Families And Social Policy Flashcards
What is China’s one child policy?
Population control policy. Women must seek permission to try to become pregnant. Couples who comply get free child healthcare and higher tax allowances. An only child will get priority in education and housing. Fines and pressure to undergo sterilisation after first child
What policy happened in communist Romania?
In the 1980s they introduced policies to try to drive up the birth rate. It restricted contraception and abortion, made divorce more difficult and lowered the marriage age.
What was the Nazi family policy?
Nazi Germany pursued a two fold policy. Encouraged racially pure master race by restricting contraception. Women were confined to domestic work to better perform their biological role.
State sterilised disabled people deemed unfit to breed, many later murdered in concentration camps
What do functionalists think of family and social policy?
State acts in the interests of society and social policies are good. Policies help families perform their functions more effectively and make life better for their members
How is the functionalist view of policies criticised?
It assumes all members of the family benefit equally
It assumes there is a march of progress making family life better
What does Donzelot argue?
Sees policy as a form of state power over families. He uses Foucault’s concept of surveillance. D argues that social workers, doctors etc use their knowledge to control and change families. ‘The policing of families’. Poor families are likely to be seen as the problem families which professionals target.
How is Donzelot criticised?
Failing to identify who benefits from surveillance polices eg marxists think it is the capitalist class
What do the New Right think of family social policy?
State policies have encouraged greater family diversity and undermines the nuclear family. Eg divorce laws made easier undermines the idea that marriage is a lifelong commitment.
Critical of welfare policy, Murray
Current policies are encouraging a dependency culture
Their solution is to cut welfare benefits so people will not be dependent on the state
How is the new right criticised?
Feminists argue it is an attempt to justify a return to the trad patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women
Wrong to assume this family is natural rather than socially constructed
Cutting benefits would just drive more into poverty
Ignore the policies that attempt to maintain the N family
What were the new rights influence on policies?
Conservative thatcher- promotion of homosexuality banned
Defined divorce as a social problem
New labour- heterosexual married family the best environment for kids
Emphasised the need for parents to take responsibility of their children
However
Favoured a dual earner family eg long maternity leave, working families tax credit
Coalition- austerity policies reflects new rights cut of funding
What do feminists think of social policy?
Many policies assume that the nuclear family is the ideal
Tax and benefits policies assume men are the wage earners
Not much funding on childcare means women are restricted from working
Family expected to provide care to sick and elderly
Child benefit is paid to the mother so assumes children are the woman’s responsibility
How is feminist views of policies criticised?
Eg sex discrimination and equal pay laws, benefits for lone parent families these policies improve the position of women
What are the two gender regimes that follow different types of family policies?
Familistic gneder regimes- policies are based on a trad gender division
Individualistic gender regimes- policies are based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same
