Gender Roles Flashcards
What is the functionalist view on the division of labour?
Parsons- The husband and wife perform different roles. Husband does the instrumental role, whereas the wife does the expressive role. Roles are determined by biology.
What is the liberal feminist view on division of labour?
There has been a march of progress and roles are becoming more equal.
What is radical/marxist feminists view on division of labour?
Households are still patriarchal and there has been little change in the position of women. Women suffer a dual burden, as they are working and performing domestic duties.
Evidence for families are more equal.
Willmott and Young: studied working class extended families in East London, they found a trend towards joint conjugal roles and the symmetrical family.
Sullivan: found an increase in the number of couples with an equal division of labour and found men were participating in more women’s tasks ie laundry
British social attitudes survey: found a change in attitudes, there was a fall in the number of people who thought it was men’s job to earn money and woman’s job to look after the home and family
Future Foundations: there’s been a generational shift, men do more housework than their father, women do less housework than their mothers
Evidence for families aren’t equal.
Oakley: pleasurable tasks
Dex and Ward: childcare
Duncombe and Marsden: emotional work
Southerton: leisure time
Evidence for the cultural explanation of the gender division.
Gershuny: socialisation and lagged adaption
British social attitudes survey: change in attitudes
Dunne: sexuality
Evidence for the material explanation of the division of labour.
Mee Yan Kan: CPOW
Arber and Gin: high standards of living
Silver and Schor: new technology
