FUNCTIONALISM & NEW RIGHT Flashcards
What do functionalists tend to argue about gender divisions?
Men and women have separate roles that are based on biological differences and these roles contribute to the smooth running of society.
What roles do Parsons and Bales claim men and women have?
Men have an ‘instrumental’ practical role while women have an ‘expressive’ caring role.
What did Murdock’s study of gender roles in over 200 societies show?
Found that women were located in the home because of their biological function of bearing children.
What is an evaluation of functionalism?
Feminists such as Oakley have shown that gender roles are socially constructed rather than based on biological differences.
What roles do New Right theorists believe men should take on? What roles do they believe women should take on?
Men = roles in the public sphere of work and politics. Women = should be located within the private domestic sphere.
What does women being housewives mean for men according to the New Right?
Means that the male breadwinner is supported, and the children will not suffer from maternal deprivation.
What is the focus of the New Right with regards to gender?
Focus is on achieving a return to the traditional family values and the traditional gender roles that accompany this.
What does New Right thinker Schlafly respond to feminism?
She acknowledges that marriage can be difficult but sees it as the most fulfilling role for women.
What is a criticism of the New Right view?
The New Right approach can be seen as dated as it ignores the increasing numbers of people who choose to adopt non-traditional gender roles.
What is Human Capital Theory?
The wage gap and other differences in employment can be explained by the amount of ‘human capital’ a person develops through the knowledge and skills they have.
What is the issue with Human Capital Theory?
Ignores the constraints in society which disadvantage women.
What does Schafly believe as a further of her belief in the fulfilment of marriage?
‘The flight from home is a flight from self, from responsibility, from the nature of woman, in pursuit of false hopes and fading fantasies’.
What cannot be proven in the New Right perspective?
The biological element of gender roles.
What are the New Right accused of looking back to?
The past for a ‘golden age’ that never really existed as lone-parenting, cohabitation and marital affairs existed then too.
