Family And Households (1) Flashcards
Murdocks definition of the family
A social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction
Includes both sexes, at least 2 of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and 1 or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabited adults
Why does Murdock see his definition of the family as a universal institution
Murdock studied 250 societies and clammed that his definition of the family was present in all of them, therefore his definition is a universal institution
What is a universal institution
A universal institution is necessary for the smooth functioning and survival of any society
Why is Murdocks family definition limited
Murdocks definition only includes members of the nuclear family which consists of 2 generations, parents and their offspring. The extended family refers to other relations by blood or marriage from other generations, eg grandparents
What is the Nayar family and the sociologist who founded this
GOUGH (59) researched the Nayar of southern India and found that the wives didn’t live with the man they married (tall husband) but instead had lots of visiting husbands (sandbanham husbands)
Shb husbands would arrive at night but leave if another man was there and he left a spear outside the house (~~do not disturb spear)
What is a sandbanham husband (nayar family GOUGH)
Husband who slept with a wife but didn’t live with them. Usually warriors. Each man could have several wives
What are matrifocal families and what sociologist found this
Matrifocal families are FEMALE headed. GONZALEZ (70) found matrifocal families are a social group who adapted to live in poverty. The mothers often get strong support from their female relatives that help to raise their children
What does SHEERAN (93) believe about matrifocal families
Sheeran bellies that the female cared-care, consisting of a mother and her children is the basic family unit and this unit is universal
How do Gay and lesbian families contradict Murdocks family definition
Gay and lesbian families do not conform to Murdocks definition because they don’t contain adults from both sexes, and in some societies the sexual relationship involved might not be approved throughout society :(
They might have however include children who have been adopted or produced through new reproductive methods
What does CALLAHAN believe about gay and lesbian families
Callahan (97) believes that gay/lesbians with children should be regarded as families.
When were gay and lesbian partnerships legalised
Gay and lesbian couples were legalised in 2005, implying these relationships were socially acceptable and their households should be regarded as families
When were gay/lesbian marriage legal
Same sex marriage was was made legal in 2014 :)))
Criticism of common residence
Husbands and wives do not always cohabit, eg the Nayar
Sexually approved adult relationships criticism
Sexually approved adult relationships involve a
There is a lack of agreement on sexually approved relationships, meaning Murdocks socially approved sexual relationship in his family definition is contradictory as in society today that relationship could be same sex, unlike Murdocks definition which requires opposite sex’s
Family definition: Contains one or more children criticism
Some couples want to be child feee and are still seen as a family
Murdocks 4 functions of the family he found from his study of 250 societies
Murdocks 4 functions: Sexual Reproductive Economic Education (primary socialisation)
Explain Murdocks sexual function of the family
Murdock sexual function- family prevents disruption to society by limiting sexuality to monogamous relationships, preventing conflict that might other wise occur from sexual desire
Explain Murdocks reproductive family function
Murdocks reproductive family function: family ensures the reproduction of new generation and is vital for the survival of society
Explain Murdocks economic function of the family
Murdocks economic function of the family: family acts as an economic unit ensuring the survival of its members by providing food and shelter
Explain Murdocks education function of the family
Murdocks education function of the family: family provides a stable environment in which children can be socialised into the culture of their society
Parsons two “basic and irreducible” functions of the family
Primary socialisation
Stabilisation of adult personalities (warm bath theory)
Explain parsons primary socialisation function of the family
Parsons primary socialisation: family was the only institution in which primary socialisation could take place effectively so that children would internalise the norms and values of the society
Explain parsons stabilisation of adult personalities function of the family
Parsons, stabilisation of adult personalities: the isolated nuclear family gets little support from the extended kinship networks, therefore the stress of the competitive world of work for the husband can be balanced by the warmth and security offered by the nuclear family, adults can act out of the childish elements of their personality and this helps stabilise their adult personalities
Functionalist view: family has a unique functional role, criticism
Some societies don’t have traditional families (Nayar)
Criticism of functionalist belief that the family is functional for all members
Ignores the dark side of family, eg domestic abuse
Criticism of functionalist view that family unit benefits all members
Feminists argue men benefit more than women- jobs etc
Criticism of Functionalist view that families benefit from men being breadwinners and women being carers
Feminists see this as patriarchal and sexist
Criticism of functionalist view that dominant family type shifted from extended to nuclear
Ignores evidence of non dominance of extended family in the pre industrial ear and decline of the nuclear family and increasing family diversity
Criticism of functionalist view that the nuclear family is the best adapted to modern society
Postmodernists would argue there are many valuable alternatives (same sex couples)
Engles (Marxist) view on family
Engles believes that the family had a clear economic function to capitalism by making sure the wealth remained in the hands of the bourgeoise.
Family relations were based on clear legal contracts, to facilitate inheritance, and therefore when rich people die it’s their kids who keep their wealth
Zaretsky (Marxist) perspective in family
Zaretsky believes family life gives so,etching proletariat men can control, unlike at work where they have to answer to bourgeoise bosses.
This provided clear function for capitalism. Meant proletariat men would take their anger and frustration out at home-links in with ansleys “women are takers of shit”
Poulantzas (Marxist) perspective on family
Poulantzas sees the family as part of the superstructure of society and describes it as part of the ideological state apparatus, which is controlled by the bourgeoise and used to create values, attitudes and beliefs which support the capitalist system and position of ruling class
Cooper (marxist) view on family
Cooper supports poulantzas; sees family as an ideological conditioning device” in which children learn to conform to authority so they will become cooperative and easily exploited workers
3 strengths of Marxist views on family
- support from Marxist feminism
- highlights class inequalities
- acknowledges dark side of family
6 criticisms of Marxist perspective of family
- not everyone gets married/has kids
- women can pass on wealth
- only focuses on nuclear family
- doesn’t acknowledge good side (warm bath)
- doesn’t look at other inequalities than class
- doesn’t acknowledge social mobility
- some families are anti capitalist and socialise their children into beliefs which are critical of ruling class
Radical feminist belief on the family
Radical feminists believe the family plays a major role in maintaining the oppression of women in a patriarchal, male dominated society
$$€$$$$$$$€€€Geer view on family and what perspective are they
Geer RADICAL feminist argues even marriage today, women remain subservient to husbands. She believes that single women are happier than married women, which is reflected through the high number of divorces instigated by women
Marxist feminist belief on family
Marxist feminists believe the family benefits capitalist soc. and in doing so exploits wome
BENSTON (72) view on family and what perspective are they
BENSTON is a Marxist feminist and believes that wives are used as cheap labour for employees- the childcare they provide is unpaid and they also help maintain their husbands as workers, as no cost to the employers
Ansley view on the family and what perspective
Ansley is a Marxist feminist. She believes that wives suffer as a result of the frustration experienced by their husbands in the alienating work for capitalists “women are takers of shit”
Liberal feminist SOMERVILLE perspective on family
Liberal feminist Jenifer somerville believes women are disadvantaged in families, but criticises Marxist and radical feminists for failing to accept the progress that has been made in some ways:
- Women have more choice (marry or not)
- greater equality within marriage and greater sharing responsibilities for paid work
- most women still value relationships with men
4 criticisms of feminist views on the family
- fails to acknowledge male domestic abuse
- not taking in class, ethic, age differences
- largely failing to acknowledge the increasing equality between men and women
- oversimplifying by taking little account of differences in the circumstances of different groups of women
Why do new right and neoliberalist theorist prefer the traditional nuclear families
- they see them as encouraging self reliance, family members help each other rather than relying on the state
- this helps to reduce state expenditure on state welfare
- they see families as encouraging shared moral values and believe they are the best way to pass down morality to children
What perspective views the family as a stable institution
Functionalists view the family as a stable institution
What do new rights see the family institution as
New right/neoliberal thinkers do NOT believe the family is a stable institution, instead they see it as increasingly unstable, leading to an increase in social problems
What did Margaret thatcher bring in when she was in power relating to families
Margaret thatcher thatcher brought in policies to try and support the traditional nuclear family.
What Margaret thatcher law was passed in 1998 (new right support)
In 1998 taxation was changed so that cohabiting couples could no longer claim greater allowances than married couples
What do Abbott Wallace believe thatchers polices actually achieved (new right)
Abbott and Wallace argue some of thatchers policies allowed and even encouraged people to live outside the nuclear family.
Divorce laws made it easier for married couples to end, welfare payments made it easier for mothers to be single parents, and illegitimate children were given the same rights as those born in married couples. The emphasis of thatchers gov. was to save money, not to support nuclear families
What did David Cameron do to support married couples (new right)
David Cameron have married couples the right to tax break if one partner paid higher tax than the other, giving support to families with traditional rates therefore it was worth a maximum of only £220 a year and also applied to civil partnership.
As with the thatcher gov, the emphasis was on saving money (Browne)
What does new right/neoliberal thinker Morgan (03) think about the traditional families
Morgan thinks that there is strong evidence of decline in the traditional nuclear families since the 70s
What so latest statistics show about the nuclear family (new right)
Latest statistics show that the nuclear family is still one of the most common types of family, BUT has declined since the 70s, with more couples choosing to cohabit
Who does geer suggest is more likely to suffer physical and sexual abuse
Geer (radical feminist) believes wives are more likely to suffer physical and sexual abuse than husbands, and daughters are often victims of sexual abuse by male relatives within the family
What does liberal feminist somerville acknowledge about the family
Although Somerville believes progress has been made in some ways, she agrees that there are still inequalities within marriage that need to be tackled through pragmatic reform. For example, better childcare is needed for working parents, and more flexibility is needed in jobs so that both men and women can contribute fully to family life
Nicholson (feminist) belief on women in relationships (97)
Nicholson believes that women are often better off outside the traditional family, and all types of family should be socially accepted because they suit women in different circumstances
Calhoun (97) point on women exploitation
Calhoun points out women cannot be exploited by men in lesbian families
Murray view on welfare policies
Murray argues welfare policies have undermined the nuclear family and have given incentives for people to start lone parent families or to end their marriages. He argues that welfare state has led to a dependency culture which has been created on underclass of people who live off benefits and have no aspiration to work for a living
Wilmott belief on the typical family type
Wilmott sees the dispersed extended family as typical. Most people live in nuclear families but contacts with extended family members who may live some distance apart remain important
What term does Brannen used to describe families today and what does it mean
Brannen uses the term beanpole family to describe families today. She believe there are strong intergenerational links between grandparents, children and grandchildren, but links between siblings and cousins (intergenerational links) are much less important
O’Brien and Jones (96) found about family types
O’Brien and Jones found that not one family type is dominant, instead there is a pluralisation of lifestyles. It is therefore pointless to try and find a single family type, because family diversity is now the norm
What are the 3 stages of development in society
1- premodern, pre industrial
2- modern, industrial society
3- postmodern, post industrial society
What is postmodernity
Post modernity has an economy based on services and knowledge, and social classes have lost their significance. There is no dominant belief system, and our identity is based on our image/lifestyle, and ethnicity and sexuality become more important. Social life is now in a global scale, and there is a greater choice and variety of families and households
Two theories of the family that emphasise the largely unchanging role of the family in society
Murdock believed that the family has universal functions and that the nuclear family is typical of all societies
Radical feminists tend to see families as essentially similar as they are all patriarchal
Two theorists that do acknowledge change in family over time
- liberal feminists believe that the family is getting less patriarchal
- postmodernists believe that families are changing as we move into a postmodern era
Parsons theory about change in the family led to what dominant family type
Parsons believes the chnage in the structure of society (from pre industrial to industrial society) led to a change in family (from extended to nuclear)
Parsons theory about why the extended family was well suited to pre industrial society
Parsons believed that the extended family was well suited to pre industrial societies because all family members could work land, including children, therefore large families lived together across generations
Parsons theory on why the extended family declined and nuclear increased during industrialisation
Industrialisation from the 18th century onwards, industrial employment required a geographically mobile workforce who could move to new factories, which was difficult if there were strong ties of dependency w/ family members such as nans and siblings. Therefore industrialisation led to a decline in the extended family and replaced with nuclear
General criticism of parsons theory of family change
Parsons assigned the extended family was the most common family type time before the industrial revolution
Laslett (77) criticism on parsons theory of family change
Laslett found that from 1564-1821 only around 10% of households in England contained kin beyond the nuclear family
What did Young and Wilmot (73) find about the family (criticism of parsons family change theory)
Young and wilmot found that the extended family survived in working class areas of London into the 1950s
Laslett alternative theory to parsons theory of social change
Laslett believes the nuclear family was the norm in north west Europe before the industrial revolution. He argues that family structure was a factor helping to produce the industrial revolution rather than being a consequence of it.
Industrialisation occurred first in Europe, because the nuclear family provided the mobile workforce necessary for industrial development. Therefore the dominance of nuclear families caused the industrial revolution; not the other way around (as parsons said)
