Family & Households (Definitions & Basic Theory) Flashcards
Nuclear Family
Two parents of the opposite sex with biological children living in one household
Extended Family
Three or more generations of the same family living together or close by, with frequent contact between grandparents, grandchildren, aunts cousins etc.
Family
A married couple, civil partnered or cohabiting couple with or without children, or a lone parent with at least one child
Household
one person living alone, or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room sitting room or dining room
Reconstituted Family
two partners living in one household sharing parental duties for one or more children, but only one of them is the biological parent.
Lone Parent Family
One adult with one or more dependent children living in one household
Same Sex Family
Homoesexual/lesbian couples who have either one or more dependent children…
- From a previous relationship
- From adoption
Attenuated Extended Family
Nuclear families that live apart from their extended family, but keep in regular contact by phone or email
Murdock’s view on family
- Functionalist view
- Four basic functions: Sexual, Reproductive, Economic, Educational)
- Argued that there was a form of the nuclear family in each culture
Criticisms of Murdock & Parson’s view
- Very ethnocentric. Only reflective of 1940s America
- Dated (Changing role of women, religious influence decline, influence of mass media)
- Politically conservative
- Doesn’t consider the dark side of family; domestic abuse
- Children are not just ‘empty vessels’
Parson’s view on family
- Functionalist view
- The nuclear family is superior as it can adapt to the needs of modern industrial society
- ‘Warm Bath Theory’: stabilises adult personalities
- Clear distinct roles between the man and woman.
Zaretsky’s view on family
- Marxist view
- Nuclear family benefits capitalism as it is a major component of consumption
- Children’s experience with socialisation involves obedience and conformity
Engel’s view on family
- Marxist view
- Nuclear families became popular because the ruling class wanted to protect their wealth
- Marriage was a useful tool for providing descendents of wealth
- Family had an economic function of keeping wealth in the bourgeoisie by passing it to their kids
Criticisms on Marxist view
- Interpretivist: Fails to consider how individuals interpret and experience the family
- Focuses on benefit to the economy not benefits to individuals
- Some parents may resist ruling class ideology
- Some people choose to go along with capitalism as they believe it’s a better choice than communism
General Feminist view of family
- Family is a negative environment for women
- Men obtain greater benefits from the family than the woman. Not egalitarian
Liberal Feminist view of family
- March of Progress view: things are gradually improving
- Ann Oakley: Criticised ‘malestream sociology’. Inequality in the family is bc of discrimination from individuals and institutions, not that it’s embedded in society.
- Leonard (2000): Men resist change because the inequality benefits them
- Acknowledge massive social change over the last 50 years
Marxist Feminist view of family
- Acknowledge the contribution of domestic labour of women as it is unpaid but has great value. Women are a reserve army of cheap labour
- Margaret Benston (1972): Nuclear family produces the future workforce at little cost to the capitalist state
- Ansley (1972): Women are ‘takers of shit’. Capitalism has stripped men of power and dignity at work and emasculates them.
Radical Feminist view of family
- Calls for radical reforming of the system to abolish patriarchy
- All societies are founded on patriarchy/ men are the enemy
- Political Lesbianism
- Delphy: Men exploit their wives despite loving them. Women’s role is to provide emotional support, whereas the husband rarely returns this support.
Criticisms of Liberal Feminism
Fail to consider that in any society that is fundamentally unequal, ‘equality of opportunity’ is a meaningless concept.
Criticisms of Marxist Feminism
- Too much emphasis on class relations and don’t focus on women’s experiences outside the labour market.
- Their ‘solution’ to female exploitation tends not to be seen as one that is useful to pursue
- Radical feminists criticise their emphasis on capitalism because the patriarchy is present in all institutions, not just Capitalism
Criticisms of Radical Feminism
- Accused of ‘men hating’
- Tend to ignore any social changes over the last 50 years
- Tend to over emphasise factors that separate men and women
New Right perspective on the family
- Traditional nuclear family is threatened by modern social policies
- Nuclear family plays an important role in shaping the moral order of society. Socialises next generation into discipline, respect and civility
- Patricia Morgan: Critical of Welfare State policies. This discourages families from supporting themselves and instead relying on the State
- Murray: One parent families are more likely to produce crime, educational failure and drug abuse.
Criticisms of New Right perspective
- Focus on single parenthood even though it is only often temporary. Don’t consider that this may be preferable to domestic violence.
- Classist and ethnocentric as they only focus on poorer families.
- Criticised for ‘victim blaming’
Postmodern perspective on family
- Judith Stacey (1990): There will never be a dominant family type as they are varied and flexible.
- Look at Life Courses. Rather than focusing on family types, they look at rites of passage to better reflect diverse family life.
