no evidence for this as work is now a ‘norm’ for women
5: What is the Postmodernist view on divorce?
Beck + Giddens(1992): argue that traditional norms have changed in modern society (staying with one partner)
Individualisation thesis: individuals are more free to pursue their own interests
5: What is the Functionalist view on divorce?
Marriage causes high expectations resulting in unhappiness
People are committed: re-marriage rate
5: What is the Feminist view on divorce?
Divorce is desirable: as women are breaking free from the oppression and patriarchal nuclear family
5: What is the New Right view on divorce?
Divorce is Undesirable: it undermines the nuclear family, creates the underclass due to lack of role-models
5: What is the Interactionalist view on divorce?
Need to understand the personal impact of a divorce, everyone has a different experience
Morgan(1996): We can’t generalise the meaning of a divorce
5: What is the Personal life view on divorce?
Divorce can cause problems: financially and lack of contact between children + parents
5: What are the reasons for cohabitation increase?
25% of unmarried adults cohabitate in the UK (double 1986)
-Decline in stigma, now more acceptable
-women have better career opportunities, marriage is unnecessary
-Secularisation: less religious influence
Coast(2006): 75% of cohabitating couples plan to marry each other
Bejin(1985): cohabitation is a conscious attempt to create an equal relationship
6: Partnerships: Same-sex relationships
Stonewall(2012): 5-7% of adults are homosexual
Weeks(1999): there is increased social acceptance of homosexuality causing an increase
Weston(1992):’Quasi-marriage’ same-sex marriage
Einasdottir(2011):Many same-sex relationships are open to legal-recognition (fear of lack of opportunities)
5: One-person households
By 2033: 30% of adults will be single:
- less marriage, more divorce
-partners but not cohabiting: expensive, lack of bond
5: Changes in childbearing
47% of children are born outside of marriage
women are having less children and later, as they have more options than motherhood
5: Changes in lone-parents
25% of children have a lone-parent
-> 90% are mothers: as custody is majorly given to the mother, men may be less willing to single-parent
Murray: lone-parents are encouraged by the welfare state and benefits
5: Changes in step-families
Increase in step-families as there is more divorces and separations
More women bring children into new step-families
5: Ethnic families
Black families: higher proportion of lone-parent households, higher unemployment of black males leading to divorce
Mirza: shows black women’s value of independence
Reynolds: statistics are misleading (relationships)
Asian families: have larger households, more children, higher value of extended family
Ballard: extended family provides assistance with migration
5: Beanpole Family
Charles: 3 generations in 1 household is extinct, apart form Bangladeshi communities
Willmott: we have dispersed extended family
Chamberlain: Extended family is important, helps with children
Beanpole family: Brannen family extends vertically through generations, people have less children
5: Obligation to relatives
Finch + Mason: 90% of people have given or received financial help from relatives or cared for a relative in need
Cheal: closeness affects how obliged you are to help the relative
Mason: some women have ‘legitimate excuses’ for not helping relatives despite the expectations
Women are always expected to provide help/care despite a man being closer or more available
1: Couples: Domestic Violence- against women
25% of women experience DV in England + Wales
Women are more likely to experience DV, has a social explanation; DV is too widespread to be the work of individuals, DV has patterns and doesn’t occur randomly
Stats may not be accurate, not all reports are investigated
Yearnshire: a women suffers 35 assaults before a report is made
Cheal: police view it as a private matter, not their business
1: Couples: Domestic Violence- radical feminist view + criticisms
men will dominate women in family with violence, DV is a way of maintaining oppression over women, police are male-dominated so justice is hard to get
- Ignores female violence (lesbian couples)
-Elliot: not all men are violent
1: Couples: Domestic Violence- against men
2012-2017 DV against men doubled
Less likely to report it because of emotional manipulation, isolation, fear of not being believed
Materialist explanation: DV is caused by inequalities in income, lower income= more DV
Wilkinson’s + Pickett: Inequality means less resources
+ explains why lower classes are more likely to experience DV
- Doesn’t explain why women are more likely to be a victim of DV
1: Couples: Domestic division of labour- Parson’s theory
Functionalist, Men and women have different roles within the family biologically
Instrumental roles: men, achieving at work to provide for the family
Expressive roles: women, socialising the children, being a homemaker and meeting the families emotional needs
1: Couples: Domestic division of labour-
Young + Willmott’s theory
March of Progress : symmetrical family
Men are beginning to do more domestic tasks at home, society is moving towards equality within family, women now work causing more equality at home
Gershury: women in paid work do less domestic work
Allen: women’s household work are less intrinsically satisfying due to repitition
1: Couples: Domestic division of labour- Bott’s theory
There are 2 types of household roles
1. Segregated conjugal: couple have separated roles (parson)
2. Joint conjugal: couples share tasks equally (Y+W)
1: Couples: Domestic division of labour- Feminist view
(Ann Oakley):Argues that there has been little change, inequality is still there due to society being male-dominated
Young and Willmott overexaggerate: ‘men help once a week’ that isn’t symmetry
15% of husbands highly participate in chores
Boulton: less than 20% of men have a major role in childcare
1: Couples: Children
Mothers are around more due to less work, gender pay gap, causing a strong attachment to the mother.
Ferri + Smith: Men are responsible of childcare in 4% of households
1: Couples: Cultural explanation of inequality
The division of labour is due to societies norms + values
Gershury: Children who’s parents are more equal are more likely to be in an equal relationship
Dunne: Lesbian couples have a more symmetrical family, no men involved causing inequality
1: Couples: Material explanation of inequality
The division of labour is due to the unequal pay that women receive
Ramos: When a woman is breadwinner, a man does as much domestic labour as she does
Arber + Ginn: Middle-class women can save time on domestic labour, dishwasher
1: Couples: Resources + Decisions.
Pahl + Vogler: What is an allowance system and pooling?
-Men provide wives with an allowance to spend on herself and the children
-Both parents equally use the income
People assume pooling is more equal however men are still making the important decisions
Hardill: A man makes the decisions and his career will take priority
1: Couples: Resources + Decisions.
Personal life perspective
Focuses the meanings couples give to who controls the money which can show inequalities.
Smart: Same-sex couples don’t attach importance to who controls finances, not viewed as an inequality
4: Demography: What is,
1.Globalisation 2.Migration 3.Net migration 4.Immigration 5.Emigration
1- Barriers of society are reducing
2- Movement across borders
3- difference of Immigrants and Emigrants
4- Movement into a society
5- Movement out of a society
4: Demography: What did Eade (1994) find?
Hybrid-identities
Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created hierarchical identities, see themselves as Muslim first, then Bangladeshi then British
4: Demography: Consequences of Migration
Causes a lower dependency ratio but it then increases when children are born
4: Demography: Cohen (2006) 3 types of migrants
Citizens: have full legal rights
Denizens: Privileged foreign nationals, welcomed by the state
Helots: ‘disposable labour’
4: Demography: Vertovec (2007)
Super-diversity: unusually high mix of ethnic groups
4: Demography: Feminist migration view
Most migrants are men due to work, starting a new life for the family, Female migrants fill roles in care services, cleaners, sexual services
Ehrenreich + Hochschild: Women migrate and take these roles because men are not willing to do domestic work, UK females have joined the labour force
4: Demography: Sex work
Mail order brides: A woman who lists herself for a man to select her for marriage
Sex trafficking: Illegal transportation from one area to another for sexual exploitation.
4: Demography: Politicisation of migration- Webb. et. al (assimilation, shallow + deep diversity)
Migration due to political reasons
Assimilation: process where individuals or groups of different ethnicities are absorbed into the societies dominant culture
Shallow diversity: accepting small aspects of a culture (chicken tikka masala)
Deep diversity: not accepting deeper aspects (values and clothing)
4: Demography: Birth rates + Population
TFR + IMR
Total Fertility Rate: women’s fertility rate, average children per woman ages 15-44
1964: 2.95/woman 2001: 1.63/woman
2014: 1.83/woman more women are remaining childless or postponing children until 30’s
Infant Mortality Rate: number of infants who die before their 1st birthday per thousand babies
Harper (2012): A fall in IMR led to a TFR fall
Current highest IMR is Afghanistan 11.7%
IMR has fallen due to sanitation, housing, healthcare
4: Demography: Birth rates + Population
Women’s position
Women: have legal equality, better education, access to contraception, freedom
Harper: Women’s educational opportunities are the most important reason for TFR, changed mind-set, education of family
4: Demography: Birth rates + Population, Children becoming an economic liability
19th Century: Children were assets, worked and contributed to the family income
Law: ban of child labour, compulsory schooling, economically dependant on parents
Changed norm: children now expect more from their parents, cost of raising a child has risen
4: Demography: Death rates + Ageing population- Life expectancy
How long on average people, who are born in a given year, are expected to live
It is increasing due to healthcare
4: Demography: Death rates + Ageing population- Reasons for a decline in the Death Rate
Tranter: over 3/4 of the DR decline is due to an increase of medical knowledge, less deaths due to infectious diseases
McKeown: Improved nutrition has halved the DR, increases resistance to diseases
-> fails to explain why women live longer if the eat less
Harper: A reduction in smoking has lowered the DR as well as medical improvements, Obesity is becoming a larger issue
4: Demography: Death rates + Ageing population Public Health Measures
Government have aimed to improve the quality of the environments (clean air acts)
- Decline in dangerous manual labour
-Lifestyle changes (smoking decline)
4: Demography: Ageing population
Hirsch: the traditional age ‘pyramid’ is being replaced by less equal size blocks
Hunt: Age no longer determines who we are
Phillipson Elderly aren’t good workers, pensions are determined by work and gender, policies need to change
Age Concern: 29% of elderly people reported and experience of ageism
2: Aries- historical differences in childhood
Analysed paintings and made inferences, children were dressed as adults and working, there was no separation between children and adults, no laws for children
2: Postman: Childhood
‘Childhood is dissapearing’
-children have the same rights, clothes
-Print Media is being replaced by TV
Lack of print media has led to high illiterate rates, high exposure on TV to inappropriate things for children
2: Jenks: Childhood
‘Childhood is changing’
-as we move from modernity to postmodernity, where relationships are often unstable.
-Parents wish to protect their children and find stability in the relationship with their child.
2: Wagg: Childhood is a social construct
Childhood is not universal as different societies have different norms and different childhoods.
2: Benedict: Cross-cultural differences in childhood
In some cultures children
-take responsibility at an early age
-are less obedient towards adults as they are seem similarly
-Children’s sexual behaviour is viewed differently
2: Childhood has improved
-March of progress: Children are better protected (against abuse or neglect) by laws and educated, better healthcare
-Child Liberationists Criticism: Parents need to protect children
2: Childhood has not improved
-Inequalities: girls perform more housework, stricter rules. boys have freedom and feel safer. Poorer families experience a higher lack of development
-Palmer: Toxic childhood. media comparison, led to teenage pregnancies, ED’s, self-harm
-Age patriarchy: children reject their rules and try to act like adults (drinking/smoking)
6: Beck- Negotiated family
Families are now based on peoples expectations, which then lead to less stability as expectations are rarely met, therefore people leave families
6: Giddens- Choice + Equality
More equality between men and women has to marriage and families to now be ‘pure relationships’ individual choice
There is now freedom to leave a marriage or family if your needs are not met
6: New right + Family Diversity
Nuclear family should be the only family type
Lone parent families are harmful for children as;
They lack role-models, lone mothers cannot discipline their children properly
6: Rapoports- 5 types of family diversity
- Organisational diversity: differences in how roles are organised
- Cultural diversity: different groups choose different structures
- Social class diversity: Income differences impacting the family
- Life stage diversity: different life stages (newlyweds, retired)
- Generational diversity: Different generations have different attitudes and expectations
7: China’s social policy
1 child limit, provided with lower taxes
Boys were favoured as they could provide and carry on the family name
7: Romania’s social policy
Low birth rate: Contraception and abortion made illegal, lowered age of consent to 15.
Led to overpopulation, poor life quality, abuse
Lack of attachment between parent and child
7: Fletcher (Functionalism)
Policies have led to the development of welfare state which helps to support in functioning of families (socialisation)
7: New Right- Almond + Murray
Murray: The state is providing overly generous welfare benefits which reward people for irresponsible and anti-social behaviour
Almond: The nuclear family is undermined by; laws making divorce easy which undermines marriage being a lifelong commitment, Civil partnerships show heterosexual relationships as superior, Tax laws discriminate against families with a sole male bread winner.
7: Donzelot -Postmodern views
Social policy is a form of state control of the family, those with power abuse it
7: New labour policies 1997-2010
Favours Dual Income family, still favoured heterosexual couples
-Parenting order: Fine for child’s anti-social behaviour or parenting lessons
-Longer maternity leave: longer unpaid leave, allowing better mother-child bonds
-Civil partnerships for homosexual couples + adoption rights
7: Conservative Policies 1979-97
Focused on strengthening the nuclear family, reducing welfare payments
-Child support agency: Maintenance payments for absent fathers
-Children Act: Ensures children are cared for properly
-Married men tax allowance: Can shift some income to wife to reduce taxes
-Section 28: Ban of homosexual education and promotion
7: Coalition government 2010-2015
Inconsistent views due to both traditional and modernist views
-Shared parental leave: 50 weeks of shared leave between 2 parents
-Equal marriage act 2013: legalised same-sex marriage
7: Conservative Government Policies 2016-
New Right views
-2 child cap on tax credits
-Reintroduced married tax allowance
7: Policies supporting patriarchy
Nazi family policy:
-Encouraged relationships of those who were ‘racially pure’ to breed a ‘master race’ , restricted access to contraception and abortions
- Prevented women from working and forced them to be housekeepers
-Sterilised 375,000 disabled people to prevent breeding, could also be sent to concentration camps
-Marriage loan of 1000 marks: can be kept if you have 4 children (encouraged reproduction)
7: Land 1978:
Many social policies assume the ideal family is patriarchal nuclear and that the male is the provider whilst the female is the housekeeper
- benefits are given to the woman as the state assumes they are the ones who care for the children
7: Leonard 1978:
Even where social policies appear to support women, they reinforce patriarchal views and control
-Maternity leave is 52 weeks as Paternity leave is 2 weeks
7: Familistic Gender Regimes
Drew: The state supported the nuclear family and assumed men went out to work and women are the housekeepers
-Greece: No welfare for families women rely on each other to help with children.
7: Individualistic Gender Regimes
Each partner in the partnership is treated equally and benefits apply to both
-Sweden: the state provides childcare
-this is becoming more popular in Europe as state policies are becoming increasingly accepting of diversity within the family.
