Functions Of Families And Households

Question 1

Functionalist 4 views on education - sociologist

Answer 1

Murdoch 49
Educational - taught norms and values
Economic - pooling resources and ensuring all have what they need
Reproductive - producing the next generation of society
Sexual - adults sexual relationships are controlled and stable

Question 2

Functionalist view of families and households irreducible + sociologist

Answer 2

Parsons - 51
Primary socialisation - families taught children social norms and values.
Primary socialisation taught Particularistic standards
Secondary socialisation taught Universalistic standards

Question 3

Functionalist view onpf families and households evaluation

Answer 3

• Marxists and feminists conflict this theory
• rose tinted glasses, only looking at positives
• does the family benefit all groups inside it
  -Fran Ansley ‘takers of shit’ - men dump their stress onto women when they get home instead of it being like parsons’ warm bath theory
• theories are outdated

Question 4

Marxist 2 functions of families and households + sociologist

Answer 4

Only benefits the bourgeoisie, based on class struggle which works to benefit a rich minority
Engels - 84
Economic function
Knowing who your children are when your money is inherited and goes through your bloodline

Zaretsky - 76
Workers tolerate powerlessness and frustration of being exploited at work because they had this private domain where they where the ‘king of the castle’

Question 5

Evaluation of Marxist functions of families and households

Answer 5

• Engles theory is a very romantic take in marriage
• zaretskys theory is outdated

Question 6

Liberal Feminist view on functions of families

Answer 6

Liberal fem - Delphy and Leonard - women are oppressed and dominated due to unpaid domestic labour
Liberal feminists strive for legal equality and believe change in policy could save patriarchy
Marital rape recognition - 91
DRA - 69

Question 7

Radical Feminist view on functions of families

Answer 7

Dobash and dobash - no change In law will ever be enough on its own to end the oppression of women
Girls are socialised into believing inequalities are normal and therefore they accept the inequality of family life

Question 8

Marxist Feminist view on functions of families

Answer 8

Families help to preserve both capitalism and patriarchy and the two work hand in hand
The capitalist system gets the benefits of unpaid female work as their workforce which are fed looked after and kept happy to ensure they keep working hard and making profits for the bosses 

Question 9

Evaluation of feminist views functions of the family 

Answer 9

Paints a too negative and gloomy picture 
Some families are equal

Question 10

New right – nuclear family

Answer 10

Nuclear family – two married heterosexual parents with a small number of children
Cereal packet family because of the way it’s presented as ideal and the norm in various areas of society

Question 11

New right view on functions of families

Answer 11

Charles Murray welfare policies have undermined the nuclear family and given perverse incentives for people to start single parent families or to end their marriages to form single parent families
Dependency culture where an underclass of people live off benefits and have no aspiration to work for a living – teenage girls pregnancy and single parenthood as a route to financial support and housing
Murdoch suggested that the family had an economic function for underclass families. This function is now carried out by the state.