Gender Roles & Domestic Division Of Labour Flashcards
What does the functionalist parsons believe about the domestic division of labour?
Men play the instrumental role and provide economically
Women play expressive role and are responsible for nurturing and primary socialisation of children
What do liberal feminists believe about the domestic division of labour?
Ann Oakley rejects the notion of symmetrical family and argues patriarchy is still a major characterises of the nuclear family and men still occupy the subordinate and dependent role
What is the dual burden?
The combination of women doing paid work outside the home and being responsible for most of the housework and child care
-unemployed men have been found to resist increased involvement in housework as they view it a unmasculine
What is the triple shift?
Women taking the major responsibility for the emotional wellbeing of their partners and children in addition to paid work and the responsibility of house work - they do a ‘triple shift’
What’s the functionalist view on the domestic division of labour? ( elizabeth bott))
Elizabeth bott says there’s two types of domestic set up in marriage:
Segregated conjugal roles - when the husband and wife occupy separate and distinct roles,the women being the home maker and the husband the breadwinner
Joint conjugal roles-When couples share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend leisure time together
what has been found when looking into decision making in the family?
- very important decisions e.g buying a house and finance was made by the husband alone or jointly but males make final say
- important decisions e.g childs education was usually joint
- less important decisions such as home decor was made by the wife
why were males found to have this role in decision making?
-males earn more and are seen as the ‘breadwinners’
what is argued to be happening to the role of fathers?
their role is changing as men are now more likely to attend the birth of their child than in the 1960s
- fathers look to their children to give them a sense of identity
- however both mothers and parents still believe the male should be the main breadwinner
what is a gender script?
social expectations/norms that set out the different gender roles that heterosexual men and women are expected to play in relationships
what did Gilliam Dunn find evidence for about gender scripts?
symmetry in lesbian households
what do functionalists and marxists say about inequalities of power and control in families?
functionalists-sexual division of labour in the home is inevitable as women are naturally suited to be caring and emotional
marxists- the mother housewife role serves to meet the needs of capitalism
What are the functionalist theories of segregated and join conjugal roles?
Segregated roles- Refer to a domestic set up where the husband and wife occupy separate and distinct roles
Joint conjugal roles- Where couples share tasks such as housework and spend leisure time together
What do functionalist argue about Gender roles and division of labour?
They generally argue we are moving forwards towards egalitarian marriage (equality) regarding division of labour
