(Families & Households)- Perspectives

Question 1

What do Functionalists believe about society?

Answer 1

Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus, which is a set of shared norms and values.

Question 2

What are the four essential functions of the family according to George Peter Murdock?

Answer 2

The four essential functions are: reproductive, economic, sexual, and socialisation.

Question 3

What is the reproductive function of the family?

Answer 3

The reproductive function ensures the continuation of society by producing more human beings.

Question 4

What is the economic function of the family?

Answer 4

The economic function provides food and shelter.

Question 5

What is the sexual function of the family?

Answer 5

The sexual function provides the best opportunity for socially controlled expression of the sex drive.

For example, the family teaches children to have sex only after marriage.

Question 6

What is the socialisation function of the family?

Answer 6

The socialisation function allows the family to pass on norms and values of society from one generation to the next.

Question 7

What are the criticisms of Murdock’s view on the family?

Answer 7

Feminists see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women, while Marxists argue that it meets the needs of capitalism.

Question 8

What is Talcott Parsons’ Functional Fit Theory?

Answer 8

Parsons’ Functional Fit Theory suggests that as society changes, the type of family that fits that society and the functions it performs also change.

Question 9

What are the two irreducible functions of the family according to Parsons?

Answer 9

The two irreducible functions are primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities.

Question 10

What is primary socialisation?

Answer 10

Primary socialisation takes place in early childhood, equipping children with society’s norms and values.

Question 11

What does stabilisation of adult personalities refer to?

Answer 11

It refers to the family providing emotional security against the stresses of industrial society.

Question 12

What is the ‘warm bath theory’?

Answer 12

The ‘warm bath theory’ suggests that the family provides a relaxing environment for the male worker, protecting him from work stress.

Question 13

What are the criticisms of Parsons’ view on the nuclear family?

Answer 13

Critics argue that Parsons ignores family diversity, focuses on positive functions, and bases his view on the American middle-class family.

Question 14

What do Marxists argue about the family?

Answer 14

Marxists argue that the family supports capitalist values and exploits the working class.

Question 15

What is the inheritance of property in Marxist theory?

Answer 15

It refers to how the family structure evolved to ensure the inheritance of private property, leading to the monogamous patriarchal nuclear family.

Question 16

What did Friedrich Engels argue about the modern nuclear family?

Answer 16

Engels argued that it developed in capitalist society to ensure the inheritance of private property.

Question 17

What are the ideological functions of the family according to Marxists?

Answer 17

The family socialises children into accepting hierarchy and inequality, preparing them for a working life under capitalism.

Question 18

What is the unit of consumption in Marxist theory?

Answer 18

The family plays a major role in generating profits by being an important market for consumer goods.

Question 19

What does Arlie Hochschild mean by commodification?

Answer 19

Commodification refers to the process of turning aspects of social life into commodities that can be bought and sold.

Question 20

What is alienation in Marxist theory?

Answer 20

Alienation involves a sense of detachment from something, often resulting from capitalism’s exploitation of workers.

Question 21

What are the criticisms of Marxist theory?

Answer 21

Critics argue that Marxists ignore the benefits of family life and underestimate gender inequalities.

Question 22

What do Liberal feminists believe about women’s oppression?

Answer 22

Liberal feminists believe that women’s oppression is gradually being overcome through changing attitudes and legal reforms.

Question 23

What evidence do Liberal feminists point to for progress in women’s rights?

Answer 23

They cite legal changes like equal property rights and social changes like increased male involvement in domestic work.

Question 24

What are the criticisms of Liberal feminism?

Answer 24

Other feminists believe that liberal feminism does not go far enough. It does not call for real change in society to a different system. Marxists and radical feminists believe that there is a need to change the whole structure of the family & society.

Question 25

What do Marxist feminists argue about women's oppression?

Answer 25

Marxist feminists argue that capitalism, not men, is the main cause of women's oppression in the family.

Question 26

What is the role of housewives according to Margaret Benston?

Answer 26

Housewives benefit capitalism by maintaining the health and happiness of male workers without receiving payment.

Question 27

What do Radical feminists believe about the family?

Answer 27

Radical feminists view the family as a patriarchal institution that oppresses women and needs to be abolished.

Question 28

What do radical feminists Delphy & Leonard argue about women's work in the family?

Answer 28

They argue that women contribute more work through the double shift in terms of housework and childcare but receive less benefit and decision-making power.

Question 29

What do radical feminists Dunscombe & Marsden discuss regarding emotional work?

Answer 29

They discuss how girls are trained in emotional skills to participate in 'emotion work', which keeps relationships happy.

Question 30

What is the double shift in terms of housework and childcare?

Answer 30

Women contribute more work to the family through the double shift but reap less benefit than men.

Question 31

What decision-making power do women have compared to men?

Answer 31

Women have less decision-making power and less leisure time than men.

Question 32

What types of violence are women often victims of in the home?

Answer 32

Women are often victims of physical, emotional, and domestic violence from men.

Question 33

What do Dunscombe & Marsden discuss about girls and emotion work?

Answer 33

Girls are trained from an early age to become emotionally skilled in empathy to participate in 'emotion work'.

Question 34

What emotional issue did Dunscombe & Marsden uncover in heterosexual relationships?

Answer 34

They found a significant number of women were dissatisfied with their partner’s lack of emotional support.

Question 35

What does Greer (2000) argue about the role of wives?

Answer 35

Greer argues that being a wife is seen as the most important female role, often requiring subservience to husbands.

Question 36

What does Greer suggest about daughters and family life?

Answer 36

Greer suggests that family life is unrewarding for women as daughters, with evidence of sexual abuse from male relatives.

Question 37

What criticisms do feminists have regarding the focus of radical feminists?

Answer 37

* Critics argue that radical feminists focus only on negative aspects of family life * Black feminists criticise radical & other feminists for ignoring the fact that for black women, the family can be a positive institution offering support from racism.

Question 38

What do black feminists criticize about mainstream feminism?

Answer 38

Black feminists criticize that mainstream feminism ignores the positive aspects of family for black women, such as support against racism.

Question 39

What is Jennifer Somerville's criticism of Greer?

Answer 39

Somerville argues that Greer underestimates women's progress and offers little in practical policy proposals.

Question 40

What does difference feminism argue?

Answer 40

Difference feminism argues that women's experiences cannot be generalized and vary by race and ethnicity.

Question 41

What is a criticism of difference feminism?

Answer 41

Other feminists argue that difference feminism neglects shared experiences like domestic violence and sexual assault.

Question 42

What weaknesses does the personal life perspective identify in family theories?

Answer 42

It identifies that theories assume the nuclear family is dominant and view families as passive in societal structures.

Question 43

What does the personal life perspective emphasize about relationships?

Answer 43

It emphasizes a wider view of relationships beyond traditional family ties, including fictive kin and relationships with pets.

Question 44

What does Smart (2007) argue about the sociology of family?

Answer 44

Smart argues that early sociology focused on the white nuclear family and has gradually shifted to include diverse family structures.

Question 45

What are the main features of personal life according to Smart?

Answer 45

Key features include memory, biography, embeddedness, relationality, and the imaginary.

Question 46

What did Nordqvist and Smart (2014) find about donor-conceived children?

Answer 46

They found that social relationships are often emphasized over genetic ones in forming family bonds.

Question 47

What is a criticism regarding donor-conceived children?

Answer 47

If couples know the donor, they must resolve questions about who counts as family.

Question 48

What do critics say about the personal life perspective?

Answer 48

While welcomed, it can lose sight of wider social patterns and may focus on marginal aspects of personal life.

Question 49

What is the criticims of marxist feminist?

Answer 49

The theory is based on the cereal packet family. However this type of family is in decline in society. It can also be argued that the family no longer teaches familialism as more and more women see it as the norm to go to work.

Question 50

According to marxists Fran Ansley, how do wives function in relation to capitalism?

Answer 50

As a safety valve ## Footnote Wives act as a safety valve for their husbands to express their frustration from work without damaging the capitalist system

Question 51

What happens when a man has a bad day at work, according to the text?

Answer 51

He can come home and shout at his wife or perhaps even hit her

Question 52

How does the behavior of men towards their wives benefit capitalism?

Answer 52

It prevents men from getting angry with their bosses ## Footnote This lack of anger towards authority helps maintain workplace stability.

Question 53

Fill in the blank: According to Fran Ansley, wives act as a _______ for their husbands' frustration.

Answer 53

safety valve