family policy Flashcards
functionalist view on family policy and what impacts it has on family life
function is to acts in the best interests of society to create cohesion through families staying traditional and teaching correct norms and values
social policy is a positive thing
fletcher- introduction of health, education and housing policies since industrialisation led to welfare systems which help families perform its function more effectivley
for example the NHS helps the reproductive function of the family
criticism of functionalist view
donzelot- policy is a form of state control and policing
similarly to foucalt’s ideas he believes that professionals survaillance families such as through health and social workers to ‘police families’
ex parenting orders through courts force parents to go to parenting workshops
criticism of donzelot
marx and fem criticises donzelot for failing to identify who benefits from policies of surveillance
the new right: policies encourage deviant family types
policies undermine the nuclear family
almond- law making divorce easier undermines the ideas that marriage is a lifelong commitments and thus encourages people to break up trad family structures
gay marriage 2014 shows the state doesn’t see hetero relationships as dominant anymore
plus increase rights for unmarried couples such as adoption and pension encourages cohabitation
criticism of new right that policies encourage deviant family types
feministis argue that it is an attempts to justify a return to the trad.
patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women to men and confined them to a domestic role
ex maternity leave being longer than paternity leave
the new right: policies encourage welfare dependency
murray- welafre policies create a perverse inscentive by rewarding irresponsible and anti social family types
if fathers see that the state will maintain their children they are more likely to abandon them. and the lack of a male role model increases crime rates
thus social policies such as benefits have a huge impacts on how people set up relationships
the proposed solution to this is cutting all welfare
criticism to new right view that policies encourage welfare dependancy and that all welfare should be cut to fix this
Abbott and Wallace
- cutting benefits would simply drive many poor families into even greater poverty making them even less self-reliant
the feminist view that the role of policy is to reinforce patriarchal norms and values
Leonard- even when policies appear to support women they still reinforce the patriarchal family
ex although maternity leave benefits women it also reinforces patriarchy by making paternity leave shorter than maternity
land- social policies assume the family of the idea is a nuclear family.
ex married couples get tax incentives which negatively affected cohabiting couples
criticisms of feminist view on policy
bot all policies are directed at maintaining the patriarchy
for examples
the equal pay act and tax discrimination acts
the right for lesbians to marry and divorce
and the equal right to divorce
all these policies arguably improve women’s position in society and the family
family policies influenced by the new right
- thatcher’s banning of teaching of homosexual relationships within schools
- new labor saw the family as the bedrock of society and saw the family as best headed by married heterosexual couples as it was ‘the best environment to raise children in
new labour polices that go against new right thinking
- new labor policies such as:
three months unpaid leave for both parents and lover maternity leave
working family tax credit enabling parents to claim tax relief on childcare costs
the new deal- helping lone parents to return to work
these favour a more neo conventional dual-earner family described by Chester
- civil partnerships and outlawing discrimination based on sexuality similarly go against new right
the split of the conservative party
Hayton argues that the tories are split in two
the modernisers and the traditionalists
this division has meant that tories have found it difficult to maintain a consistent policy line on the family
for example the 2010 coalition introduced gay marriages in 2014
childcare policies that help women
30 hours free hours of childcare for children over the age of 3 helps women get back into the workplace
tax free childcare is a governemnt initative that adds 20% of money put in by parents to account to help pay for childcare
how are chilcare polciies determental to women
it negativley affects women who are unemployed or are stuggling to get a job because to get the beneifts of chilcare you need to be in a daul eraner partnership or be a working single moether
having to wait 3 years until childcare becomes more affordable menas women may find it harder to re-intergrate back into workplace
how are maternity leave policies improved for women
the 2015
