Family - Gender Roles, Domestic Labour And Power Relationships Flashcards
What does the domestic division of labour refer to
The roles that men and women play in relation to housework,childcare and paid work
What do functionalists generally think about domestic division of labour
We are moving towards egalitarian marriage (everyone is equal)
Which sociologist distinguished between two types of domestic set up within marriage
Elizabeth Bott (1957)
What did Elizabeth Bott do
Distinguished between two types of domestic set up with marriage
What are the two domestic set ups within marriage
Segregated conjugal roles
Joint conjugal roles
Explain Segregated conjugal roles
Separate and distinct roles
Women- housewife/mother majority of the domestic tasks
Men- breadwinner limited to masculine tasks such as DIY
Leisure activities are separate
Working class couples
Explain Joint conjugal roles
Share tasks
Leisure time together
Middle class
What did Talcott parsons say about domestic divisions of labour
There is a clear domestic division between spouses based on biological differences
Men are instrumental leaders who provide economically and are the breadwinner
Women are expressive leaders responsible for the nurturing and primary socialisation of their children
What did young and wilmott (1973) say about domestic divisions
They have evolved and so have families who are mainly nuclear and not extended
Their domestic setups are symmetrical - they are not identical but are much more similar
They say that joint conjugal roles are now the norm
Why do young and wilmott say that joint conjugal roles are now the norm
Women go out to work
Men help more with housework and childcare
Couples spend more leisure time together in the home
What did young and wilmott claim about the symmetrical family
Home centred or privatised
Young and wilmott did a study of families in London what did they find
The relationship between the spouses had evolved from segregated to joint
After young and wilmott’s results, they said that families had evolved from segregated to joint why
Relocation to council estates after the demolition of inner city areas so couples were less reliant on relatives and more on each other
They became geographically mobile so couples were therefore depended on each other because they were isolated form relatives
Feminisation of the economy and the workplace has led to more working women
New technology attracted men e.g, tv and labour-saving devices which have encouraged men to do more around the home and there are higher standards of living
What is geographically mobile mean
Educational success meant that couples were less likely to live in there areas they grew up in as they moved away to go to uni for example or get better paid jobs
Who is Anne Oakley
Liberal feminist sociologist
What did Oakley including statistics
Some evidence of husbands helping in the home but little evidence of symmetry or equality.
15% of husbands has a high level of participation in housework
25% had a high participation in childcare -only the more pleasurable aspects such as playing with children
What is one criticism of Anne Oakley housewife study
It is dated but recent research suggests that these inequalities continue to exist
Another feminist study is warde and hetherington (1993)what did they find
That sex-typing of domestic tasks remains strong
What did drydens do
Qualitative study of 17 married professional couples found that women still had major responsibility for housework and childcare
What did elstons do
Studies of parents who were both doctors clearly showed that the mother took primary responsibility for their children when they were sick
What studies show that fathers are now doing more domestic tasks than previously
Lader et al (2006)
Gershuny (1994) + Sullivan (2000)
Crompton (1997)
What did lader do
The time use survey of 2005 which found that 92% of women do some housework per day compared to 77% of men
They also found that the tradition sexual division was not dramatically changing the DIY and gardening were still male dominating and all the other household tasks were women dominated
What did Gershuny and Sullivan suggest
A trend towards equality in the share of domestic house tasks because of the increasing number of women working full time.
Gedshunys data suggests that the longer the wife had been in paid work the more housework the husband was likely to do.
What does Crompton(1997) argue
Women are earning power increasing relative to men so men do more in the home .
Earning still remain unequal at about three quarters of those of men so therefore she concluded that as King as earnings remain unequal so too will the division of labour in the home
Explain what a dual burden is
The combination of women found paid work outside the home and being responsible for most of the housework and childcare In the home
What are two studies relating to double shift/dual burden
British household panel survey in 2001
Ferri and smith in 1996
What did the British household panel survey in 2001 suggest
That whatever the work domestic set up the women do more in the home than men so for example when both spouses work full time and even when the man is unemployed and his wife works she will do more hours in domestic labour than men
What did ferri and smith find in 1996
Increased employment of women outside the home has had yet little impact on the domestic division of labour
They surveyed 1589 33 year old fathers and mothers and found that fathers took the main responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of all families
What is the main assumption about unemployment and the domestic division of labour
Unemployed men actually resist increased involvement in housework because they interpret it as unmasculine and further threatening their role as the breadwinner
Who looked at unemployment and the domestic division of labour and when
McKee and bell 1986
Ramos 2003
What did McKee and bell find
That unemployed men found it degrading to do housework and to be kept to their employed wives
What did Ramos find
In families where the man is not in paid work and his partner works full time, male domestic labour only just matches that of his partner
So what do the studies by McKee and bell 1986 and Ramos 2003 indicate
That women are still likely to experience the double burden in that they are expected to be mainly responsible for the bulk of domestic tasks
What did bittman and pixley suggest in 1997
The major cause of divorce is the inequality of the distribution of childcare are housework
What is the major cause of divorce said by bittman and pixley
The major cause of divorce is the inequality of the distribution of childcare are housework
Explain the triple shift and who argued for it
Duncombe and Marsden
Emotion work must be taken into account as he women take the major responsibility for this.
Give examples of emotion work
Complementing other people Smiling at baby Smoothing over arguments Buying presents and cards Planning activities that others will enjoy
What did duncombe and Marsden do to test the triple shift and what did they find
In depth interview with 40 couples and found that males were lacking in emotional participation which therefore increased the burden on women because they feel they need to compensate and please all parties so therefore women spent a great deal of time soothing the emotions of everyone
What does this triple shift lead to
Women not having the same amount of leisure time than men as well as the neglect of women’s psychological well being which can have negative impacts physically and health wise
Who looked at the negative impacts of the triple shift and what did he do/find
Bernard’s study of marriage (1982) found that the men were more satisfied with their marriage than the women many of whom expressed emotional loneliness and moreover men didn’t know how unhappy they were
What are the four major theoretical perspectives of distribution of power and control in the family
Functionalists
Liberal feminists
Marxist feminists
Radical feminists
What is a functionalist perspective on the distribution of power and control
That the division is biologically inevitable as women are seen as naturally caring ‘expressive’ so it is unnatural to change this divisor
What do liberal feminists believe according to the distribution of power
Women have made real progress in equality in the family and particularly in education and economy
Men are adapting to this change and the future is more than likely going to bring more movements towards domestic and economic equality
What would feminists Marxist say about domestic division of labour
The mother-housewife role serves the needs of capitalism in that it maintains the present workforce and reproduces future labour power
If there are inequalities in earring power persist so will inequalities in power and distribution of household tasks
What would radical feminists say about the inequalities in power and control in families
They believe that the first oppression of women by men - women are an exploited class (Delphy-1984)
The mother-housewife role is therefore a role created by patriarchy and geared to the service of men and their interests
What are four criticisms of the feminist theories on inequalities of power and control in families
- They fail to explain why women’s roles vary across different cultures such as mother/housewife role is not in all cultures
- They devalue the mother/housewife roles as a second class role which is not the case for many women as they see it as positive and meaningful as it is work for love and shows their commitment
- Underestimate the degree of power the women enjoy,instead of housework men do women maybe more concerned about whether they show enough gratitude and as women can divorce their husbands shows they have power
- Catherine Hakim (1996)
How did Catherine Hakim (1996)criticise the feminist perspective on inequalities in power and control
That feminists underestimate women’s ability to make rational choices . It is not patriarchy for the position of women in the family. She argues that women choose to be more committed to their family and less committed to work than men are
Decision making - explain what happens when women have children
Bernardes(1997) notes that children interrupts their careers and only a small minority go back to work
This therefore means that as the male continues to work and provides for the family which effects decision making patterns
True equality in terms of domestic division of labour can only occur If decision making is sheared equally
What did Edgell’s find and when and what does this mean in decision making
1980
Very important : finance,change of job,moving house is taken by the husband alone or the husband having the last say
Important decisions : children’s education or where to go on holiday are taken jointly and seldom by the wife alone
Less important : home decor,food, children’s clothes are usually made by the wife
So as men earn more they are more likely to make the more important decisions
What did Hardill et al find and when
1997
Middle class wives even in dual-careers consulted to their husbands in major decisions and he concluded that the men were able to demand that the interests of their wives and families should be subordinated as he is the main breadwinner
Decision making - what did Gillian Leighton find and when
1992
The power to influence and make decisions changed if the man was unemployed and the working wives took over the decisions
Decision making - what did Pahl ,Laurie and Gershuny find and when
1989/2000
As women earning power rises so they are likely to experience equality in decision-making
Why may employers discriminate against women
Because some employers may believe that women are unreliable because of their family commitments and consequently discriminate against them
So women don’t seem to have the same access to promotion and training opportunities than men
What does southerton say?
It’s the women’s role to arrange quality time together
Why is what southerton said difficult
Peoples likes are becoming fragmented and de-routinised
Women have less leisure time and have to factor it with housework and childcare
24/7 culture
Increased and more flexible working hours
Men and women experience leisure differently ; men experience blocks of leisure time whey women are often punctuated by children
Explain patriarchal ideology in in the domestic division of labour
Feminists highlight this and surveys indicate that many women accept primary responsibility for housework and childcare and believe their carer would be secondary to their husband and it expects some to take on jobs which are compatible with family commitments and surveys show women feel guilty for working and give it up all together as they think absence sometimes damages their children
What does burghes find and when
1997
Found that the fathers were taking increasing active role in emotional development of their children
What did beck argue and when
1992
In the postmodern age fathers can no longer rely on jobs to provide a sense of identity and fulfilment and increasingly look for their children to give them this
What does warin et al say and when
1999
95 families in Rochdale study found that fathers, mothers and teenage children overwhelmingly subscribed to the view that the male should be the main breadwinner and mothers were expected in parenting. Increasingly children expect their fathers to support them emotionally and also provide material comforts
What did Gray do and when
2006
Supports Warins view and her research shows that fair hers emphasised the need to spend quality time together with their children and they wanted more time with them and fathers found time spent as an expression of fatherhood and not domestic work
What did Dex find
2003
A survey found that 30% of fathers worked more then 48 hours a week on a regular basis and found that many would like to spend more time with their children but are prevented by these working hours
What did Gillian Dunne find and when
1999
Argues that traditional division of labour continues in lesbian couples because of gender scripts in her study of 37 cohabiting lesbian couples with dependent children she found that gender scripts do not operate to the same extent and there is equal importance in careers and childcare but one partner did do more paid work and so housework was unequal
What are gender scripts
The social expectations or norms that set out different gender roles that hetrosexual men and women are expected to play
What did Weeks find
Same-sex couples pooled and kept some for independent spending ‘co-independence’.
What is the main point about lesbian couples and the domestic division of labour
The family roles were negotiated and agreed on depending on skills not patriarchy or expected gender roles
