Family&Households: Topic 7- Families and social policy Flashcards
Comparative view of family policy
What are the 4 comparative views of family policy?
- China’s one child policy
- Nazi family policy
- Communist Romania
- Democratic societies
Comparative view of family policy
Explain China’s one child policy.
Aimed to discourage couples having more than one child. Couples how complied get extra benefits:
* Free child healthcare
* Higher tax allowance
Couples who break policy:
* Repay allowance and pay fine
* Women pressured to get steralised
Comparative view of family policy
Explain the nazi family policy.
- Two-fold policy encourages health and ‘racially pure’ to breed a master race
- Keep women with children, in kitchen and church
- The state compulsorily steralised 375000 disabled people- they’re unfit to breed
Comparative view of family policy
Explain communist Romania- 1980s.
- Drive up birth rate which was falling due to living standards
- Restricted contraception/abortion
- Lowered legal age of marriage to 15
Comparative view of family policy
Explain democratic societies.
- In Britain family is a private shpere of life where the government wont intervene
- Sociologists argue the states social policies play a role into shaping family life.
Perspective on families and social policy
What is the functionalist perspective on families and social policy?
- They think the state is helping society
- The state policies are good for all
- Policies help families perform their functions
Perspective on families and social policy
What is a criticism of the functionalist view?
- Assumes all family members equally from social policy- maternity leave makes women poorer
- Assumers theres a MOP view: can reverse. E.g. closing fire stations
Perspective on families and social policy
What does Donzelot argue about policing the family?
- Has a conflict view- sees policy as control over families
- Social workers, health visitors, doctors use their knowledge to control families
- Poor familiees are seen as the problem and cause crimes- they’re targeted for improvement
Perspective on families and social policy
What is a criticms of Donzelots arguement?
Marx and fems say Donzelot is failing to identity clearly who benefits from policies of surveillance
* Benefits capitalists and men
Perspective on families and social policy
What is the new right argument for policies?
They belive polices leads to family diversity and undermines the nuclear family which they dont like
Perspective on families and social policy
What policies have led to the breakdown of the nuclear family?
- 2014- same sex marriage legalised
- 1969 Divorce reform act- cheaper and less complicated to get a divorce
- 1967 abortion act- legal through NHS
Perspective on families and social policy
What is the new rights argument on lone parents, welfare and dependency culture?
- Welfare is too generous giving cash and housing to single teen mothers
- Creates dysfunctional families
- If fathers see state will help they will abonded responsibilty
- Encourages dependency culture
Perspective on families and social policy
What is the new rights solution for lone parents, welfare and dependency culture?
- Cut welfare and make it tighter on who can recieve it
- Cutting welfare alows for tax to be reduced
- Deny council housing to unmarried teens
- Make absent fathers financially responsible
Perspective on families and social policy
What are some criticism of the new rights argument?
- Fem- a return to trad families opresses women
- Wrongly assumes patriachal family is natural
- Cutting welfare may make poor people poorer
Perspective on families and social policy
What policy does the conservative government implement that went along with the new right argument?
They banned the promotion of homosexuality & defining divorce as a social problem
* Wanted to stabilise society
* More nuclear families
* Stick to traditional norms
Perspective on families and social policy
What policy does the conservative government implement that goes against the new right argument?
- Set up child support agency to enforce payments
- Made sure illegitimate children had the same rights as children w/ married parents
- Introduced measures to make divorce easier
Perspective on families and social policy
What policies did the new labour government implement?
They argue the nuclear family is the bedrock of society but reject one earner
* Outlawing discrimination on grouds of sexuality
* Civil partnership for same sex couples
* Gave unmarried couple the same rights to adopt as married couples
Perspective on families and social policy
What view do femininsts have on families and policies?
Conflict view- sees it as patriachal and opressing women
Perspective on families and social policy
What policies support the patriachal family according to femininsts?
- Tax benefit policies
- Childcare
- Care for sick and elderly
Perspective on families and social policy
How does tax benefit policies support patriachy?
- Assumes males are breadwinner
- Can be impossible for women to claim social security on their own
- Reinforces women are dependent on their husbands
Perspective on families and social policy
How does childcare support patriachy?
Policies governing school timetable and holidays make it hard for parents to work full time
Perspective on families and social policy
How does care for sick and elderly support patriachy?
Government policies assume family will provid this care
* Middle-aged women usually do the caring which prevents them from working full time
Perspective on families and social policy
What is the evaluation of the feminist view?
Not all policies help patriachy:
* Equal pay
* Sex discriminatino laws
* Lone parent benefits
Perspective on families and social policy
What do marxists argue about social policies?
Policy is made by powerful and rich
* E.g. NHS keeps workers fit enough to continue wokring
* It prevents a revolution. E.g. welfare state made so that W/C doesnt rise up and capitalism
Perspective on families and social policy
What are the 2 gender regimes Drew notes follows different types of family poicies?
How gender regimes can either encourage or discourage gender equality
* Family gender regimes: Where policies are based on a traditional gender division between male breadwinner and female housewife
* Individualistic gender regimes: Policies based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same
