family & households Flashcards
memorise these
what does functionalism say about the family?
A ‘vital organ’ which maintains the ‘body’ of society and is a key building block within society
what are the 4 functions of the family within society - murdock
- sexual
- reproduction
- socialisation
- economic
functions of the family according to parsons?
- socialisation
- stabilisation of adult personalities
criticisms of murdocks theory?
he only focuses on the nuclear family according to feminists and other institutions could provide these functions.
what is the marxist opinion on the family in society?
they perform essential functions for society which benefit the ruling class and economy but disadvantage the working class
criticims of the marxists functions of the family
- ignores any other benefits to society
- assumes only the male has full time employment
- does not explain why the family changes
functions of the family from the marxist’s pov
- inheritance of wealth
- cushioning effect
- unit of consumption
- socialisation
feminist opinion on family in society
emphasise the harmful effects of family life upon women, as it contributes to the continuing oppression and gender inequalities in society
liberal feminist view on the family
culture and norms are reinforced by the family but the family is only sexist as it supports main stream culture and social change is possible if enough pressure is put onto the government and legal system
marxist feminist view on the family
exploitation of women is essential to capitalism as they help produce and care for the next generation of
workers for capitalism
radical feminist view on the family
- housework exploits women but it is down to a patriachal society rather than capitalism
- delphy and leonard = family is a patriachal system where women do the most work whereas men get the most benefits
criticisms of feminist views
- portrays women as passive
- women from different ethnic backgrounds may have different experiences
- ignores gay or lone parent households
what do the personal life perspective argue that the all other theories suffer from ( 2 weaknesses)
- tend to assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type
- they are all structural theories
what does post modernist giddeons say about the family?
- people have more choice in terms of relationships & family
- Today’s relationships are pure relationships - last as long as they are happy, so cohabitatation and serial monogomy are more common
what does post modernist stacey say about families?
- women have more freedom now to be freed from oppression and and shape family arrangements to meet their needs
- ‘divorce- extended families’ are 2 families which are connected via a divorce
what does the sociology of personal life say about family?
- the family is not in decline and it is just more diverse and complex than before
- it is focused on relationships that are more important but still may not be considered as family eg pets
1 pro & con about sociology of personal life’s theory
pro - helps understand how people construct and define relationships
con - ignores the speciality of blood or marriage relationships
functionalism opinion on social policy
helps families perform their functions more efficiently
new right opinion on social policy
they should avoid undermining the self reliant family
marxist opinion on social policy
policies provide ideological legitimation for capitalism
liberal and radical feminism opinions on social policies
liberal - have helped lead to greater gender equality
radical - policies are not enough to fix gender inequality
1980s-90s conservative
- reforming the relationship between society and the state
- influenced by the new right
- reduce control over lives and enforce rights and responsibilites
- 1984 divorce act allowed couples to divorce within one year of marriage
1997-2010 new labour
- introduced laws and policies to support other types of families
eg; - 2005 civil partnerships - The 1998 supporting families document focused on
- financial benefits such as child benefits and EMA
- tackling issues such as teen pregnancy and truancy
2010 - 2015 coalition
aimed to reduce family break down and get more people into the work place
- domestic violence disclosure scheme
- 2012 welfare reform act introduced universal credit to replace other benefits and cap the amount, alongside bedroom tax
- 2013 gay marriage act
other important policies
-1967 legalisation of contraceptive pill
- 1975 employment protection act allowed paid maternity leave
- 1970 equal pay act
what are the 5 types of family diversity
- C ultural
- L ife course
- O rganisational
- G enerational
- S ocial class
what are the causes of family diversity?
- changing patterns - divorce and single parents are more common
- post modernisisation - more diverse society
- economic factors - increasing wealth = ability to live alone & those who cant afford have multigenerational families
- changing roles - womens having careers mean they are having less children - single person or beanpole households
policies - 1969 divorce act, 1972 equal pay act and welfare benefits
last modernism - not a choice, people are forced due to structural changes
functionalist fit theory; parsons on family diversity
As society changes, the type of family and its family change to suit society.
New right; Murray on family diversity
Nuclear family is under threat due to social policies that change processes in the family
post modernist on diversity in families
Diversity is the new norm in society and people are given more freedom and only have to stay in the relationship as long as their needs are met.
feminist; stacey on diversity in families
women can now create families to suit their needs, including the new extended divorce families.