FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS: COUPLES

Question 1

what is domestic division of labour : functionalist view

Answer 1

-Parsons (1995)
- two roles that are based on biological differences. they benefit both spouses, their children and wider society.
1) expressive : female nurturer and carer.
2) instrumental : male breadwinner, financially responsible
- the New Right agree with this.

Question 2

what is domestic division of labour : Feminist view

Answer 2

• reject the MOP view because the family is still patriarchal, not symmetrical or equal.
  -men do 8h housework on average and women do 13h a week
• Boulton (1983): need to look at responsibility of tasks. women are seen as resp. for the child’s welfare. less than 1 in 5 husbands took a major role in childcare
• Oakley (1974) : no evidence of symmetry in domestic labour. men’s role has been exaggerated. ‘helping’ could just mean ironing their own shirts once a week.

Question 3

what is domestic division of labour : symmetrical family

Answer 3

MOP VIEW : Young + Willmott ( 1973)
- see a long-term trend towards joint conjugal roles and the symmetrical family.
-roles are more equal and similar:
> more women go out to work
> men help w domestic tasks (new man)
> spend leisure time together
> family is more privatised and men are more home-centred.

Question 4

what is domestic division of labour : reasons for the symmetrical family

Answer 4

• geographic mobility (move away from communities they grew up in)
• changes in women’s position (incl. married women going out to work)
• new technology (and labour saving devices)
• higher standards of living

Question 5

what is domestic division of labour : conjugal roles

Answer 5

MOP VIEW : Bott (1957)
- established 2 types of conjugal roles:
1) segregated : sharp division of labour between male and female, spend leisure time separately
2) joint : couples share domestic tasks and leisure time.
Young and Willmott studied segregated conjugal roles in wc families in Bethnal Green during the 1950s.

Question 6

are there more equality in couples : feminist view

Answer 6

NO
- dual burden : paid + domestic work
- triple shift : emotion work, paid work + domestic work
- responsible for children
- responsible for quality time

Question 7

more equality in couples : responsibility for children

Answer 7

• fathers help with specific tasks but mum takes responsibility for the child’s well-being
• Dex + Ward : only 1% of fathers took the main responsibility for caring for a sick child
• Braun et al : most dads are ‘background fathers’. they had a ‘provider ideology’ : their main role was breadwinner, not primary carer

Question 8

more equality in couples : responsibility for ‘quality time’

Answer 8

• women take responsibility for managing the family’s quality time
• in late modernity, 24/7 society and flexible working means that people’s time is more fragmented and de-routinised.
• working mothers find themselves juggling competing demands on their time.
• leads to what Dunscombe and Marsden call the “triple shift”

Question 9

more equality in couples : same-sex couples and gender scripts

Answer 9

• radical feminists argue that heterosexual relationships are inevitably patriarchal and unequal, even when both are in paid work. this contrasts w same-sex relationships.
  Dunne (1999) study of 37 lesbian couples with children found a more equal division of labour:
• heterosexual couples : socialised into gender scripts that set out different male and female roles and identities.
• lesbian couples : don’t link gender to household tasks. they’re more open to negotiation and therefore more equal

Question 10

material explanation of the gender division of labour
(crompton and lyonotte)

Answer 10

• women earn less than men, so it’s economically rational for them to do more domestic labour whilst men work and earn money
• if women earned as much as men, there should be more equality between domestic work and childcare.
• Ramos (2003) : where the woman is the FT breadwinner and the man is unemployed, they do equal amounts of domestic work

Question 11

cultural explanation of the gender division of labour
(crompton and lyonotte)

Answer 11

• patriarchal norms shape gender roles. women perform more domestic work because that’s what society expects and has socialised them to do.
• equality will only be achieved when values, attitudes, role models, expectations and socialisation all change.
• Kan (2001) : younger men do more domestic work
• Gershuny (1994) : couples are adapting to women working FT, establishing a new norm of men doing more domestic work.

Question 12

more equality in couples : MOP view

Answer 12

Sullivan (2000) : women do less domestic work, men do more traditional ‘women’s’ tasks and there’s a more equal division of labour.

Question 13

what are 2 criticisms of Parsons?

Answer 13

-young and wilmott: more equal roles in modern day
-Feminists: division of labour serves patriarchy

Question 14

what are oakley’s finidings on men’s involvement in housework and childcare?

Answer 14

-only 15% of high participation in housework
-only 25% of high participation in childcare
-husbands pick and choose chores e.g. spending time with children rather than cleaning up after them

Question 15

what did Boulton find in relation to men’s involvement in childcare?

Answer 15

-fewer than 30% of husbands are majorly involved
-warde and hetherington: domestic tasks are very much assigned on their sex e.g. women 30x more likely to do the washing up

Question 16

what is emotion work and what 3 things make up “triple shift”?

Answer 16

-Hochschild: emotion work is having the burden of being the emotional support of the family (for husband and kids)
-Duncombe and Marsden: triple shift is made up of paid work, housework and emotion work

Question 17

what 3 points do Barrett and Mclntosh make about family resources?

Answer 17

-men gain more female domestic work than they provide financially.
-finanical support from husbands is unpredictable and comes with strings attatched.
-men usually make decisions about spending on important items

Question 18

what is Paul and Vogler’s two types of control over family income?

Answer 18

• The allowance system- men give their wives an allowance to budget for the family’s needs and keep the surplus for themselves
  -Pooling- both parents have access to income and spending (having a joint acount) and it’s increased over time and is the most common system.

Question 19

define Edgell’s 3 types of decision and who tends to make these:

Answer 19

-very important decisions- made by men (house, job)
-important decisions- made jointly (holiday, schools)
-less important decisions- made by women (food purchases, decor)

Question 20

what is an example where pooling may not indicate equality?

Answer 20

pooling money doesn’t always mean equality
-control and amount pooled should also be considered
-Vogler et al- cohabiting couples less likely to pool
(maintain some independence)

Question 21

why is separating money not necessarily mean inequality?

Answer 21

-Nyman= money has no fixed meaning
-it’s viewed in different ways by different people, this can impact on how its viewed in the relationship

Question 22

why may same sex couples have different arrangements from heterosexual couples in relation to money?

Answer 22

-same sex couples have different meanings around money
-Smart(2007) some gay men and lesbians were happy to leave control to their partner (money wasn’t a basis for equality)
-Weeks et al(2001) mixture of pooling and separate accounts (have co-independence)

Question 23

what is domestic violence?

Answer 23

-any incident/pattern of controlling, coercive, threatening, violence abuse of those aged 16+ who are or have been partners or family members.

Question 24

why do sociologists reject the view that domestic violence has psychological rather than social causes?

Answer 24

-too widespread for this to be the case as 1/6 to 1/5 are all violent crime (women’s aid federation) and is a common view that abusers are ‘sick and twisted’ individuals.

Question 25

Women’s Aid Federation definition

Answer 25

-‘Physical, psychological, sexual or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. It may involve partners, ex-partners, household members or other relatives.’

Question 26

how does marriage legitimate domestic violence according to Dobash and Dobash

Answer 26

-violence occurred when men felt their authority was challenged and saw violence as a legitimate way to to reinstate this.

Question 27

Dobash and Dobash’s study:

Answer 27

-carried out interviews in a women’s refuge. They used open questions which allowed them to gain understanding of the women’s experiences. It was found that women stayed in violent relationships due to their financial situations and a lack of confidence.

Question 28

Slyvia Walby and Jonathan Allen’s study:

Answer 28

-women more likely to be victims multiple times

Question 29

Donna Ansara and Michelle Hindin study:

Answer 29

-women more likely to be controlled and fear partners

Question 30

Aliyah Dar study:

Answer 30

-domestic abuse is hard to identify isolated incidents

Question 31

what are 2 main reasons why official reasons understate the true extent of domestic violence?

Answer 31

-victims unwillingly to report abuse - Yearnshire (1997)
-on average, women face 35 incidents before reporting to the police.
-seen as a family matter which official agencies feel uncomfortable getting involved in so police are reluctant to investigate domestic violence/abuse
-family is a private sphere so ‘dark side’ is ignored which they shouldn’t access, that the family is a good place so they ignore the bad side, and that women are free to leave when they want. - Cheal
-7% of reports end in conviction

Question 32

what is the radical feminist view?

Answer 32

-Millet and Firestone(1970)
-society is patriarchal
-men are the enemy (oppress and exploit women)
-domestic violence is inevitable (men exert their power)
-violence is a result of social institutions

Question 33

what is an evaluation of the radical feminist view?

Answer 33

-Robertson Elliot
-not all men are aggressive most are opposed to domestic violence
-some females commit domestic violence and child abuse
-not all women are at equal risk of domestic violence (young, lower class, disabled women etc..)

Question 34

what is the materialist view?

Answer 34

-Wilkinson and Pickett
-some families have fewer resources so live in overcrowded houses so are likely to experience higher levels of stress
-worries about money and jobs could lead to domestic violence
-having less social support

Question 35

what is an evaluation for the materialist view?

Answer 35

-doesn’t explain why more women than men are victims
-marxist feminists agree and believe that women are the ‘takers of shit’- Ansley