family and households topic 3 - theories

Question 1

according to functionalists, society is based on a _____

Answer 1

value consensus

Question 2

define value consensus

Answer 2

a general agreement among members of a society on shared values, norms, and beliefs

Question 3

what is the organic analogy

Answer 3

functionalists believe society is a system made up of different parts that depend on each other and work together to fulfill societal needs much like the human body and the different organs

Question 4

What are society’s 4 essential functions

Answer 4

According to Murdock:
-Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
-Reproduction of the next generation
-Socialisation of the young
-Meeting members’ economic needs

Question 5

What does Murdock argue

Answer 5

The nuclear family is found in all societies due to the practicality of it as a way of meeting society’s essential functions

Question 6

Criticise Murdock

Answer 6

Marxists and Feminists reject his ‘rose tinted’ harmonious view that the family meeds the needs of both its members and wider society

Question 7

True or False: Parsons claimed that the nuclear family is found in all societies

Answer 7

False, it was Murdock

Question 8

Who said the functions which the fmaily perform are dependent on the society it is found in i.e. the functional prerequisites

Answer 8

Parsons

Question 9

What will determine the family’s structure and give examples

Answer 9

The functions it performs

Question 10

Give an example of Parson’s claim that the structure of a family will fit the needs of the society it is found in

Answer 10

• the nuclear family is found in the modern industrial society
• the extended family is found in pre-industrial society

Question 11

When and why did the nuclear family start to emerge

Answer 11

When Britain began to industrialise in the late 18th century
-emerging industrial society needed a geographically and socially mobile workforce

Question 12

What is a geographically mobile workforce and why was it needed?

Answer 12

-refers to workers who are able and willing to move locations for employment opportunities
-industrialisation led to the growth of factories and businesses in new urban centers, meaning people needed to move from rural areas to cities where work was available

Question 13

What is a socially mobile workforce and why was it needed?

Answer 13

-refers to workers who have the ability to move up or down the social hierarchy based on their skills, education, and achievements rather than being restricted by their family background or social class

• in industrial society meritocracy replaced ascription, there was a need for skilled and educated workers, and jobs came more diverse so there was a need for role differentiation

Question 14

why the nuclear family is better suited for the modern industrial soc

smaller size so

Answer 14

it is easier to move for work

Question 15

why the nuclear family is better suited for the modern industrial soc

independent from extended kin so

Answer 15

no reliance on local family ties

Question 16

example of why a nuclear family is better suited for a socially mobile workforce

Answer 16

• in an extended family the father and son will live in the same households
• at home the father has the ascribed status but at work the son may have higher achieved status than the father
• == conflict if they live under same roof

Question 17

what functions did the extended family perform

Answer 17

• members worked together on the farm
• unit of consumption
• met economic needs of members

Question 18

when society industrialises…

Answer 18

the family loses many of its functions to other institutions e.g. healthcare or schooling

Question 19

as a result of the loss of functions, what does the nuclear family specialise in

Answer 19

it specialises in performing two irreducible functions

Question 20

what are the two irreducible functions

Answer 20

• the primary socialisation
• the stabilisation of adult personalities

Question 21

one evidence against parsons is and explain it

Answer 21

the family did not become nuclear in early industrial society
- Anderson’s study of mid 19th century Preston uses exchange theory to explain the presence of the popular W/C extended family
- harsh conditions of the time = benefits of maintaining the extended fam>costs

Question 22

how do marxists see society

Answer 22

society is based on an unequal conflict between the capitalist class and the working class

Question 23

the functions of the family are performed….

Answer 23

purely for the benefit of capitalism

Question 24

what are the three main functions that the family perform which fuel capitalism

Answer 24

1. inheritance of property
2. ideological functions
3. a unit of consumption

Question 25

explain inital stages of the inheritance of property

Answer 25

-Engels
- earliest classless society = primitive communism, where are members of society communally owned means of production
- no family = promiscuous horde

Question 26

explain the creation of private property

Answer 26

• FoPs developed = wealth of soc increased = development of private property by a group of white men
• therefore monogamy became essential due to the inheritance of property (had to be certain of their paternity)

Question 27

explain ideological functions

Answer 27

functions which help to maintain a set of beliefs such as capitalism

Question 28

how does the family perform ideological functions

Answer 28

• socialising children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable (parental power)
• Zaretsky believes the family offer an apparent haven from the harsh expolitative nature of the capitalistic world, however even this is an illusion

Question 29

how does parental power reinforce hierarchy and inequality

Answer 29

parental power of children accustoms them to the idea that there alwaus has to be someone in charge usually the man

Question 30

the family prforms a major role in generating profits for capitalists by…

how is the family a unit of consumption

Answer 30

• advertisers urge families to ‘keep up with the Jonenses’ by consuming all the latest products
• media targets children who use ‘pester power’ to convince their parents

Question 31

Therefore, the family perdorm several functions that maintain capitalist society, not…

Answer 31

the family

Question 32

criticise the marxist perspective of the family

Answer 32

• assumes nuclear fam is the dominant so ignores fam diversity

Question 33

what are the four feminist perspectives of the family

Answer 33

1. liberal
2. marxist
3. radical
4. difference

Question 34

what are liberal feminsts concerned with

Answer 34

capmaigning against sex discrimination and for equal rights, so they take a march of progress view

Question 35

what do liberal feminists use to show there have been improvements to women overcoming their oppression

Answer 35

• 1975 Sex Discrimination Act

Question 36

what is the liberal feminist perspective of the family

Answer 36

• Young and Willmott
• full gender equality has not been achieved, but there has been gradual progress, e.g. more men are doing domestic labour

Question 37

what do marxist feminist argue the main cause of women’s oppression is

Answer 37

the main cause of women’s opperssion in the family is capitalism

Question 38

what are the functions of women’s oppression

Answer 38

• reproduce the labour force: socialising next generation of docile workers
• women absorb angerof frustrated men due to alienation = more productive at work
• reserve army of cheap labour

Question 39

therefore marxist feminist believe,

Answer 39

the family must be abolished at the same time of a socialist revolution which replaces capitalism w a classless society

Question 40

what are radical feminists key beliefs

Answer 40

• men are the enemy: the source of women’s oppression
• the family and marriage are key institutions in patriarchal sociey and only benefit men drom women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual services

Question 41

how can the patriarchal system be overturned

Answer 41

through separatism/political lesbianism

Question 42

outline political lesbianism

Answer 42

the idea that heterosexual relationships are oppressive because they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’
- Greer: creation of matrilocal households as an alternative to the nuclear family

Question 43

criticise radical feminists using liberal feminists’ perspective

Answer 43

• Somerville: radical feminists fail to recognie the changes that have been made
• heterosexual attraction means separatism is not likely to work
• instead there must be more family friendly policies which promote equality

Question 44

what do difference feminists argue

Answer 44

We cannot generalize women’s experiences, as factors such as sexuality, race, and social class shape their unique perspectives. For example, lesbian and heterosexual women, Black and white women, and working-class and middle-class women may face different challenges and experiences.

Question 45

explain an example of why women’s experiences cannot be generalised

Answer 45

• Black women see the family as a source of support and resistance against racism
• if white feminists regard the family purely negatively then they are neglecting Black women’s racial oppression and how the family helps them through this