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1) theory is outdated- it fails to acknowledge changing gender roles and greater diversity of family types and gender transitions (postmodernists)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