gender roles Flashcards
functionalist theory - parsons
segregated conjugal roles based on biological differences - as long as men and women carry out their natural roles, society will benefit
instrumental role = breadwinner
expressive role = housewife role
+C - housewife role is socially constructed as in 19th century women were part of the labour force but since then they’ve been confined to the home
functionalist theory - willmott and young
march of progress view - family has become egalitarian - move to joint conjugal roles
willmott and young criticisms
oakley - family is not symmetrical - men don’t carry out equal amount of housework, they only occasionally help out.
gatrell
fathers now more involved in children’s upbringing because marriages are no longer forever as adult relationships breakdown, relationships with children are expected to last a lifetime
gatrell criticism
can be argued men choose to spend time with children to avoid doing housework
silver and schor
death of housewife role - burden of housework on women has been reduced to due commercialisation of housework and women increasingly working so they can afford these good and services
silver and schor criticism
w/c families can’t afford these services so w/c women still suffer dual burden
man yee kan
women still do more housework but there’s a trend towards greater equality as younger gens of men do more housework than their fathers did
better educated women do less housework than less well educated women as they expect more from their partners
man yee kan criticism
w/c women tend to be less educated so still do most housework
decision making - edgell and hardill
edgell - men make fewer decisions but are based on important things:
very important decisions like finance, jobs or moving house are made by man alone or couple jointly but man has final say, important decisions like children’s education made jointly, rarely by woman alone, less important decisions like home decor were made by woman
hardill - man’s career took priority when deciding to move house or find a new job
edgell and hardill criticism
laurie and gershuny - more recently there has been greater sharing in decision making - highly educated women had equal say in decision making
decision making - pahl and vogler
2 ways in which families control and distribute income: housekeeping allowance system - husband gives wife money for housekeeping expenses and he controls the rest - more frequent in the past.
pooling system - both partners earn income and have access to it as well as joint responsibility for expenditure - more common in younger couples but husband had overall financial control
dark side of family - radical feminists - millet and firestone
all societies are patriarchal - all men have power over all women so exploit and oppress women
family is key institution where men oppress and exploit women - men dominate women through domestic abuse or threat of it and men control all aspects of society so police are reluctant to get involved
millet and firestone criticism
robertson - elliot - not all men are violent towards women, women can also be abusers of men and children
radical feminists fail to explain why some women are at higher risk of domestic abuse
