Family sociologists Flashcards
Functionalism theorists
Murdock
Parsons
Murdock
Nuclear family = universal
Family has four functions:
1) sexual regulation
2) reproduction
3) economics
4) education/ early socialisation
Evaluations of murdock
1) theory is outdated- it fails to acknowledge changing gender roles and greater diversity of family types and gender transitions (postmodernists)
2) you dont have to be in a nuclear family to get these functions for example people can have sexual relations without being married to the person
3) feminists- familys can work as lone parents, you dont need to have a father for the family to work
4) contemporary society- the economic functions is not gender specific/ limited to one worker function = patriarchal in nature
Parsons
Two functions:
1) primary socialisation
2) stabilisation of adult personalities
1) early socialisation of children into norms + values of Society- learn appropriate behaviours in social situations, core values of society, pro social behaviours
2) warm bath theory- coming home to family was equivalent to getting a warm bath - capable of soothing and washing away worries of work- family life provides emotional security for adult members- actions of playing with children stabilises personalities and provides a sense of fulfilment
Parsons gender role socialisation
Father = instrumental role- economic support through going to work + provides discipline
Mother= expressive role- emotional support and nurturing role
Men and women are biologically suited to these roles so its natural to follow them. It is the most effective way to ensure a stable society
Parsons evaluations
Parsons theory = stereotypical views of female role and expectations of females towards males- males are more involved in the family these days.
Newright - charles murray
Decline in the nuclear family is a direct result of the welfare state. He argues the welfare state has created a dependency culture and an underclass of people who rely on the state for support rather than the family or themselves.
Murray is scathing lone parent families- the welfare state encourages women to have children that they cannot necessarily afford knowing that they will be supported by the state.
Evidence for non nuclear families being a problem:
- children from broken homes are more likely to become young offenders
- lone parent families are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to two parent families
Murray evaluations
This theory is seen as too deterministic. Not all children who are raised in single parent families will become criminals. Many will go on to be very successful in life.
Marxists theorists
Engles
Zartesky
Peiris
Engles
Evolution of the monogamous relationship to serve the needs of capitalism
Capitalism developed, societys wealth increased and led to the bourgeoisie securing their own private properties
Zaretsky 1
Family serves capitalism by offering emotional security from the oppressive world of work- it provides a safe haven to encourage its members to continue to live another day under the harsh realities of capitalism. The family recharges the batteries of the male worker to ensure he can go back to work. The family helps to disguise the suffering of the proletariat and maintains false class consciousness. (Compare to parsons warm bath theory)
Evaluation- lack of focus on the female role within the family (safe haven)- women absorbing the anger of the workers or being the slaves of wage slaves due to their unpaid domestic labour.
It creates negative impacts for the rest of the family- fathers are angry and tired from work and take it out on the family to relieve themselves. It is not sufficient enough and doesnt absorb the alienation that workers feel
Zaretsky 2
The family probs up the capitlist system (cycle of inequality - trapped in a cycle to become subservient workers). The family socialises children into accepting that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable. This means that the bourgeoisie can extract more work for less pay from workers as they fear unemployment which could mean that they couldn’t support their family.
Peiris
Cereal packet family
Encourages proletariat to try and create the perfect happy family
Family is the mass of unit consumption
E.g parents feel like they need to provide their children with the latest products, from the bourgeoisie- the bourgeoisie are exploiting parents through their children
Greer- radical feminist
Family is an extremely patriarchal institution
Men use domestic violence to ensure their partners remain subservient and take orders without question
“Men benefit from womens unpaid domestic labour and from their sexual services
Dunne- radical feminists
Study if 37 lesbians
Had more symmetrical relationships because of the absense of traditional heterosexual gender scripts
Sommerville - liberal feminists
Somerville claims that the nuclear family has become less patriarchal, they are no longer traditional in terms of roles.
Laws such as the equal pay act and six discrimination act have allowed women to escape the traditional expressive role and go out to work
Ansley- marxist feminists
Proletariat females are the ones that suffer the most. Women absorb anger in the family. Women are the takers of shit, who soak up the frustration their husbands feel because of the exploitation they face at work
Weston post modernist
He argues that a shift to a post modern society has led to a huge increase in same-sex couples the changes in law and social norms have allowed people who are homosexual to find partners in live in a way that difference from the traditional nuclear family
Giddens- post modernist
People now have a choice one form in a relationship, people used to feel pressured to get married and have children however people no longer feel constrained by tradition and can take longer to find the right partner. Relationships are now pure and are solely to satisfy each other’s needs, these relationships are hundred percent happy
Morgan - postmodernist
Morgan adds to the work of giddens saying people have a sense of freedom and choice and people are living in a never seen before relationship, there is a shift towards polyamorous relationships. People are now so comfortable with their freedom and choice they are willing to seek relationships that involve more than one person, these relationships can exist to meet social economic and sexual needs
Smart- personal life
She argues sociology of the family is ethnocentric, it’s focused mainly on white middle-class family.
She argues that family needs to be studied in depth because it’s not as straightforward as it seems, she believes it stretches beyond blood marriage and adoption for example fictive kin- close friends are treated as family
Mitchell - family diversity
Declining in stigma and changing attitudes
Stigma attached to divorce, as stigma declines and divorce becomes more socially acceptable couples are more willing to get a divorce to solve marital issues. Divorce is now more normal. Rather than being seen as shameful it is simply seen as a misfortune.
However, some people still do hold views that divorce is shameful. There is now a large muslim population living in the uk that see divorce as shameful
Bruce - family diversity
Secularisation
Decline in influence of religion in society. Traditional religious views on Divorce now carries less weight in society and people are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making decisions. Churches have begun to soften their views in fear of losing credibility with large sections of the public and their own members
Evaluation- davie
Davie- family diversity
Secularisation
Argue that it is not occurring and people are still very religious, they are just more privatised in their beliefs.
Fletcher- family diversity
Rising expectations of marriage
Higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Now days people divorce as soon as they feel unhappy in the relationship, they are less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage. These expectations come from perfect relationships seen in the media and films
However, not all people have high expectations of marriage. Some people tolerate a marriage that they are very unhappy in e.g those facing domestic violence find it difficult to leave the relationship.
Allan and crow- family diversity
Changes in the position of women
Womens increased willingness to seek divorce is that improvements in their economic position have made them less financially dependent on their husbands and therefore freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage. Laws such as sex discrimination act and equal pay act mean that women have economic independence.
Although laws now exist which mean that women should be economically independent they still find themselves hitting a glass ceiling when it comes to getting a job that will earn them a decent amount of money.
Parsons - family diversity
Family diversity = bad
Nuclear family is suited to meeting the needs of society, it is able to perform all functions of the family.
All other types of families are seen as abnormal, inadequate or deviant because they are less able to perform the functions of the family
However, other family types can still provide positive functions e.g lots of single parents still successfully socialise their children and provide for them economically
Dunne- family diversity
Family diversity = good
Lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of traditional gender scripts. This means that dunne sees the increase of same sex relationships as positive
However, liberal feminists argue that the nuclear family is no longer as patriarchal as what radical feminists suggest. Liberal feminists argue that the nuclear family is now more symmetrical
Murray- family diversity
Family diversity = bad
The growth of family diversity are the cause of many social problems such as higher crime rates and educational failure. Lone parent families are seen as unnatural and harmful to children because the parent is unable to properly discipline the child. It also makes some mothers dependent on the welfare state which is seen as a perverse incentive.
However, not all single mothers are benefit scroungers. Futhermore, the idea of all single parent families leading to criminal children is too deterministic, not all children raised in single parent families end up as criminals
Giddens- family diversity
Family diversity = good
People now have a choice, they are no longer constrained by law, stigma or religion and can chose relationships that suit their needs, these relationships are more pure
However, not all people have choice and freedom. Many asian females are forced into arranged marriages that they don’t want.
Chester- family diversity
Family diversity = exaggerated
Nuclear family is still the norm.
Chester says a nuclear family means two generations living under one roof, so same sex couples that adopt or reconstituted families all still count as nuclear families technically. Also nuclear families are now neo conventional where the roles of the mother and father are flexible like symmetrical relationships
Wagg
First childhood sociologist
Childhood is socially constructed
It is what particular societies at particular times and places say it is
Aries
Study of the middle ages
The idea of childhood didn’t exist
Children have the same rights as adults
They are known as mini adults
Firth
Study of the tikcpia
Less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority
Doing as you are told is regarded as a concession to be granted by the child.
Malinowski
Study of the trobriand island.
Childrens sexual behaviour. Adults took an attitude of tolerance and amused interest towards childrens sexual explorations and activities
Coalition to stop the use of child soldiers
Children are involved in active conflict in 21 countries around the world. Children are used to kill as well as being brutalized and killed themselves
Shorter
March of progress view
Children have become an economic liability as adults are now spending up to £227,000 by the time the child turns 21. This is because parents want to ensure they have the best childhood.
Parents are also spending a lot more of their time caring for the children and protecting them.
Evaluated by cline
Cline
Conflict view
Argues that parents are becoming helicopter parents. Parents are paying extremely close attention to a childs life/ experiences. This can cause the child to feel suffocated and can prove to be very damaging for children who are not allowed any freedom
Evaluation is shorter
Margo
March of progress view
Talks about the increase in childhood consumer market. So children have as much choice as adults when it comes to buying things.
Evaluated by Palmer
Palmer
Conflict view
Argues that the growth in the childhood consumer market is actually negative as it has created a toxic childhood this is due to products such as video games social media and fast food has damaged children’s physical emotional and intellectual development which leads to children facing addiction, obesity and anxiety
Evaluated by Margo
Aries
March of progress view
Argues that children are no longer seen and not herd and that families now involve children on important decisions for the family
Evaluated by Brannen
Brannen
Conflict view
Study showing 15 and 16-year-old girls in Asian families were not likely to be able to give any input in decisions and were expected to remain quiet.
Evaluated by aries
Postman
Childhood is disappearing at dazzling speed
Growth of television main for children have access to the adult world meaning that they are exposed to the real world of sex, disaster, death and suffering.
Television has gone against the information hierarchy which was in place when it was books.
Evaluation: it is quite easy to recreate the information hierarchy for example parents can restrict what the children can view by putting blocks on the TV.
Abbott
Talks about the pornification of youth culture. Stating that young people are growing up in an environment of sexual bullying and explicit images.
Evaluation: The pornification of youth culture is seen by many as a moral panic. The majority of children remain innocent until their adult years.
Bandura
Children are directly influenced by what they see in the media. Bandura claims that the media acts as a hypodermic syringed. And example of this is the murder of James Bolger. Where the two kids who committed the crime watched a violent film in which they copied when carrying out the crime.
Evaluation: the idea is seen as too deterministic. Not all children directly copy what they see in the media
Jenks
Due to the nuclear family dying out he argues that children become adults last refuge from the constant uncertainty and change in life. As a result adults become even more fearful for their children security and are even more preoccupied with protecting them from danger.
Evaluation: Marie disagrees. He argues that when parents divorce, children are often neglected and don’t receive proper socialisation.
Opie
He argues that childhood is not disappearing as there is still a separate children’s culture dominant in society and the growth of specific media for children suggest they are more separate than ever.
Evaluation: the rise of social media has my children more interested in adult music for example children dancing to adult music on tick-tock.
Mitchell
Increase in divorce
Refers to the decline in stigma and changing attitudes of people.
There is now less stigma attached to divorce as it has become more socially acceptable. Couples are more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their marital problems.
Evaluation: some people do still hold views that divorce is shameful. There is now a large Muslim population living in the UK that see divorce as shameful.
Bruce
Increase in divorce
Due to secularisation. Which refers to the declining influence of religion in society. The traditional opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight in society and people are less likely to be influenced by this when making decisions.
Evaluation: however sociologists such as Davie argue that secularisation is not occurring and people are still very religious.
Fletcher
Increase in divorce
Due to rising expectations of marriages. People place a higher expectation on marriage which causes major rising divorce rates as people are quicker to end the relationship if they are unhappy.
Evaluation: not all people have high expectations of marriages. Some people tolerate a marriage that they are very unhappy in for example those facing domestic violence find it difficult to leave a relationship.
Allan and crow
Increase in divorce
Due to changing in the position of women. One reason for women to seek or divorce is the improvements in their economic position. This has meant they are less financially dependent on their husband and therefore our Freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage.
Evaluation: although laws now exist which means that women should be economically independent they still find themselves hitting a grass seed in when it comes to getting a job they will earn them a decent amount of money.
Parsons (fam diversity)
Parsons says that Family diversity is a bad thing due to it defeating the point of the nuclear family. Without having a husband and wife the functions and the family cannot be perform properly. All other types of family are seen as abnormal inadequate or deviant because they are less able to perform the functions required by the family.
Evaluation: other family types can still provide positive functions for example lots of single-parent families still successfully socialise their children and provide for them economically.
Dunne (fam diversity)
Sees family diversity as a good thing as it shows that women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family. Family diversity allows for more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of the traditional gender scripts.
Evaluation: liberal feminists argue that the nuclear family is no longer as patriarchal as what radical feminists suggests liberal feminists argue a nuclear family is now more symmetrical.
Murray (fam diversity)
The growth of family diversity has resulted in an increase of crime rates and educational Failure. Lone parent families are seen as harmful to children because they cannot discipline their children properly.
Evaluation: the idea of all single-parent families leading to criminal children is to deterministic, not all children raised in a single parent family end up as criminals.
Giddens (fam diversity)
Says that family diversity is a good thing as it shows that people now have choice. People are no longer strained by law, stigma Or religion. Relationships become more Pure Meaning that people are together because of love, happiness and attraction rather than being together because of tradition.
Evaluation: not all people have choice and freedom. Many Asian female is in Britain are forced into arranged marriages that they don’t want.
Chester
Argues that Family diversity is exaggerated. And that the nuclear family is still the norm. He states that the nuclear family is now two generations under one roof rather than the traditional wife, husband and kids. He states that the nuclear family is now more conventional.
Health and social care information centre
Aging population is bad.
Talk about the dependency ratio. The increase in dependency ratio means that people need to pay greater amounts of tax to fund the extra public services that are needed to support old people.
Evaluated by featherstone and hepworth
Featherstone and hepworth
Ageing population is good
Many old people are now working as they feel they are physically capable and enjoy doing so. They argue that the portrayal of old people being a drain on society is a moral panic and peoples personal age is often very different from their chronological age.
Evaluation is the health and social care information Centre
Hunt
Ageing population is good
Old people boost the economy by spending money on body maintenance or would you vernation services such as cosmetic surgery gym memberships and anti ageing products
Green
Ageing population is bad
Ageism as the systematic stereotype and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their age. Old people are saying is incapable and a burden on society, young people become frustrated with old people. Routine ageism = terms like old dear and talking in a patronising manner. Institutional ageism = The systematic neglect and abuse of the elderly
Evaluate with the department for culture
Department of culture
Ageing population is good
Old people are likely to be well respected because of the activities they take part in. These activities include voluntary work attending neighbourhood for rooms and being involved in political campaigns. These activities build a sense of social cohesion in local communities.
Evaluate with green
Roots
Ageing population is bad
Roots refers to a sandwich generation of middle-aged or older women who actors carers for not only children but also their parents. This is overly demanding and seriously affects the quality of life for middle-aged females.
Evaluate with bell.
Bell
Ageing population is good
Found that an ageing population is having a positive room for it by increasing the amount of extended families. This plays an important role in aiding the socialisation process for children as well as providing unpaid childcare which is especially important as more women are going out to work now.
Evaluate with roots
Phillipson
Marxist view
Old people are seen as useless to capitalism. As a result they are not adequately supported and left to struggle in society. The bourgeoisie see no reason in supporting old people.
Cumming and Henry
Functionalist view
Argue that when old people become marginalised from society it is actually a good thing. As people age they lose vitality and are less well equipped to carry out jobs. If people continued with jobs into old age then the jobs would not be carried out particularly well. It is therefore a good thing that people stop working when they become too old.
Murray (migration- demography)
Highlights that the increase in migration has had negative affects. A large population of Afro-Caribbean families are single-parent families and as a result boys fails receive adequate socialisation
Evaluate with Lupton
Lupton
Loughton argues that those that migrate from Asia are likely to live in extended families and this can strengthen the socialisation process for children and also play important roles family family such as unpaid social care.
Evaluate with Murray
UKIP
Immigrants are damaging for the economy as they are supposedly not working and only claiming benefits this has a negative impact on the economy called into such political groups.
Evaluation: many migrant workers make a contributions to the economy and often take unwonted jobs by British workers.
Hochschild
Feminist view on migration
Feminists argue that migration into the country can lead to an increase in patriarchy. She claims female migrants are limited in their job opportunities and that the only careers they can take on nurses, nannies, illegal sex workers. All these roles are stereotypical and reinforce inferior role of women.
Evaluation: more women now smashing through the glass ceiling, even migrant women reaching top jobs more regularly
Welfare state
Providing economic support for people in society
Promotes family diversity, more people willing to leave relationships now and that they get some support from the government.
New right – bad because welfare state is a perverse incentive and creates dependency Culture for the underclass
rad fem - View it as positive as it gives women some economic support so they feel easier to get out of a violent relationship.
Divorce reform act
Divorce became available to people that are not in there no fault marriage
Promotes family diversity as people are now able to get out of a marriage.
New right- see it as negative as divorce promotes single-parent families which can lead to many social problems.
Rad fem- see it as positive as women can get out of marriage is easier
Equal pay act 1970
Prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women
Promotes family diversity, the act made it that women can work equally so they are now performing in the instrumental world which is not the idea of the traditional nuclear family.
Functionalists – see it as a negative because women are not able to perform a expressive role and are now being instrumental role which opposes the nuclear family idea.
Lib fem- see it as positive as women can now Scape the traditional expressive role and go out to work, society less patriarchal
Maternity and paternity leave
Gives parents time off after childbirth woman have up to 1 year off and men two weeks.
Promotes traditional nuclear family – women are able to complete the expressive role.
lib fem- see as negative as women are unable to work if they have to look after their child when their husband is at work. The time the mother and the father get off work is not equal.
Functionalists – see it as positive as women are fully able to perform the traditional expressive role
Troubled families programme
Government giving support to troubled families. Aims to get children back into school and reduce crime and antisocial behaviours.
Promotes the nuclear family as it promotes the traditional family values.
New right – see as positive as it encourages family to follow traditional roles and parents to stay together in support of children.
Changes to paternity and maternity leave
Made paternity and maternity leave more flexible. The couple could have a year off work between them.
Promotes family diversity as parents can both stay at home and be the expressive role
Functionalists- see it as negative as it is the only the woman that should be carrying out the expressive role the father should be out working.
Lib fem- see it as positive as it gives women the chance to get back to work quicker knowing that the child is at home with the father
Legalisation of going marriage
Same-sex marriage made legal in all parts of the UK
Promotes family diversity
Rad fem- see it as positive as women can now have more symmetrical relationships
Post-modernist – see as as positive as well as people have more freedom and choice to be in a relationship
Benefit caps
Reduce the amount of benefits household receive
Promotes nuclear family
New right – see it as positive as now families have less of a perverse incentive. Forces the end across to go to Work and get the money themselves.
lib fem- See it as negative because women now don’t have a dependency culture so are less able to leave bad relationships due to not been able to provide for the family.
Married couples tax allowance
Tax perk for married couples, they can combine their earnings to reduce tax
Promotes nuclear family
New right – see it as positive as people will want to stay in a marriage to get a tax pack so reduce the amount of single-parent families
Rad fem- see it as negative because men could benefit from the woman as they need a marriage to get the tax perk
Parsons (couples)
The first sociologist to give us sociological explanation of couples
He argued that men were best suited for perform in the instrumental role and women were best suited to performing the expressive role.
Evaluation: this idea came under screwed to me as these roles were socially constructed by men in order to benefit men
Wilmott and young
Introduction of joint conjugal roles. These families were seen as more symmetrical and neo-conventional family. This was due to both the husband and wife doing equal roles in the family.
Evaluate with Oakley
Oakley
Found that there was no evidence of the symmetrical family. Although men claimed they help around the house this could be as little as Ironing one shirt a week. She argued that relationships are still patriarchal
Evaluate with Willmott and young
Gershuny
Due to changes in law such as equal pay act and sex discrimination act far more women today or unpaid work and this means that men are becoming more used to doing housework. This has led to an introduction of the new man who is allegedly more caring, sharing, gentle, emotional, sensitive in his attitudes to his partner and is far more willing to share housework and childcare.
Evaluate with ferri and smith and duncombe and marsden
Ferri and smith
Argue that women in paid work has not led to equality but simply the jewel burden. This is where women have to carry out paid work and come home to domestic work.
Duncombe and marsden
Women in paid work has led to a triple shift: paid work, domestic labour and looking after the emotional needs of family members.
Silver and schor
Argued that the burden of house work on women has decreased due to the commercialisation of housework goods and services. Meaning that couples can now buy goods and services instead of women having to produce them at home for example dishwasher and ready meals.
Evaluate with knusden
Knudsen
Criticise silver and schor As only the better off can afford labour saving Devices making tasks easier, and just because these devices exist doesn’t mean that men are doing any more to contribute, just means that the tasks women are forced to complete are made slightly easier
Pahl and vogler
Found that men controlled finances in the home through the allowance system where husband would give his wife a small proportion of his income on a regular basis. Also found a system of pooling. This is where husband and wife have a joint bank account with equal access
Edgel
Research on decision-making within the household. He found that very important decisions were usually decided by the husband as he brought more income into the home and Less important decisions were made by the wife like what food the family would eat.
Evaluate with beck
Beck
Argues that greater gender equality and greater individualism has led to a new type of family be in the negotiated family. This is more equal. Women now have more power and negotiate with their husband when it comes to making decisions.
Evaluate with edgel
Dobash and dobash
Done a study on domestic violence. They found that men dominate women through domestic violence. This fear of abuse means that women will carry out whatever is demanded by the husband.
Evaluation: not all men are aggressive, in some cases women can be domestic abusers.
Ansley (domestic violence)
Focuses on the economic factors caused by the bourgeoisie, domestic violence results from stress caused by exploitation in the workplace. Wives are the takers of shit
Evaluation: not all male workers commit violent acts against their partners, if capitalism is because of domestic violence then why do men in noncapital this country is still commit domestic violence for example places like Russia.
