families and social policy Flashcards
chinas one child policy
- policy discourages couples from having more than one child
-women must seek permission for pregnancy through waiting lists/qouta for each factory ( supervised by workplaces)
what happens if you break the policy?
must repay the allowances and fines- because of this women face pressure to undergo sterilisation after their first child
what are the benefits for those who comply?
-couples who comply get benefits like free child healthcare and higher tax allowances
- only childs get priority on education and housing in the future
Communist Romania-1980s
the communist government of Romania in the 80s introduced policies to increase birth rates, which fell due to falling living standards
what did it restrict
contraception and abortion, instead it set up fertility treatment centres, made divorce difficult and lowered legal marriage age to 15
how much did unmarried adults and childless couples pay
an extra 5 percent income tax
Nazi Family policy- 1930s
-nazi germany. The state pursued twofold policies which on one hand encouraged the healthy and ‘racially pure’ to breed the ‘master race’
- kept women out of work and confined them to ‘children,kitchen and church’9 (biological role)
on the other hand.. ( negative)
‘sterilised 375000 disabled people who were claimed to have ‘ imbecility,deafness or blindness’
These people were later murdered in the concentration camps
Democratic societies
democratic societies like Britain the family is a private sphere of life which the government does not intervene except in the case of abuse
impact on families
sociologists argue that policies shape family life and play an important role
Functionalism view on policy
they see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and therefore social policies are beneficial for all. It helps families perform their functions effectively and making life better for its members
Fletcher
introduction of health, education and housing policies since the industrial revolution has led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing their functions
National Health service
with the help of doctors/nurses the family are better able to take care of its members when they are sick
Criticims of functionalism
- it assumes that all members of the family benefit equally from social policies whereas feminists claim men benefit more than women
-it assumes theres a ‘march of progress’ by making family life better however marxists argue policies like cutting welfare benefits only reverses progress
Donzelet
has a conflict view of society and believed policies are a form of state control over families
foucault
-Donzelot uses Foucaults concept of surveillance
-Foucault sees power as not just held by the state but diffused throughout society and in relationships
- proffessionals like doctors and social workers use power by using expert knowledge to turn them into ‘cases’ to be dealt with. They bascially control and change families- ‘hte policing of families’
Surveillance on class
poor families are seen as ‘problem’ families and as the cause of crime and anti social behaviour .They try to improve these families by targeting them
Condry
state uses compulsory parenting orders through the court - parents of offenders are forced to attend parenting classes to learn the ‘correct’ way to bring up their children
This rejects the ‘march of progress’
instead it controls the family and shows the importance of professional knowledge as a form of power and control - focuses on micro level inequality
criticism
Marxists and Feminists say he doesnt specify who benefits from surveillance. Marxists argue its capitalism whereas feminists argue its men
The new Right
they prefer the traditional nuclear family so policies like divorce, cohabitation and same sex partnership undermine and threaten the decrease of the nuclear family and are instead causing problems like crime and welfare dependancy.
Almond- New Right
- divorce undermines the commitment of marriage between a man and women
-civil partnership for gay couples suggests that the state no longer sees heterosexual marriage as superior than other types of marriages - Tax laws discriminate against conventional families with the breadwinner role( male) and instead dual earner couples pay less tax than them
increased rights for unmarried cohabitation
adoption rights, council houses, pensions rights from a deceased partner make cohabitation and marriage more similar.
Suggesting the state do not see marriage as better/important
Murray
polices that involve welfare dependancy are ‘perverse incentives’, they reward irresponsibility or anti social behaviour
examples:
- fathers absense after seeing the state can take care of their children
-council housing for umarried teenage mothers —- encouraging teen pregnancy - growth of lone parent families, means boys grow up without role moels and authority figure– increasing crime rate among young males
dependancy culture
individuals rely on the state to support them and their children rather than being independant
threatening:
- successful socialisation of the young
-work ethic of young men
New Rights solution
Cutting welfare spending and tighter restrictions on who’s eligible for benefits
This would mean taxes would also be reduced which would give fathers more incentives to provide for the families
Denying council housing to unmarried teenage mothers
Discourage teenage pregnancy
New right policies
-Taxes that favour married traditional families
-making absent fathers financially responsible for their kids
New right vs functionalism
Functionalists say welfare policies benefit the family meeting its members needs, The New Right disagree
Evaluation
- feminists argue it justifies the return to the traditional patriarchal nuclear family that subordinates women to men
- is assumes the patriarchal nuclear family is ‘natural’ rather than socially constructed
- they ignore policies that support the nuclear family- maternity
Abbott and Wallace- evaluation
Cutting welfare benefits would drive poor families into even more poverty and make them less self reliant
New rights influence on policies
Possible influence on the Conservative Party- since the 1970s
Conservative government 1979-97
-Thatchers conservative government banned the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities- including teaching
- they defined divorce as a social problem and emphasise the responsibility of parents to children( like the NR) - they set up Child support agency to enforce payment of absent parents to their children
Conservative policy that goes against the New Right
Making divorce easier and giving ‘illegitimate’ children the same rights as those born to married parents
Labour- 1997-2010
New labour take the view that the family is the bedrock of society and saw family headed by a married, heterosexual couple as the best environment for socialising kids
Like the new right
Emphasises parental responsibility by introducing parenting orders for parents of offenders
Silva and smart
New labour rejects the NR view that the family should have just one earner and recognise that women now work.
Policies described by Chester:
- longer maternity leave- 3 months unpaid leave for both parents making it easier for both parents to work
- working families tax credit, enabling parents to claim tax relief on childcare cost
- the New Deal, helping lone parents return to work
State intervention- Labour vs New Right
The new right oppose state intervention however the New Labour argue that certain state interventions can improve life for families
E.g. welfare, taxation and minimum wage policies that lifted children out of poverty by redistributing income to the poor through higher benefits whereas the NR disapprove of redistributing income through taxes and benefits
Alternative family (except from NF) support policies that the Labour government support:
- civil partnerships for same sex couples
- giving unmarried couples the same rights to adopt as married couples
- outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexuality
Conservative led government (2010)
Hayton
Conservatives have been divided by:
- modernisers- recognise diversity of families and are willing to reflect this on their policies
- traditionalists- who favour a New Right view and reject diversity as morally wrong
Difficulty to maintain a constant policy line on the family
The conservative party has found it difficult to maintain a consistent policy line on the family
- the conservative led coalition government introduced gay marriage ( opposed by NR and traditionalists)
- the influence of traditionalists was also weakened by the fact that the conservatives had to share power in a coalition with the LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
Critics
Critics argue that the conservative governments policies reflected the NR desire to cut public spending however the government failed to introduce families that support the NR view on family
Browne
Found that two parent families with children fared particularly badly as a result of the governments tax and benefits policies
Feminism
- see society as patriarchal benefiting only men at women’s expense
- social institutions like the state including the state and its policies help maintain women subordination position and the unequal gender division of labour in the families
Policy as self fulfilling prophecy
Land argues policies assume the ideal family is the nuclear family
This norm affects the kind of policies governing family life therefore the effect of the policy is to reinforce this family type creating a self fulfilling prophecy
Example of self fulfilling prophecy in policies
Offering tax incentives to married couples that are not available to cohabitating couples, this encourages marriage and discourages cohabitation
Effect— policy makes it difficult for people to live in other family types than one that policymakers assume they live in
Policies supporting patriarchal family
Helps maintain the conventional patriarchal nuclear family where women are economically dependant
Examples of this:
Tax and benefits policies
assumes husbands are the main wage earners and that wives are financially dependant making it impossible for wives to claim social credit on their own because it’s expected the husbands provide, this increases dependency
Childcare
policies governing school timetables and holidays make it hard for parents( usually mothers) to work full time unless they can afford extra childcare.
This means women are restricted from working and placed in a position of economic dependance on their partners
Care for the sick and elderly
middle aged women are expected to do the caring preventing them from working full time, increasing financial dependancy
Leonard
even when policies appear to support women they still reinforce the patriarchal family and act as a form of social control over women
Maternity leave policies
encourages assumption that the care of infants is the mothers resposibility rather than fathers. It also increases economic dependance on their partner
Child benefit
is normally paid to the mother, however even though it gives indpendant income it also assumes that the childs welfare is primarily her responsibility
Importance of social policies in the social construct of family roles and relationships
policies act as a social construction of family roles and relationships by making it easier for women to take responsibility for their children however it assumes males are the main economic providers. Policies therefore maintain patriarchal roles.
Evaluation of feminism
not all policies enforce patriarchy:
- Equal pay act/sex discrimination laws/right for lesbian marriage/benefits for lone parents, refugees for DV victims/equal rights divorce
- rape withing marriage became criminal in 1991
- these things are improving the position of women in the family and wider society
Gender regimes-Drew
describes how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and work
Familistic gender regimes- Drew
polcies are based on a traditional gender division between male breadwinner and female housewife and carer
Greece
there is little state welfare or funded childcare. Women have to rely heavily on support from their extended kin and there is a traditional division of labour
Individualistic gender regimes- Drew
policies are based on equality between males and females. Wives are not assumed to be financially dependant so each partner has separate entitlements to state benefits
Sweden
equal opportunity policies, state provision of childcare, parental leave and good quality welfare services mean women are less dependant on their husbands and have more opportunity to work
State versus market
since the global recession in 2008, cutbacks in government spending throughout europe have led to pressure on women to take the responsibility for caring for family members as theres no state retreats from providing welfare.
neo liberal welfare policies
individuals and families are encouraged to use the market rather than the state to meet their needs. E.G. through private pension provision and private care of the old
