Gender roles Flashcards
what is the meaning of the domestic division of labour?
How household tasks are divided between family members
What do young and Willmott argue about the family?
They say that the family is becoming more symmetrical
Take a ‘march of progress’ view of the family - they are gradually improving and becoming more equal
They argue that tasks done in the home are more equally shared between men and women
What did they say the symmetrical family was and why?
Privatised
No help needed from extended family
leisure time was often spent in the home
There is a strong bond between husband and wife.
What is stratified diffusion?
What the middle class does and believes will eventually be copied by the working class
what are the reasons for an increase in the symmetrical family
Increase in women in work
use of contraception has increased
greater geographical mobility
what are the evaluations of Young and Wilmotts’ theory?
Thoery is too limited it was only conducted in London so it doesn’t represent the whole country
Oakley argues that they assume that the man doing one household chore is equal.
What does an Oakley say about the family?
The family is not symmetrical
men will ‘help out’ by doing little house work and are reluctant to do chores that are seen as feminising
15% of men shared housework and 25% shared childcare
men took over pleasurable tasks
Concluded that women do the majority of childcare and housework as men think that that is a women’s job
What is an evaluation of Oakley
Her study was on a small scale and she only conducted 40 interviews so findings cannot be generalised.
What does Gershuny say about the effect of women in paid work?
Women who are paid to work do less housework
Men gradually become used to the idea of women in work and accept the idea that they should be doing more domestic work.
What were the findings of Gershuny’s follow-up study?
Men were doing more housework and childcare
Gender socialisation is slowly changing the idea of women doing paid work
This leads to the new man
What do Dunscombe and Marsden argue about paid work?
Women face a dual burden
They are facing a triple shift
Involves doing paid work, domestic work, and emotional work.
What is emotional work?
Women handle the feelings is the family
such as handling arguments between siblings and making sure everyone is happy and healthy.
