GENDER ROLES , DOMESTIC ROLES AND POWER RELATIONSHIPS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Flashcards
What are sociologists suggesting about relationships today in society ?
- That relationships are becoming more equalitarian and moving towards greater gender equality in relationships
Explain the different gender roles in the family from the 1950s
- 1950s parson argued that the nuclear family was the best type of family that had clear segregated conjugal roles which included a clear division of labour between men and women
- In the 1970s willmott and young argued that the symmetrical family was increasing, where couples share housework and leisure time together
- in the 1990s according to beck there was an increase in the negotiated family where it would vary according to the wishes of its members and women and men became more equal
Explain what is meant by the 1950 family and segregated conjugal roles/.
This was a 1950s idea that was argued by Parsons who suggested that the ideal family was the nuclear family that was characterised by segregated conjugal roles and there were clear divisions of labour between members
- The women would be doing the expressive roles this includes cooking , care giving , being a housewife etc where as the man would be doing an instrumental role this includes going to work , providing for the family etc
Explain the differences in divisions of labour in the 1970s >
According to willmott and young they argued that the symmetrical family was gradually / improving gender roles . they took a march of progress view on the family
- because joint conjugal roles were increasing where couples started to share tasks and spend leisure time together
- women now go to work full time
What is the difference between joing conjugal roles and segregated conjugal roles ?
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Explain how gender relationships have changed today according to giddens
- Giddens suggests that the family has become more egalitarian because
- contraception has allowed women to take control of there bodies and build a relationship on intimacy rather than reproduction which can be seen in the 1900s
- Women have gained greater independence because of educational opportunities this means that women and men can become more equal
What Conflict approach would agree with giddens ?
- liberal feminists , they would support giddens view and see that society has developed significantly
- Beck would also agree and build on giddens views.
What is Becks view on relationships and divisions of labour today ?
- Beck agrees with Giddens that the traditional patriarchal family that once had clear segregate divisions of labour between women and men has now declined significantly.
she argues that there have been two trends that undermine the oppressive family - Greater gender equality has challenged male dominated spheres in life eg women expect equality in relationships now
- Greater individuation- where people’s actions are influenced more by calculations of their own self-interest than by a sense of obligation to others.
What family type do Giddens and beck support ?
The negotiated family-where traditional norms and values are not conformed to
What factors have narrowed the division of labour in relationships and families ?
- Commercialisation of housework- eg washing machines , dishwashers have reversed the amount of work that needs to do
- Lockdown in 2020- study from the ONS found that before Lockdown, in 2104-15, women did 1 hour 50 minutes more housework and childcare per day
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What can be used as evidence to suggest that divisions of labour have not been divided ? and women are still the dominant ..
- Even though divisions of labour have changed dramatically because of factors such as lockdown it hasn’t changed the persistent patterns
- 2019 UCL study found that women do 16 hours a week of housework while men only do six
- There was a 50-50 split of domestic chores in 6% of couples
-Only 1% of couples had men doing more domestic work than women.
Explain some concepts that still might apply to the unequal division of labour that women are facing today stil .
- The radical feminist view that women are still facing a dual burden and tripple shift that has been suggested by Duncombe and Marsden is still relevant in todays society from stats such as men doing on average six hours of housework whilst women do 16
- May also be social class differences that contribute to the unequal division of labour for example top 10% of households in the uk can afford a cleaner and child care that reduces the idea of a tripple shift and dual burden
What does Kaufmans research suggests about gender equality and childcare ?
Gayle Kaufaman’s research found that American fathers with a child under the age of 18 between 1997 and 2008 , increased the amount of time spent on house work and child care increased by two hours per day suggesting that men are performing a second shit when they get back from work this suggests that men are increasingly acing a dual burden and its not jut women
What is a second shift according to Gale kAUFMAN ?
a SECOND SHIFT IS SOMETHING that dads in 1997 and the 2000s started to exists this is where a man will come home from work and spend 2 hours ectar on household chores and childcare
What are the two type of dads Kaufman identified ?
- New dads which are dads that made it a priority to be involved with there children and made adjustmenst to there work practices such as leaving work earlier
- Superdads - adjusted there work lives y adjusted their work lives to fit in with their family lives – by changing careers, cutting back work hours or adopting more flexible working hours. T
