Families and Households (Paper 2)

Question 1

Domestic division of labour: Parsons

Answer 1

Men and women have biologically suited roles that are functional for society:
Expressive role - Homemaker
Instrumental role - Breadwinner

Question 2

Domestic division of labour: Bott

Answer 2

Segregated conjugal roles - Division of labour between men and women, couple spends leisure time separately
Joint conjugal roles - couples share domestic tasks and leisure time

Question 3

Domestic division of labour: Willmott and Young

Answer 3

There are now more symmetrical families as a result of increased joint conjugal roles

Question 4

March of progress (equality of couples)

Answer 4

The ‘new man’ means couples have an equal share of housework and childcare

Question 5

Dual Burden (Feri and Smith)

Answer 5

Women now do paid work and domestic work

Question 6

Triple shift (Duncombe and Marsden)

Answer 6

Women not only carry the dual burden of paid and domestic work, but also have to do the emotional work

Question 7

Material explanation for decision making

Answer 7

Men have more power in decision making because they earn more

Question 8

Cultural explanation for decision making

Answer 8

Gender role socialisation instils the view that men are the primary decision makers

Question 9

Domestic abuse: Dobash and Dobash

Answer 9

Marriage and the nuclear family is the key institution of patriarchy, and the main source of women’s oppression. Domestic violence is inevitable because it serves to preserve the power men have over women.

Question 10

Domestic abuse: Ansley

Answer 10

Domestic violence is the product of capitalism: male workers are exploited at work and take their frustration out on their wives

Question 11

Domestic abuse: Wilkinson

Answer 11

Domestic violence is the result of stress on the family caused by social inequality

Question 12

Changes to childhood over time: Aries

Answer 12

• In the middle ages, the idea of childhood did not exist.
• Children had the same responsibilities, rights and skills as adults - in turn, they were considered economic assets.
• As the modern notion of childhood began to emerge, there became a profound distinction between children in adults in terms of clothing, rights and responsibilities.

Question 13

Changes to childhood over time: Postman

Answer 13

• In modern society, childhood is ‘disappearing’
• Children and adults have some of the same rights
• children’s unsupervised traditional games are disappearing
• children are committing ‘adult’ crimes
• The printed word created a hierarchy between adults, who can read, and children, who cannot
• this gave adults the power to keep ‘adult matters’ private
• TV blurs the distinction and information hierarchy; TV does not require special skills to access it.

Question 14

Changes to childhood over time: Shorter

Answer 14

In the middle ages, the high death rate of children encouraged indifference and neglect. For example, parents referred to their child as “it” or gave the child a name of a recently dead sibling.

Question 15

March of progress (improved childhood)

Answer 15

Childhood has improved significantly, due to how children are now perceived as vulnerable people who need taking care of.
In addition, there has been an introduction of laws which improve the experience of childhood (Eg. laws banning child labour).

Question 16

Palmer (has childhood improved)

Answer 16

‘Toxic childhood’ - Rapid technological and cultural changes have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development. This is the result of intensive marketing to children, parents working long hours and testing in education.

Question 17

Gittins (has childhood improved)

Answer 17

‘Age patriarchy’ - There is an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency. This may assert itself in the form of violence against children.

Question 18

Organic analogy (Functionalist)

Answer 18

The human body is made up of different parts that function together to meet its needs and maintain it. Functionalists believe society does the same, in which it is made up of interdependent parts that work together to maintain the social system as a whole.

Question 19

Murdock (Functionalist)

Answer 19

The nuclear family performs four essential functions:
- Socialisation of the young
- Satisfaction of the member’s economic needs
- Reproduction of the next generation
- Stable satisfaction of the sex drive

Question 20

Parson’s - the functional fit (Functionalist)

Answer 20

The functions that the family perform depend on the type of society in which they are found:
- Pre-industrial society - extended family - had the function of production and consumption
- Modern society - nuclear family - have the function of social and geographical mobility
​
The nuclear family has two irreducible functions:
- Primary socialisation of the young - equipping the next generation with basic skills and society’s values.
- Stabilisation of adult personalities - enabling adults to relax so they can return to the workplace and perform their roles effectively.

Question 21

Engels (Marxist)

Answer 21

The family exists so men can pass their private property onto their biological offspring, notably a son

Question 22

Zaretsky (Marxist)

Answer 22

There is an ideological function of the family called the ‘cult of private life’ - this is the belief that we can only gain fulfilment from family life, which distracts attention from exploitation.

Question 23

Poulantzas (Marxist)

Answer 23

Nuclear families are brainwashed into thinking capitalism is fair, which teaches lower generations how to conform and co-operate with the capitalist system.

Question 24

Liberal feminists

Answer 24

Liberal feminists take a march of progress view in suggesting gender inequality is gradually being overcome through reform and policy change, which changes people’s attitudes towards socialisation and challenges stereotypes. For example, the new man is becoming more widespread.

Question 25

Marxist feminists

Answer 25

Capitalism is the main form of women's oppression in the family and this performs several functions for capitalism: - Reproducing the labour force - women socialise the next generation of workers. - Absorbing men's anger - wives soak up their husband's frustration from being exploited at work. - A reserve army of cheap labour - when not needed, women workers can return to their domestic role.

Question 26

Radical feminists

Answer 26

- The family and marriage are the key institutions in a patriarchal society, meaning that men benefit from the women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services, as well as dominate them through violence or the threat of it. - also believe the patriarchal system needs to be overturned, and the only way to achieve this is through separatism, meaning women need to organise themselves to live independently to men.

Question 27

New right

Answer 27

A biologically-based division of labour - the division of labour between a male breadwinner and a female homemaker is natural and biologically determined. Families should be self-reliant - reliance on state welfare leads to a dependency culture and undermines traditional gender roles. It produces a family breakdown and an increase of lone-parent families, which results in social problems due to poor socialisation.

Question 28

Smart (PLP)

Answer 28

Looks at relationships that individuals see as significant and gives a sense of identity, belonging and relatedness (pets, friends etc.). Interactionists believe that structural approaches assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant type of family. This ignores the increased diversity of families today.

Question 29

4x reasons for decline in birth rate

Answer 29

1. Changes in the position of women - Increased educational opportunities, more women in paid work, change in attitude towards family life and the women's role, wider access to abortion and contraception. 2. Fall in infant mortality rate - improved housing, sanitation, nutrition, knowledge of hygiene and child health, improved technology, antibiotics. 3. Children as an economic liability - Laws banning child labour coupled with the introduction of compulsory schooling has meant children remain economically dependent for longer, changing norms about children's right to a high standard of living raises their cost. 4. Child centredness - childhood is now socially constructed and uniquely important period of life, parents focus on quality not quantity, meaning they have fewer children but lavish more attention and resources on them.​

Question 30

4x impacts of declining birth rate

Answer 30

1. The dependency ratio increases - the relationship between the size of the working population and the non-working (dependent) population. 2. The working population’s earnings support the dependent population through tax. 3. Women are having fewer children because this reduces the ‘burden of dependency’. 4. Public services - fewer schools, child health services etc.

Question 31

4x Reasons for decline in death rate

Answer 31

1. Improved nutrition 2. Medical improvements (vaccinations, antibiotics, NHS) 3. Public health improvements (better housing, clean water, clean air) 4. Social change (decline in manual labour, greater knowledge of disease)

Question 32

3x Reasons for ageing population

Answer 32

1. Increased life expectancy 2. Low infant mortality rate 3. Declining fertility

Question 33

4x impacts of ageing population

Answer 33

1. Increased strain on public services 2. More one-person households 3. The rising dependency ratio 4. Ageism

Question 34

Phillipson (Marxist)

Answer 34

The old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive and an economically dependent group, adding to the dependency ratio.

Question 35

Hunt (Postmodernist)

Answer 35

We can choose our identity no matter what our age is: our age no longer determines who we are. As a result of this, the elderly become a market for body maintenance and rejuvenation services and goods, such as cosmetic surgery, gym membership and anti-ageing products.

Question 36

Reasons for migration

Answer 36

Push factors - unemployment and economic recession Pull factors - higher wages and better opportunities

Question 37

5x reasons for increasing divorce rates

Answer 37

1. Legal changes - divorce has become easier to access; equalising the grounds between both genders; widening the grounds (eg. irretrievable breakdown). 2. Less stigma - divorce has become more common and widely accepted. ​3. Secularisation - decline in religious influence on society. ​4. Higher expectations of marriage - the rising expectation of marriage based upon unrealistic scenarios shown in movies has led to the dissatisfaction amongst many couples (Fletcher). ​5. Women’s financial independence - more women are now in paid employment, and lone parent welfare benefits are available. Women are less economically dependent on a man, and can afford divorce.

Question 38

5x reasons for decreasing marriage rates

Answer 38

1. Changing attitudes - less pressure to marry 2. Alternatives to marriage (such as cohabitation) are less stigmatised 3. Women’s economic independence 4. Impact of feminism - some women now see marriage as a patriarchal institution 5. Rising divorce rates - this may put women off marrying

Question 39

3 trends in marriages

Answer 39

1. Rise in serial monogamy - many people re-marry 2. Later marriages - the young spend longer in education and cohabit before marrying 3. Fewer church weddings - due to secularisation

Question 40

Trends in partnerships

Answer 40

1. More people are living together without being married (secularisation, stigma and cost) 2. Increase in same-sex partnerships (secularisation and stigma) ​3. More people living alone (life expectancy and stigma)

Question 41

Trends in childbearing and childrearing

Answer 41

1. More children are born outside marriage ​2. Women are having children later ​3. Radical feminists are still unhappy with women being the main caregivers

Question 42

Family diversity - Parsons (functionalism)

Answer 42

Parsons states that family diversity has increased, and there as been a shift away from the traditional nuclear family. Nowadays, it is more common for reconstituted, lone-parent and cohabiting families to exist. However, functionalists and the new right reject this in arguing the nuclear family is the only family type functional for society.