Gender Inequalities Flashcards
Functionalism Gender inequalities
MURDOCK - Studied gender roles in 200 societies and found women were put in their role because of their ability to have children; their biological function, he concluded that the labour market was universal because it was functional.
PARSONS -
Parsons found that men have an ‘instrumental’ role and women have an ‘expressive’ role, these roles help to run a smoother society which is why they experience differences in the labour market as men were more suited to employment
RASTOGI -
Rastogi doesn’t recognise discrimination. He refers to the ‘human capital’- includes knowledge, skills, competency which is embedded in an individual.He supports the belief of meritocracy and that personal income varies depending on the human capital someone has.
New Right
MURRAY - Refers to the underclass as ‘lazy’ and ‘workshy’ . Blames single mothers as the source of social problems. He focuses on the ‘nuclear family’ and argues that single mothers don’t experience inequality.
DENNIS AND ERDOS -
They argue that fatherless children are less likely to be successfully socialised into the culture of the discipline. He studied 1000 children in Newcastle and discovered that they had a greater chance of having a lower IQ and criminal record if they were poorly fathered.
SCHLAFLY - She says “Marriage and motherhood have their trials and tribulations, but what lifestyle doesn’t?… The flight from home is a flight from self, from responsibility, from the nature of women, in pursuit of false hopes and fading fantasies”
Marxist
ENGLES - Engles’ key argument is that the exploiter- exploited relationship is translated in the household between men and women. He argues that under capitalism men gain control over women as they wanted to pass on private property in the form of inheritance.
Radical feminist
STANKO - sexual harassment in the workplace is used to keep women in their workplace. Women in jobs such as bar work and secretarial work are sexualised.
ADKINS - Carried out research at an amusement park , found evidence of horizontal segregation- different types of roles within the theme park. Vertical segregation in pubs- men paid more than wives who were behind the bag
DELPHY AND LEONARD -
Critical of nuclear family as it is a major part of oppression of women. Also argues family is an economic system- men benefit from and exploit work of women. The social structure of family; head and dependent.
MILLET - Positive study; due to modern technology and domination such as birth control pill, men can no longer legitimise power and dominate
JOHNSON - Refers to “patriarchal terrorism”- violence is a result of men’s patriarchal traditions to control their women. Systematic use of violence and control tactics; isolation, threats and economic subordination.
Marxist feminist
FEELEY - Argues family teaches children to submit to parental authority that is patriarchy. She argues that family is designed to teach “passivity and not rebellion”
BENSTON - Benefits capitalism as women looking after husband allows the men to have more time to work. Also argues that if women were paid for domestic work it would cause a massive redistribution of wealth
ANSLEY - Views women as the ‘takers of shit’ as they soothe the frustrations of their husbands and stops a revolution
BEECHEY - Sees women as cheap reserve army of labour as they are bought in during economic booms and thrown out during slumps
BARRETT - Women’s roles also support the capitalist ideology to maintain positive feelings and motivation for the capitalist system to continue. Nuclear family seen as ideal.
Liberal feminist
OAKLEY - 4 processes of socialisation; manipulation, canalisation, verbal appellation and domestic activities.
MCROBBIE - ‘Bedroom culture’; girls retreat away to their bedrooms with their best friends and are socialised into a ‘culture of femininity’, by helping each other find a suitable husband.
Black feminist
BREWER - Black women suffer from a disadvantage as they are black and women and in working class, which is known as a ‘triple systems theory’.
YUVAL-DAVIES- Argues that feminism is ethnocentric as mainstream feminism focuses on issues faced by dominantly white middle-class women
ABBOTT ET AL - claims that ‘women’s experiences derived from white perspectives and priorities’. White feminists are allowed to speak on behalf of black women but not the other way round
Post feminism
WALBY -
Developed concept of triple systems of oppression. Agrees with black feminism. 6 structures of patriarchy; paid employment, the household, the state, cultural institutions, sexuality and violence
HAKIM - Argues that there is unfair employment practices but they have preferences and make rational choices in terms of the type of work they do.
Weberianism
WEBER -
More complex than just patriarchy and also includes class, status and party.
BARRON AND NORRIS - dual labour market; primary labour market; more secure and well paid jobs dominated by men and secondary labour market concentrated by women
POLITICAL ACTIVISM GAP - women are significantly less likely than men to participate in campaign-orientated activities than men
Postmodernism
SKEGGS -
Women have an ‘instrumental attitude’ to work as women’s jobs do not influence their identities for them as a job is just a means to an end. Too divided by class, ethnicity and age to discuss patriarchy
FALUDI - younger generation do not want to talk about the ‘f’ word and argues that women have it good now as they have more choice and freedom
