Paper 2 Families And Households & beliefs Flashcards
what do functionalists think of the family
functionalists view society as a body, a collection of separate systems working together to maintain the whole. they view the family as an integral system to keep society functioning.
what do postmodernists believe
believe that we are in a new era and have greater freedom to choose our own identities, families, etc.
what does the personal life theory think of the family
the personal life approach recognises that the family is not the only significant relationship in people’s lives. It’s common for people to be estranged from their family or not have a family at all. Their identity or sense of belonging comes from other meaningful relationships
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define cohabitation
families that live together but or not married or ina civil partnership
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define an extended family
families that live with extended relatives - grandparents
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define a lone parent
a single parent with one or more children
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define a beanpole family
refers to the shape of the family tree, tall and thin, meaning families with a small number of children.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define a blended family
formed from other relationships - eg step families
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define kinship
a unit of people linked together by blood, marriage, adoption, or other ties
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define matrifocal
where the mother is the head of the hosuehold and makes all the decisions
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define empty nest
refers to a household where there is a couple who had children, but they have now left the home.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF FAMILY
define empty shell
refers to a husband and wife who live together and remain legally married, but who experience no intimate or emotional relationship. eg remaining together for the kids
define conflict theory Vs. consensus theory
conflict theory
the idea that society is based on:
- values and interests of dominant groups
- emphasis on the difference and inequalities in society and looks to the ruling classes to explain these
consensus theory
the idea that society is based on:
- social order and stability come from unifying norms and values
- without these norms and values society crumbles
The consensus theory suggests that social order in society is based on a system of shared norms and values, while conflict theory proposes that social order in society is based on a system of inequality.
how does the family help society?
refer to a theorist and a functionalist, marxist, and feminist perspective
functionalists - see the family as the foundation of society
feminists- see family as serving the needs for men and oppressing women
marxists - argue that it meets the needs of capitalism, not those of family members or society as a whole.
THEORIST
george peter murdock - 1949
argued that the family performed 4 essential functions to meet the needs of coiety and its members
1. stable satisfaction of the sex drive
2. reproduction of the next generation
3. socialisation of the young
4. meeting its members and economics needs
what does parson believe about the family
argues that there are only 2 key functions of the family:
1. primary socialisation of kids
2. stabilisation of adult personalities
he believes that as society evolves the family loses some of it functions, due to structural differentiation -meaning institutions such as school has taken their place.
what is warm bath theory
the family provides an environment in which the stress of everyday working life is relieved. women are the foundation of the family and in service, children are centred.
men are able to use the family to relieve stress using unpaid labour of women.
what is the new right perspective
see the family as a cornerstone of society and the normal family as a nuclear family.
They believe in minimal government intervention and oppose social and welfare policies. This is because they undermine personal responsibility and creates a dependency culture.
what are the four functions of the family according to Murdock
- stable satisfaction of the sex drive
- reproduction - of the next generation
- socialisation - of young people into societies shared norms and values
- economics - meeting its members economic needs like food and shelters
what is structural differentiation
when institutions take over the role of the family (school). this means that parents have less control.
MARXIST KEY TERM
what is the bourgeoisie
the ruling elite class.
they own the means of production. eg. machinery, factories, etc. they profit from the work of the proletariat and run society in a way that maintains their rule
MARXIST KEY TERM
what is a base (subculture)
the means of production, eg. tools, machinery, factories.
MARXIST KEY TERM
what is a proletariat
the worker/working classes who are exploited by the bourgeoisie for their labour
MARXIST KEY TERM
what is a superstructure
the social institutions that make up society. eg. media, schools/education, religions.
MARXIST KEY TERM
what is capitalism
a social and economic system in which exists in all countries, it is based on private ownership of services and goods. people create and sell their products and services and each individual is responsible for their own economic success. capitalists own the means of production and benefit of the labour of their workers. the government plays a secondary role in capitalism as society is run by private ownership.
MARXISM
what is the marxist perspective on family
marxists believe that the family (particularly the nuclear family) is a tool of capitalism and its main function is to maintain capitalism and reinforce social inequalities.
it is a superstructure and is part of the way the bourgeoisie maintain the social order. it is a social institution that reinforces capitalist ideas overall.
MARXISM
what are strengths and weaknesses to the marxists perspective on the family
strengths:
- marxists explain the ideological role of families in society and suggest reasons people feel strongly about family structures
- offers an explanation of why families first developed in society
- points out unpleasant aspects of family life and the inequalities of power within the family
- feminist perspectives have based their analysis on marxist views
weaknesses:
- ignores the meanings families have for individuals
- presents people with an oversocialised view of humans, seeing socialisation as a one way process where children are embedded with capitalist culture
- its over focuses on the negative aspects of the family while ignoring the satisfaction it gives people
- ignores recent economic and educational changes which seem to have resulted in a radical change in how women think of their careers
What is Marxism?
Marxism is a structural conflict perspective. They see society as structured along class lines with institutions generally working in the interests of the small elite class who have economic power (The Bourgeoisie) and the much larger working class (the proletariat). The Bourgeoisie gain their wealth from exploiting the proletariat There is thus a conflict of interests between the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat.
What is feudalism
The dominant social system in medieval
Europe where society was based on the feudal pyramid, with king on top.
In the feudal system the nobility held lands from the crown, while peasants were obliged to live in their lords land.
what do Marxists believe about social conflict (his central view)
for marx, the centre of his view of society is the idea that there is a struggle between segments of society over valued resources. in particular, the battle between social classes over material goods.
how does the family reinforce the capitalist ideology - use theorists to support your answer
- Engel’s view = due to inheritance of private property and ownership
- Zaretsky’s view = due to women still doing the majority of housework and because children are socialised to accept and embody norms and values that uphold capitalism.
- Althusser’s view = the family socialises children into the norms and values that are useful to the capitalist ruling class eg. obedience
the purpose of the family in marxism
the family helps to supply workers to capitalists in what ways?
- more workers - raising children in a safe environment
- free maintenance of work force - domestic labour
- teach children to accept capitalism through socialisation
- pressures family to keep up - the family feel they have to keep up a certain lifestyle for the capitalist agenda
- the family is a cushion - Zaretsky believed the family allows the adults to feel stabilised and ignore the alienation of their working life, making them not rebel.
what is feminism perspective
feminsts perspective highlights the social issues that are often overlooked or misidentified. it analyses women’s experiences of gender subordination and identifies the underlying cause of gender opression.
diverse feminst theories
what do liberal feminists believe
they believe that women’s unequal access to social, political, and economic institutions cause their oppression
diverse feminst theories
what do radical feminists believe
they believe that oppression is rooted in sexuality. women’s bodies are controlled by violence, objectification, and social institutions.
Who suggested that the family is a ‘economy in miniature’? What does this mean?
Delphy and Leonard suggest that the family is a ‘economy in miniature’ This means that the family is run by the woman’s unpaid work. It is central to maintaining the patriarchal control of society. Like Marxists they believe that the elite of society profit off the work of the oppressed but for feminists the women are the oppressed and the men are the elite.
What is dual burden
Women still have to take most responsibility for the domestic work even in full time employment
What is the triple shift
Women take on the paid, emotional and domestic work in the home
Outline and explain 2 ways that Marxists explain how the family contributes to social inequalities
- socialises children into dominant capitalist ideology ⬇️
Socialised through:
•• Superstructures - sending children to school to learn the capitalist ideology
•• Unit of consumption - feel pressured to consume and buy things to keep up. Children have power to encourage/force parents to buying and living a certain lifestyle. - cushioning and effect - family alleviates the alienation of work and quells rebellion. Zaretsky believed the family allows adults to feel stabilised and ignore the alienation of their working life.
(Example answer in book one)
Summarise radical feminism
- all society = patriarchy
- gender inequality = key problem
- men = enemy/source of exploitation
- family/marriage = maintain inequality and patriarchal societies which maintains stereotypes and therefore the nuclear family
Summarise Marxist feminism
- capitalism = cause of gender inequality
↪️ system exploit women’s labour
↪️ patriarchy = causes capitalism - eliminate economic barrier = reach equality
Summarise liberal feminism
- concerned on ending gender discrimination
- egalitarian (balance of men and women) no enemy’s
- critique to their view for not fighting to end unpaid labour
The personal life perspective argues that all families suffer from what 2 weaknesses
- They tend to assume the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type. Ignoring diversity in families today
- They are all structural theories. They assume the hay families and their members are simply passive puppets manipulated by the structure of society to perform certain functions
How does the family perform an ideological function according to Marxists
It socialises children into the idea that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable and offer an illusory ‘haven’ from the harsh and explorative world of capitalism outside
Explain the difference between Marxist feminism and radical feminism
Marxist feminists see capitalism as the main cause of women’s oppression whereas radical feminists see men as the main cause
What is meant by a ‘bottom up’ approach to the family
An approach focusing on the meanings that individual family members hold and how these shape their actions and relationships
Give 2 examples of relationships some people regard as ‘family’ but aren’t based on blood or marriage
- pets
- relationships with friends
Define family diversity
The difference between families including: roles, organisation, and structures
‘Is family beneficial to society?’
Give reasons for why someone would say yes to this statement
Don’t have to know ALL:
- creates better variety of support systems, eg. Same sex couples
- provides a greater social world to experience
- women no longer oppressed badly by patriarchal relationships = post modernism
- flexibility in relationships - Giddens, confluent love
- no gender roles
- feminists = no evidence it doesn’t socialise kids as good
Is family beneficial to society?
Give reasons for why someone would say no to this statement
Don’t have to know ALL:
- can be less cohesive and hard to form shared norms and values - functionalist
- can go against religious or cultural views and norms
- ‘zombie families’ cannot provide (Beck)
- doesn’t support necessary socialisation AS well - functionalist, parsons
- leads to society breaking down, kids less socialised - new right
Define modernist
Where modern society is fairly fixed in its structure. Nuclear families are best suited to the capitalist working structure
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is the functionalist/Parsons perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = BAD
- modernist perspective - nuclear families are better suited.
- they see the split functions of the family into father and mother/husband and wife as beneficial (nuclear family is good)
- other family types are dysfunctional as they are less able to support the necessary socialisation of children
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is the New right perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = BAD
- patriarchal nuclear family is the only natural family type. Biological distinctions between men and women mean they are suited to the role of breadwinner and career.
- marriage is necessary and more stable and shows a deliberate and permanent commitment.
- Cohabiting is a negative trend as it’s more likely to end marriage.
⬆️ Harry Benson - cohabiting is more likely to break down in the first three years than a marriage. Cohabiting = 20% ended, marriage = 6% ended - social policy has increased diversity by supporting non - nuclear family types eg. Single mother benefit. This leads to society breaking down as children are more vulnerable in non-nuclear families. They are not socialised into societal norms and expectations
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is the functionalist/Chester’s perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = OVER-EXAGGERATED
Chester: neo-conventional family:
neo-conventional families (nuclear families but not as patriarchal).
- movement away from gender roles, more equal partnership in domestic labour and wage earning. The family is still nuclear but the organisation is different.
- majority of families are still nuclear and most non nuclear family types either were or will become nuclear.
- most cohabiting families are temporary before getting married
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is the rapoports perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
Include the 5 types they found
DIVERSITY = GREAT
Study in 1980’s found family becoming more diverse. Looked at the changes to social policy and found this allowed for more diversity in the family.
Identified 5 types of family diversity:
- organisational:
Differences in the way family organises its obligations. eg. More diversity in gender roles and expectations - cultural:
Social differences in families from different ethnicities - social class:
MC and WC had different ways of organising the family - life course:
Stage of life we are at means the family is structured and organised in different ways. Eg. Young 20 yr old couple and mid 40’s family - cohort:
The different generations had different expectations and roles in the family
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is the post modernist perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = GREAT
- society is now more fractured and divided. People now exist as a collection of subcultures
- people can create their identities from a variety of cultures and sexualities and social movements
- the rapid rise of tech has dissolved the previous geographical and generational barriers making life less predictable
- David Cheadle argues this decreases stability and increases freedom. Therefore we can no longer generalise about family life as it is too fractured and diverse
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is Stacey’s postmodern feminist perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = GREAT
The increased freedom has allowed women to no longer be oppressed by patriarchal relationships. Through life history interviews Stacey found that postmodern family’s women have been the agents of change rather than men. Women are creating families on their own terms
FAMILY DIVERSITY
What is Beck’s negotiated couple perspective on diversity?
(Is it good or bad?)
DIVERSITY = GREAT
We live in a risk society because we have more freedom to make choice so we are more aware if the risks to be able to calculate the risk reward ratio.
People can now negotiate their roles in the relationships, they are not confined by the patriarchal gender roles if traditional nuclear families. This means people can calculate what roles best suit their partnership.
However there are zombie families where they appear to function but cannot provide. They don’t end due to the need for comfort and structure in the postmodern world.
what is Giddens - confluent love, perspective
- Relationships have moved from need to want. there is greater choice in what we can do so we have greater equality and flexibility in relationships.
- this leads to a personal choice of family for personal satisfaction. marriages are less secure and only held by the will of people in them. these are referred to as pure relationships. they are less stable, leading to greater family diversity
what does the personal life perspective agree with individualisation thesis about
- agree with individualisation thesis from Beck and Giddens that there is greater family diversity but disagree that people have complete freedom of choice.
this is because we are still limited by traditional norms.
what is the connectedness thesis (smart)
That we have choices but these are always made within a web of connectedness; all choices are linked and influenced by our networks of existing relationships and interwoven personal histories.
what does may argue about changing power structures
may argues power structures are changing not disappearing. women have more rights but there are still barriers to accessing freedom in society
define social policy
ideas/policies made by political parties and government designed to affect/improve quality of life
the 1969 and 1984 divorce acts
how could this policy affect family life in the UK?
more women have more power = more file for divorces, this leads to more lone parents and re-marriages
the 1969 and 1984 divorce acts
does it support or undermine the traditional nuclear family?
undermine.
it shows women are not property (but in long term (chester) they will become nuclear families again
the 1969 and 1984 divorce acts
who does this policy benefit?
women.
as it is shown they are not mens property and have power
maternity and paternity acts
how could this policy affect family life in the UK?
raise in the number of children. enforces a certain role of women in the family, as they have longer paid leave. benefits child centred society
maternity and paternity acts
does it support or undermine the traditional nuclear family?
both.
support = because more women have kids, encourages traditional roles
undermine = can encourage single mothers due to paid leave
maternity and paternity acts
who does this policy benefit?
women - can now be a lone parent; have a child and get paid still
civil partnerships and gay marriage 2014
how could this policy affect family life in the UK?
- more marriages and therefore diversity in families
- decreases the social expectations of men unable to foster care
- rise in adoption
civil partnerships and gay marriage 2014
does it support or undermine the traditional nuclear family?
undermine.
goes against what ‘traditional’ nuclear family looks like
civil partnerships and gay marriage 2014
who does this policy benefit?
same sex couples
universal child benefits
how could this policy affect family life in the UK?
- rise in children, knowing its supported and you will gain money.
- poor families can afford to have children
- provides basic standard of living
universal child benefits
does it support or undermine the traditional nuclear family?
support.
allows support for nuclear family as it encourages them to have kids
universal child benefits
who does this policy benefit?
poorer families
income support for single parents
how could this policy affect family life in the UK?
more confidence to get a divorce, knowing there is support = more lone parents
income support for single parents
does it support or undermine the traditional nuclear family?
undermine = more lone parents
income support for single parents
who does this policy benefit?
lone parents
what is the marxist (donzelot) perspective on social policy
negative view.
- donzelot sees policy as a form of state power/control and survelliance over families
- argues doctors and social workers use their knowledge to control and change families
- argue social pocies operate in the interests of the capitalist class and reverse progress made.
what is the radical feminsts perspective on social policy
negative view.
- argut it has reinforced the patriarchy
- only benefits men, not usually women
what is the new right perspective on social policy
- some polcies have damaged marriage and the nuclear family by promoting deviant family types/lifestyles
- state should still play a MINIMAL role in peoples lives
- family is naturally self-reliant
what is the functionalist perspective on social policy
- state serves the interests of society as a whole eg. free healthcare
- but they assume all families benefit equally and there is a progress
what is the social democratic approaches perspective on social policy
positive view
- policy supports us all as a whole and keeps us going as a group
- helps develop and support families
what is the liberal feminist perspective on social policy
positive view.
- social policies relating to equal work pay and opportunties has helped women to insist on more equality in the family
define stigma
negative label, social disapproval or shame attached to a person, action, or relationship
define secularization
decline in the influence of religion in society
what is the new right (charles murray) perspective on the rising divorce rate?
It is bad.
Following consequences:
- elimination of nuclear family, they don’t believe other families can survive without it.
- negative influence on kids as they are more likely to be deviant
- rising number of single mothers who depend on and take advantage of the welfare system
Charles Murray:
Believes the above +
Claims that single parents are part of an ‘underclass’ that brings up kids in a dependency culture in which they become deviant
What is the post modernism (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim) perspective on the rising divorce rate
It is good.
- see post modernism as there cause behind changes in relationship trends
- people have more opportunities. Free to enter and exit relationships, creating diversity.
at the same time people get a divorce easier if a ‘more perfect’ partner comes - creating more diversity
Beck and BG call this a clash between love and individual freedom
What is the new right (Rodger’s and Pryor) perspective on the rising divorce rate
It is bad.
- see divorce as being detrimental (harmful) to children and parents should stay together
- Rodger’s and Pryor argue children of divorced parents experience more poverty, poor housing, behavioural problems, teenage pregnancy, and educational underachievement
What is the functionalist perspective on the rising divorce rate
It is good.
The higher expectations people place in marriage today is a major cause of rising divorce rates. However, people’s continuation with marriage demonstrates a continued commitment to marriage within society. Therefore, divorce isn’t that bad as they are likely to get married again
What is the feminist (duncombe and marsden) perspective on rising divorce rates
It is good.
Women won’t have the burden of housework etc.
this frees women from the oppression of marriage.
Give pros and cons to reconstituted families
pros
- kids learn to relate with different people
- kids develop good problem solving skills
- more diversity
- good financial security and family support
cons
- conflict increase within families
- tense relationships affects a kids wellbeing and attitude
Give pros and cons to single parent families
pros
- more decision making power
- strong sense of community
- kids appreciate value of parenthood
cons
- work overload
- kids can get stressed and see a difference between friends lives
- kids prone to negative wellbeing
What are the causes for lower marriage rates
- change in gender roles
- domestic labour reliant on women still (radical feminism)
- increase in state policy supporting single parents
- more women working - equal pay, so they don’t rely on men for income
- less focus on religion (secularisation)
- more cohabitation = no reason to get married
What was postmodernist - Anthony Giddens’ theory?
confluent love
The individualisation of society means that people are looking for more meaningful relationships, and when these are no longer fulfilling the individual they will move on
What is postmodernist - Zygmunt Bauman’s theory
liquid love
In a postmodern world we are so focused on on consumption that we can only form temporary relationships that satisfy immediate needs. To him our relationships are made up of fragile bonds.
Overall it shows that our relationships are made out of fragile bonds due to a lack of self love. This relates to marriages today as we see a mental health increase = no self love which means relationships are made temporary.
Give pros and cons to cohabitation
pros
- feminists view cohabitation as an advancement in society as it allows women freedom to not be restricted by the patriarchal nature of marriage.
- Stacy suggests that women are the agents of change in the family dynamic
cons
- new right view cohabitation as detrimental to society as it removes the structures of marriage that promote social norms
Give pros and cons to same sex relationships
pros
- a study reported that children in gay and lesbian households are more likely to talk about emotionally difficult topics, and they are often more resilient, compassionate and tolerant.
- lower divorce rate for states that allow same sex marriage
- helps society become more diverse
cons
- lack of male or female figure in the family could lead to a lack of socialisation for the child and the child could also become more deviant
- some religions, like Christianity, don’t agree with same sex couples because one of the parts of a relationship in their eyes is the ability to reproduce which you can’t do in a same sex relationship
Give pros and cons to a one person household
pros
- by actively managing their budgets and spend, single person households have more purchasing power. They also tend to socialise and spend more time outside than traditional families
- you have your own responsibilities and privacy. You have the choice of things in your own home.
cons
- you may get lonely and bored which could decrease your mental health
- chores and upkeep are up to your responsibility
- living costs are higher which leads to less savings
How is the extended family impacted by transport and technology
- can visit and see the extended family more often
- have close family connections through mobile phones
How is the extended family impacted by ethnicity
- higher number of EF in Asian households
- depending on where you are from, it may or may not be common.
(But this can also change depending on age and class)
How is the extended family impacted by economics
- finances can be shared
- reconstituted family = new EF
- pensions support EF
How is the extended family impacted by gender roles
- children are more supported
- paid maternity leave
- women more likely to take on caregiving roles for elderly
How is the extended family impacted by social policies
- single parent benefits lowers EF
- pension schemes support EF
Define the domestic division of labour
The roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work.
What is the feminist analysis of domestic labour
- 80% are dissatisfied with housework
- fragmentation and excessive pace, and loneliness make work boring
- freedom is experienced as you can “be your own boss”
- not happy due to their work not being appreciated = low status
HOUSEWORK - the domestic division of labour
Define and evaluate the instrumental role, give associated sociologists and examples too
It is a functionalist concept.
Associated sociologists: Talcott Parsons
Def: a dominant task orientated leader in the public sphere, taking care of economic needs and serving as an authority figure that makes decisions within a family.
Examples: the husband (men) has an instrumental role geared to succeed at work so that he can provide to the family. He is the breadwinner.
Evaluation:
This division is based on biological differences, it is beneficial to men and women, society and children.
**Criticism **- young and wilmott argue that men have more domestic tasks.
Feminists reject the view that the division is natural. It only benefits men.
HOUSEWORK - the domestic division of labour
Define and evaluate the expressive role, give associated sociologists and examples too
It is a functionalist concept.
Associated sociologists: Talcott Parsons
Def: a functionalist understanding of the females function in the family. The role is to provide stabilisation, emotional support, child rearing.
Examples: the wife has an expressive role. She is the homemaker, full time housewife, rather than a wage earner.
Evaluation:
This division is based on biological differences, it is beneficial to men and women, society and children.
**Criticism **- young and wilmott argue that men have more domestic tasks.
Feminists reject the view that the division is natural. It only benefits men.
HOUSEWORK - the domestic division of labour
Define and evaluate the conjugal role, give associated sociologists and examples too
This a liberal feminist concept.
Associated sociologists: Elizabeth Bott
Def: the domestic and household responsibilities of partners
Examples: segregated conjugal roles - where couples have separate roles.
Joint CR - couples share their asks and spend leisure time together
Evaluation:
+ young and wilmott identified segregated CR in w/c Bethnal Green in the 1950’s: women as full time housewives and men using leisure time in pubs etc.
HOUSEWORK - the domestic division of labour
Define and evaluate the symmetrical family, give associated sociologists and examples too
It is a liberal feminist concept.
Associated sociologists: young and wilmott
Def: they see family life as gradually improving, more equal. Roles in the family are now similar
examples:
- women now go to work
- men help with housework
- couples spend free time together
Evaluation: SF more common in younger couples. SF is a result of major social changes eg. New technology
HOUSEWORK - the domestic division of labour
Define and evaluate the feminist critique of the March of progress view; give associated sociologists and examples too
Associated sociologists: Ann Oakley
Def: they argue little has changed, inequality remains in the family, women still do housework. They see it stemming from the fact that family and society is male dominated and patriarchal
Examples: only 15% husbands participated in housework, 25% in childcare.
Evaluation:
Mary Boultan found less than 20% of husbands supported childcare. Society supports the division of labour by it being patriarchal.
the gender division of labour
What are the 2 explanations that 2 sociologists give for the question “why do women do more housework?”
Why do women do more housework?
Crompton and Lyonette have 2 explanations:
- the cultural/ideological explanation
- the material/economic explanation
What is the cultural/ideological explanation for why women do more housework
- determined by patriarchal norms and values
- society expects women to do more and socialises them to
What is the material/economic explanation for why women do more housework
- women generally earn less so it is economically rational for women to do more, while men earn money
What is the evidence for the cultural explanation of why women do more housework
Gershuny - found couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share housework equally themselves = parental role models are important
What is the evidence for the material explanation of why women do more housework
Sullivan - shows working full time rather than part time makes the biggest difference in terms of how much domestic labour each partner does, because full time brings women’s earnings closer to their or partners
Give 5 arguments for the march of progress with counter arguments
• FOR: There is an emergence of the
‘New Man’ who is more involved in the family life shows that the instrumental and expressive roles are more evenly shared.
AGAINST: The ‘new man’ is only a minority of men. Women still do twice as much as men
• FOR: The rise of feminism means that women have more rights and power in society than previously, so are able to have roles outside of the home.
AGAINST: society is still male-dominated/patriarchal. There is still lower pay and stereotypical views. Still expectations to perform within the home
• FOR: The equal pay act allows for women to have careers and have led to a rise in dual-career or dual-earner families.
AGAINST: men are still likely to do less housework even when the woman is working. There is still a gender pay gap and men are likely to be higher power = high pay.
• FOR: The commercialisation of housework means that technology has reduced the amount of labour needed to complete housework and makes it easier for men to engage.
AGAINST: this also means less jobs are needed so women are more likely to stay at home. Still a privileged position to be in. LC stil pertorm.
• FOR: There are less value given to gender stereotypes in postmodern society, so men are more likely to taken on traditionally feminine roles.
AGAINST: socialisation reduces the amount done by men/women.
Still an unfair division of power.
Ann Oakley
What research method did Oakley use to conduct her research into housework in 1974?
She interviewed women and housewives
Ann Oakley
What percentage of housewives were dissatisfied with their role in her study
70%
Ann Oakley
What were the 2 key reasons for housewives to be dissatisfied with their role in her study
- repetitive
- lonely
What is the March of progress view?
Families are becoming more equal
Wilmott and young argue this
What is one reasons that some sociologists agree with the March of progress view?
Men help with housework
What is one reasons that some sociologists disagree with the March of progress view?
Only 15% of husbands participated in housework
What is one way that marriage rates have changed in the last 50 years? Give one reason for this change.
Increase in same sex marriage - same sex act
Lower marriage rate - less pressure
What is one reason for the rising divorce rate?
Due to Covid and the divorce act
How has child rearing changed in the last 50 years? Give one reason for this change.
People have fewer kids - focus on careers
family diversity
What is one way that families are becoming more diverse? Analyse this change from two different sociological perspectives
The way: rise in lone parent families
Analysis 1: children aren’t fully socialised because they dont have both gendered parents
Analysis 2: boys without a dad - more likely to commit crimes due to the absence (functionalist)
decision making in households
What is Carolyn Vogler’s theory?
Vogler identifies 2 main types of control over family income:
1. The allowance system - men give their wives an allowance with the man retaining any surplus for himself
2. Pooling - where both partners have access to low income and joint responsibility for expenditure. This is now on the increase/most common.
decision making in households
What is Elaine Kempson’s theory/study?
Kempson found in low income families women denied their own needs to make ends meet. A woman sees anything spent on herself as money/essentials for the children. Leaves women in poverty
decision making in households
What is Stephen Edgell’s theory/study?
Edgell did a study of professional couples and found that:
- very important decisions were taken by the husband
- important decisions were usually taken jointly and seldom by the wife alone
- less important decisions were made by the wife
He argues that this is because men on average earn more
What is a symmetrical family
Where a family shares roles and responsibilities equally
Make points and explanations for why relationships are not equal in modern life
- Women still take on the majority of domestic labour
- dual burden
- Anne Oakley - men don’t do much - Women still socialised into the role of the housewife
- children toys - hamley’s little housewife section
- Anne Oakley - socialisation into the role is pervasive in society - Decision making - men making more important decisions
- Stephen Edgell - men make financial decisions and women make domestic decisions
domestic violence
What did Dobash and Dobash find in their study of Scottish police and court records/interviews with victims?
Russell and Rebecca Dobash’s (1979: 2007) research in Scotland, based on police and court records and interviews with women in women’s refuges. They cite examples of wives being slapped, pushed about, beaten, raped or killed by their husbands.
Dobash and Dobash found that violent incidents could be set off by what a husband saw as a challenge to his authority, such as his wife asking why he was late home for a meal. They argue that marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power and authority on husbands and dependency on wives.
domestic violence
What is the key issue with statistical evidence when studying domestic violence?
- Firstly, victims may be unwilling to report it to the police. Stephanie Yearnshire (1997) found that on average a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report.
- Secondly, police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute those cases that are reported to them. According to David Cheal (1991), this reluctance is due to the fact that police and other state agencies are not prepared to become involved in the family.
domestic violence
How do radical feminists explain domestic violence?
Radical feminists interpret findings such as those of Dobash and Dobash as evidence of patriarchy. For example, Kate Millett (1970) and Shulamith Firestone (1970) argue that all societies have been founded on patriarchy.
They see the key division in society as that between men and women. Men are the enemy: they are the oppressors and exploiters of women.
Radical feminists see the family and marriage as the key institutions in patriarchal society and the main source of women’s oppression. Within the family, men dominate women through domestic violence or the threat of it.
For radical feminists, widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power that all men have over all women.
domestic violence
Evaluate the radical feminist explanation of domestic violence
Radical feminists use the concept of patriarchy to explain why most victims of domestic violence are women, but they wrongly assume that all women are equally at risk of patriarchal violence. They explain why it is women and not men who are victims, but they fail to explain which women are most likely to be victims.
domestic violence
What is the materialist explanation of domestic violence?
The materialist explanation of domestic violence focuses on economic and material factors such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk than others. For example, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2010) see domestic violence as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality.
What is the neo-conventional family?
A dual earner family - still NF but not traditionally
What is the cushioning effect?
The family provides a ‘cushion’ from the effects of ‘alienating work’
How does the family maintain the patriarchy
Socialisation means parents are passing down and continuing their traditional (patriarchal) values.
domestic violence
What are two reasons why DV is not simply the behaviour of a few psychologically disturbed individuals
- It does not occur randomly
- Seen to be in patterns
domestic violence
What are two groups (not women) who are at risk of DV
- In low social classes
- In shared accommodation
domestic violence
Evaluate the materialist explanation of DV
- Wilkinson and pickett don’t explain why women rather than men are main victims
- not all males commit acts of violence against their partners
domestic violence
What is the Marxist feminist explanation of DV
See inequality causing DV.
Fran ansley describes wives as ‘takers of shit’. Arguing DV is the product of capitalism: male workers are exploited at work = they take out their frustration on their wives. This explains why DV is mainly against females
domestic violence
EVALUATE the Marxist feminist explanation of DV
Fails to explain why not all male workers commit acts of violence against a their partners.
childhood
What does Jane pilcher define childhood as
Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage and children in our society occupy a different status from adults.
childhood
What is Aries view on childhood + in the pre-industrial era?
- Aries argues that during this time ‘the idea of childhood did not exist’. Children were not seen as having a different ‘nature’ or needs from adults - at least not until infancy has passed.
- Aries uses work of art as evidence, where children are seen with adults working.
- Aries argues we have moved from a world that did not see childhood as in anyway special, to a world obsessed with it. He describes the 20th century as ‘the century of the child’
childhood
What are the criticisms of Aries view on childhood
Sociologists have criticised Aries for arguing that childhood did not exist in the past.
Pollock argues that it’s more correct to say that in the Middle Ages, society simply had a different notion of childhood from today’s.
childhood is better
Does the March of progress agree that childhood is better? Why?
Yes.
- They argue that childhood has improved significantly, and paints a rather dark picture of children in the past
- Aries argues that children are more valued, protected, educated, and cared for than ever before.
- For example, children today are protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child labour, while an array of professionals and specialists caters for their educational, psychological and medical needs. The government spends huge sums on their education.
- Better healthcare and higher standards of living also mean that babies have a much better chance of survival now than a century ago. In 1900, the infant mortality rate was 154 per 1,000 live births; today its 4 per 1,000.
- Argue for a child centered family
childhood is better
What laws have helped prove that childhood is better
- Laws restricting children working as this helps separate the difference between children and adults and can allow children to have a safer childhood because they are not being exploited by parents or working in dangerous conditions. For example, you have to be 14 to work.
- 1889 prevention of cruelty to children act as children are safer and live longer with less trauma. In 1989 the children act made the welfare of the child the fundamental principle of underpinning the work of agencies such as social services.
- Compulsory school (1880) and raising the school leaving age as you have to be in education until your 18. This makes childhood better as it allows you to gain better qualifications and opportunities to gain a higher status and more money which can help their children in the future.
childhood is better
How has the child centred family proved that childhood has gotten better
• Higher living standards and smaller family sizes (down from 5.7 births per woman in the 1860s to 1.83 in 2014) also mean that parents can afford to provide for children’s needs properly.
According to one estimate, by the time a child reaches their 21st birthday, they will have cost their parents over £227,000.
• March of progress argue this because children are no longer to be ‘seen and not heard’, as they were in the Victorian times.
• Instead they are now the focal point of the family and are invested financially and emotionally from their parents a lot more now than in the past.
• Parents have high aspirations for their children and want them to have a better life and greater opportunities than they themselves had.
childhood
What does Smart argue about childhood?
- Argues that the ‘new sociology of childhood’ aims to include the views and experiences of children themselves
- e.g. mason and tripper show how children actively create their own definitions of their family, based on closeness= enables sociologists to explore the diverse childhoods that exist within a single society
Overall childhood is better
childhood is better
What are the arguments for the disappearance of childhood not to be true
• Unlike Postman, lona Opie (1993) argues that childhood is not disappearing. Based on a lifetime of research into children’s unsupervised games, rhymes and songs, conducted with her husband Peter Opie, she argues that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture over many years.
• Postman’s study is valuable in showing how different types of communication technology, such as print and television, can influence the way in which childhood is constructed. However, he over-emphasises a single cause - television - at the expense of other factors that have influenced the development of childhood.
• Jenks does not agree with Postman that we are seeing the disappearance of childhood. Childhood continues to be a separate status, and the legal and other restrictions placed on what children can do continues to mark them off from adults.
childhood is better
Some people argue that childhood is worse because of adult control, how can this be rebutted?
• Critics of the child liberationist view argue that some adult control over children’s lives is justified on the grounds that children cannot make rational decisions and so are unable to safeguard their interests themselves.
• Critics also argue that, although children remain under adult supervision, they are not as powerless as the child liberationists claim. For example, as we saw earlier, the 1989 Children Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establish the principle that children have legal rights to be protected and consulted
childhood is better
Some people argue that childhood is worse because of media and technology, how can this be rebutted?
• Critics of Aries view on the fact that the influence of media is bad or childhood would argue that technology and educational software has helped to improve children’s skills and facilitate their learning
• They can be used as a classroom tool the with help children stay motivated in new ways
childhood
Overall, how has childhood improved?
- laws restricting children working - helps separate the difference between life and adults. Children are less at risk and can have a safe/fun childhood
- compulsory school and raising school leaving age - helps separate the difference between kids and adults, kids get the opportunities to gain a higher status and make money
- 1889 prevention of cruelty to children act - children are safer and live longer with less trauma
- lower infant mortality rates - population increases and more succession in kids, bigger families
- laws restricting kids engaging in dangerous activities - population increases and kids can spend more of their free time freely
childhood; it’s got worse
What did Malinowski’s study suggest?
How?
That childhood is a cultural experience.
The study showed Trobriander children and how they engage in sexual activity in keeping with their age.
childhood; it’s got worse
What does Postman argue?
Childhood is getting worse because..
- trend towards giving children the same rights as adults, disappearance of unsupervised games etc.
In postman’s view the cause first of the emergence of childhood, and now its disappearance, lies in the rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by TV culture.
childhood; it’s got worse
What does Sue Palmer argue?
Toxic childhood
Rapid technology and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged kids physical, emotional and intellectual development changes eg. Junk food, games, marketing
childhood
What does Allison Pugh argue?
Consumption as compensation
Pugh suggests that parental spending on children is ‘consumption as compensation’ - parents who are ‘cash-rich but time-poor’ alleviate their guilt about not spending time with their kids by buying them whatever they want.
childhood
What does Aries argue in regards to the influence of media
Influence of media
- believed media and peer groups have a stronger influence than parents
- exposure to media is an issue. Encouraged young girls to view themselves as sexual beings
- increase in social problems eg. Suicide, ed, in kids is an outcome of this process
demography
What is demography?
Demography is the statistical study of human populations. Demographers use census data, surveys, and statistical models to analyse size, movement, and structure of populations.
march of progress
What are the arguments FOR the March of progress?
- There’s an emergence of the ‘ new man’ who is more involved in the family life showing that the instrumental and expressive roles are more evenly shared
- The rise of feminism means that women have more rights and power in society than previously, so are able to have roles outside the home
- The equal pay act allows for women to have careers and have led to rise in dualcareer or dual earner families
- commercialisation of housework means that technology has reduced the amount of labour needed to complete housework and makes it easier for men to engage
- The less values given to gender stereotypes in postmodern society, so men are more likely to take on traditionally feminine roles
march of progress
What are the arguments AGAINST the March of progress?
- The ‘ new man’ is a minority of men.
Women still do twice as much as men - Society is still male dominated/patriarchal. There is still lower and stereotypical views. There is still expectations to perform within the home.
- Men are still likely to do less housework even when a woman is working. There is still a gender pay gap and men are more likely to be higher power meaning more pay for them
- Less jobs are needed because of technology so women are more likely to stay stay at home.
- socialisation reduces the amount done by men and women. There’s still an unfair division of power.
Why has the bean-pole family become more popular in 21st century society?
Parents are not as economically dependent on children, so they will have less kids. Women are now In employment, having children later means they have less kids. People focus on careers, having children is less of a priority. Longer life expectancy meaning more generations alive at once. Lower infant mortality rate = people having less children.
List three reasons why children’s physical emotional and intellectual development has been damaged.
Mark scheme:
• an increase in junk food
•increase in screen time (video games)
• intensive marketing to children
• long work hours (parents shifts)
•the growing emphasis of testing in education.
• increase in mental health problems within children
• drugs and alcohol abuse
• early sexual experiences
Give both an advantage and disadvantage of pure relationships.
Advantage - more freedom = formed more on love than a sense of duty or transactionality.
Disadvantage - less stable= more likely to breakdown.
How has the triple shift effected the modern family structure?
Maintains the unequal division of labour - women caring for emotional needs of family and paid and unpaid labour.
Explain the post-modernist view of the nuclear family in society today.
Shifted and fragmented institution - emphasis on diversity and nuclear family is only one. The family is a product of personal preferences and life-style choices rather than a fixed institution.
What are Rappaports 5 types of family diversity.
Cultural, Social class, generational, organisational and life stage.
What did Dobash and Dobash find were the main causes of domestic violence?
Men feeling challenge eg, women challenging their behaviour or exerting power over them
Who came up with functional fit theory and what is it?
Parsons - as society changes the family changes to be the best fit.
Does Zartesky agree or disagree with the cushioning theory?
Disagree - largely an illusion as the family cannot meet the members needs
What is the difference between immigration and emigration
Immigration is the movement of individuals away from their country of origin to a new country
(People arriving)
Emigration indicates people leaving the country in question (exit)
What is net migration?
The difference between the number of persons who enter a territory (immigrants) and number of people who leave (emigrants) generally calculated over a year
How may immigration affect future trends?
- increases labour supply and promoting innovation
- Increases poverty
What are the consequences of the change in the number of babies being born?
The family
- Lower fertility rates, an increase in bean pole families
- Women free to go to work – more dual earner couples
the dependency ratio
- Few people of working age – greater number of dependent people
- Burden of dependency may increase again
vanishing children
- Falling fertility rate – few children.
- Childhood becomes lonely, but may become more valued with less siblings
public services
- More people means more pressure on services. If there’s less - it is barely used and there’s a lack of money
ageing population
- less/more to care for and there may be less/more to care for the aging population. People may have to work to support themselves as there will be more old to young
demography
The aging of the population is caused by what 3 factors
- Increasing life expectancy.
- Declining infant mortality.
- Declining fertility.
demography
What is the dependency ratio?
The proportion of the population that’s dependent on the welfare state in comparison of the proportion of the population in employment
demography
What does structural dependency mean
How retirement, poverty, institutionalise and restriction of domestic and community roles in later life have contributed to artificially structuring or deepening the dependency of older people
beliefs
What is the constructionist definition of religion?
religions are defined by their followers
- don’t believe religion has to include a God
- focus on how individuals and groups define religion for themselves
- religion is seen as constructed and defined differently in areas; therefore avoiding generalisations
beliefs
What is the substantive definition of religion?
religions are collections of people believing in a supernatural power
- focus on the content of religious beliefs
- Weber’s definition - religion is belief in a superior power and beyond nature
beliefs
What is the functional definition of religion?
religion is a series of beliefs that unite people together
- focus on social or psychological functions religion performs
- Durkheim’s definition; religion contributes to social integration, regardless of belief in God etc.
beliefs
what is religious pluralism
multiple religions existing and accepted in one society
beliefs
what years are allocated with pre-modernity, modernity, late modernity, and post modernity?
pre-modernity = up to 17th century
modernity = 17th - 19th century
late modernity = 1970..
post modernity = 1980+
beliefs
what are the key feature of the pre modernity social era
- religion was dominant and controlled society, eg. church of England
- more nuclear families - main structure
- more focus on government, shifting away from catholic beliefs to the church of England
beliefs
what are the key feature of the modernity social era
- traditional on marriage and divorce
- scientific discovery rises, people focus more on reasoning than religion
- although there was still focus on religion, people became more distant
beliefs
what are the key feature of the late modernity and post modernity social era
- traditional beliefs decrease
- divorce, same sex couples, gender equality rises
- religious pluralism enters and a decrease in religion. more focused on science and facts
- 5% church
- increase in migration = more religion and diversity = secularisation (KEY TERM!)
Beliefs
define ideology
a world view or set of ideas and values
Beliefs
what does Marx believe about ideology
Marx belives an ideology is a false presentation of the world created by the ruling bourgeois. Marx saw religion as part a tool used by the bourgeois to enable them to control the working man and create a flase consciousness.
Beliefs
State two examples of how the ruling class enforce ideologies that maintain their position.
- That equality will never work because it goes against ‘human nature’.
- Victim blaming ideas about poverty, such as what Bowles and Gintis (1976) call ‘the poor are dumb’ theory of meritocracy: everyone has an equal chance in life, so the poor must be poor because they are stupid or lazy.
- Racist ideas about the inferiority of ethnic minorities, which divide black and white workers and make them easier to rule.
Beliefs
Explain what hegemony is and how Gramsci explains how it can both create and bring down the ruling class.
Hegemony, according to Gramsci, is the ruling class’s ideological domination over society, where their beliefs and values are accepted as common sense.
However, Gramsci argues that the working class can develop a dual consciousness, combining ruling-class ideas with those formed from their own experiences of exploitation. This allows them to challenge hegemony and develop class consciousness, potentially leading to the overthrow of capitalism. For this to happen, a political party of organic intellectuals—workers who understand their oppression—must lead the movement.
Beliefs
Is the idea of nationalism as an ideology positive or negative for society? In your answer you must include; False consciousness, Functionalism, Civil Religion, Gellner
Nationalism can have both positive and negative effects on society. From a functionalism view, it promotes social cohesion and stability, similar to civil religion, which unites people through shared beliefs. However, Gellner argues that nationalism, a product of industrialization, helps maintain social order but can be manipulated by elites. In false consciousness, nationalism distracts the working class from recognizing their exploitation by prioritizing national loyalty over class solidarity.
Beliefs
What is Mannheim’s free-floating intellientsia?
Mannheim’s free-floating intelligentsia refers to intellectuals who are independent from any social class. He believed this detachment would allow them to objectively analyze society and combine different ideologies for a balanced, collective view. However, critics argue that true neutrality is hard to achieve due to inherent biases.
Beliefs
What does nationalism claim?
- Nations are real, distinctive communities each with its own unique characteristics and a long, shared history.
- Every nation should be self-governing.
- National loyalty and identity should come before all others, such as tribe, class or religion.
Beliefs
what does Anderson argue in relation to nationalism
Anderson (2006) argues that a nation is only an ‘imagined community’, not a real one. Although we identify with it, we will never know most of its other members. This imagined community can bind millions of strangers together and create a sense of common purpose.
Beliefs
What did Mannheim believe/argue?
Mannheim argues that all belief systems provide a partial, one-sided view of the world, shaped by the interests of specific groups or classes. He distinguishes between two types of thought:
- ideological thought, which justifies maintaining the status quo and reflects the interests of privileged groups
- utopian thought, which advocates social change and reflects the interests of the underprivileged. For example, Marxism is a form of utopian thought.
Intellectuals who represent particular classes create these belief systems, but since they only serve specific groups, they present partial truths. This leads to social conflict, as different intellectuals produce conflicting ideas that support their group’s interests.
Beliefs
Who came up with open and closed belief systems
Karl Popper
beliefs
what are open and closed belief systems?
Open Belief System: A system that welcomes questioning, criticism, and change, allowing its beliefs to be modified or rejected based on new evidence (e.g., science).
Closed Belief System: A system that resists change and criticism, holding its beliefs as absolute truths that cannot be challenged, often rejecting evidence that contradicts them (e.g., religion).
beliefs
What are paradigm shifts
Paradigm Shifts in Sociology: Big changes in how sociologists understand society when new theories replace old ones. For example, shifting from functionalism (which sees society as stable) to conflict theories (which focus on social inequalities).
beliefs
Give reasons science can be an open belief system and a closed belief system
Science as an Open Belief System:
• Falsifiability, empirical evidence, peer review, cumulative knowledge, skepticism.
Science as a Closed Belief System:
• Paradigm shifts (Kuhn), institutional bias, scientific dogma.
beliefs
Give reasons religion can be an open belief system and a closed belief system
Religion as an Open Belief System:
• Interpretive flexibility, pluralism, theological debates.
Religion as a Closed Belief System:
• Absolute truth, sacred texts, self-sustaining beliefs, faith over evidence.
What type of family has many generations but not many within each generation?
Beanpole
Which sociologist coined the term “Warm Bath Theory”
Parsons
Name one way in which childhood could be said to be toxic.
Fast food
Or
Technology
Etc
Which sociologist is associated with the “sociology of personal life”?
Smart
Which sociologist thinks that Childhood is disappearing?
Postman
Identify one government policy from the last 40 years which has impacted the family (1970+).
Child benefits
Which sociologist completed a study looking at housewives and housework?
Anne Oakley
What’s the triple shift
Burden of emotional, paid and domestic work
Which family type has the mother in charge?
Matrifocal
What is the general trend in births since 1900
Decrease
Give one reason for the rise in divorce.
File for divorce without giving a reason
And
Secularisation
What is a social norm?
Unwritten rules in society considered as normal
Define the term infant mortality rate.
Deaths per 1000 of children under one
How often is the UK census completed?
Every 10 years
What term is used to describe a family where there are multiple wives?
Polygamy
What is the definition of fertility rate?
Average number of children per woman during childbearing years
What is the expressive role?
The emotional support and caring role
Which sociologist is associated with toxic childhood?
Sue palmer
Which sociologist is associated with the “Cushioning Effect”?
Zaretsky
What does the term “Dark side of the family” refer to?
Abuse and violence in the family
What is a neo-conventional family?
Dual earning family with traditional roles
What are the 5 types of diversity according to the Rapoports?
Cultural, Life course, Organisational, Generational, Social Class
Give one reason for the rise in cohabitation.
Secularisation, less stigma, women’s financial independence, rising disillusionment with marriage
Who are the two main Functionalist thinkers who discuss the family?
Murdock and Parsons
What are the 4 functions of the family according to Murdock?
Economic, Reproduction, Socialisation, Stabilisation of Sex Drive
What is the postmodernist view of the family?
We create the family that suits our needs at that moment in time
Who is associated with the negotiated family and individualisation theory?
Beck
What sociological perspective emphasizes the role of families in maintaining social stability?
Functionalism
Who proposed the idea of the ‘conjugal role’ within families?
George Peter Murdock
What is the term for a family structure where one partner has multiple spouses?
Polygamy
True or False: The term ‘blended family’ refers to a family formed by the merging of two separate families.
True
What is the primary function of families according to the functionalist perspective?
Socialization of children
What do sociologists mean by ‘role conflict’ in families?
The struggle to fulfill different social roles simultaneously.
Multiple Choice: Which theory focuses on the power dynamics within families? A) Functionalism B) Feminism C) Interactionism
B) Feminism
What is the term for the process of children learning societal norms and values within the family?
Socialization
What is the influence of cultural factors on family structures called?
Cultural relativism
Fill in the blank: __________ families are formed when one or both partners have children from previous relationships.
Blended
What is the main critique of the functionalist view of families?
It overlooks issues of power and inequality within family structures.
What is the concept of ‘emotional labor’ in the context of families?
The effort put into managing emotions and relationships within the family.
religion
What do functionalist believe about religion?
Functionalist believe religion is a function of society and without it society would fall apart
religion
What did Durkheim (functionalist) define the sacred and profane as?
Sacred = things that are set apart, special, and evoke or, fair, or wonder, often surrounded by rules and rituals
Profane = ordinary, every day things that have no special significance or deeper meaning
functions of religion
What did Parsons believe the functions of religion are?
Parsons believed that religion provides moral guidelines that help maintain social order.
He argued that religious teachings, such as those found in sacred texts, our key to socialising individuals into a shared moral framework, which then influences legal systems and societal norms.
functions of religion
What did Bellah believe the functions of religion are?
Bellah introduce the concept of “ civil religion”, where nationalistic belief systems take on religious qualities, uniting a society under shared values.
In the USA, “ Americanism” serves as the civil religion, blending religious language of national identity. People venerate symbols like the American flag, and leaders use religious rhetoric to unify the nation.
functions of religion
What did Malinowski believe the functions of religion of?
Malinowski believed that religion functions to relieve the anxieties caused by life crises like death, birth, or marriage. He argued that religious rituals, such as funerals or rights of passage, help people cope with uncertainty and stress, thus maintaining social stability. His research on the Trobriand islanders demonstrated how religious ceremonies before dangerous activities helped to manage fear and loss.
feminist interpretation of religion
What is the traditionalist feminist view of religion?
Religion is fixed and sacred, acting as a closed belief system that reinforces traditional gender roles. It views feminism as a “secular contagion” and resists any change that would challenge male dominance.
feminist interpretation of religion
What is the modernist feminist view of religion?
Religion is influenced by culture and can change over time. It reflects the patriarchal nature of its society but has the potential to evolve, becoming more inclusive as cultures move towards gender equality.
evidence of patriarchy
How does religious organisations show evidence of patriarchy/oppress women? Include a theorist
Despite women participating more than men, religious organisations are mainly male-dominated. For example, Orthodox Judaism and Catholicism forbid women from becoming priests.
Theorist: Karen Armstrong sees exclusion from the priesthood as evidence of women’s marginalisation.
evidence of patriarchy
How do places of worship show evidence of patriarchy/oppress women? Include a theorist.
They often segregate sexes and marginalise women by seating them behind screens while men are central. Women’s participation is restricted; for example, they are not allowed to read sacred texts. Taboos around menstruation and pregnancy prevent full participation (e.g., Islam prohibits menstruating women from touching the Quran).
Theorist: Jean Holm describes this as the devaluation of women in religion.
evidence of patriarchy
How do you sacred texts show evidence of patriarchy/oppress women?
Sacred texts often focus on male gods and prophets, are usually written and interpreted by men, and include stories that reflect anti-female stereotypes, such as women being responsible for humanity’s fall.
evidence of patriarchy
How do religious laws and customs show evidence of patriarchy/oppress women? Include a theorist
They often give women fewer rights than men (e.g., in divorce, dress codes, decision-making, and marriage).
Religious influence on cultural norms can lead to practices like genital mutilation or harsh punishments for sexual transgressions. Many religions enforce women’s traditional domestic and reproductive roles, such as banning abortion.
Theorist: Woodhead argues that the exclusion of women from the Catholic priesthood shows the church’s discomfort with women’s emancipation.
What is the ideological state apparatus?
Louis Althusser argues that religion is a part of the ideological state apparatus. Along with education and the media, it transmits the dominant ideology and maintains false class
consciousness.
Religious teachings encourage the proletariat to believe that the way society is organised is God’s will.
Name the four types of marital breakdown
Divorce, Separation, Annulment, Empty Shell.
What is serial monogamy?
Sexually exclusive relationship relationships that follow one after another
What is meant by a sandwich generation?
The generation that is both looking after their own children and their elderly parents at the same time
religion
What do radical feminists argue about religion?
Religion is a tool that the patriarchy use to maintain their control and for the benefit of men.
religion
What do Marxist feminists argue about religion?
Religion is an ideological tool that maintains the capitalist nature of society. Religions are use to maintain women’s low status so they can continue to give their unpaid labour to the system.
religion
What do liberal feminists argue about religion?
Religious institutions are patriarchal as they are part of the patriarchal society. They create a ‘stained-glass ceiling’ that prevent women from being liberated and empowered.
religion
What was Simone de Beauvoir’s theory?
The Second Sex
Men use religion to control and oppress women.
It creates a false consciousness that women see themselves as second class citizens whilst also believing they are being treated as equals to men.
Presents their suffering on earth as divine and gives them false hope of being rewarded in heaven.
‘Religion gives her the guide, father, lover, divine guardian she longs for…but, above all, it confirms social order, it justifies her resignation by giving hope of a better future in a sexless heaven’
religion
What is Mary Daly’s theory?
God is not male
Daly believed that as long as God is referred to as a male there will be no gender equality.
She examined how the early Church eliminated any references to female elements of God and reduced the importance of women in early Christianity e.g. Mary Magdalene.
Religions create an inequality as they give men superior roles to women.
religion
What did Woodhead argue in relation to religion not being oppressive to women?
the veiling of women in some Muslim communities in Britain and some
Islamic countries can be interpreted as a form of resisting patriarchy, by providing an independent t female identity and freeing women from the male gaze and sexual harassment, It can also be seen as a symbol of female and ethnic identity and as a sign of Muslim pride in resistance to a patriarchal Western culture that treats women as sex objects.
religion
What did Armstrong argue in relation to religion not being oppressive to women?
• Many ancient religions, like those of Ancient Egypt, Greece, in Hinduism, had female goddesses who were considered ‘central to the spiritual quest.
• As societies developed, there were many different gods and goddesses. The mother goddesses played a crucial role
• e.g. Kali-ma (Hindu), Isis, Venus, Aphrodite…
• However, the final death knell for the goddesses came with the acceptance of monotheism
religion
What did Nawal El Saadawi argue in relation to religion not being oppressive to women?
• Religion is not a direct cause of women’s subordination; instead patriarchal influences reshape religion to suit the interests of men
• She speaks from her personal experience of FGM. Oppressive practices such as FGM have often been attributed to the influence of Islam. However she argues that men have distorted Islam to legitimate the oppression of women by controlling their sexuality.
religion
What does Marx argue about religion
“religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
Marx argued that religion is a form of alienation as individuals create an all-powerful being which has control over them. By doing so individuals are giving up their right to make decisions which in turn means they are denying themselves of their true humanity.
For example; in Christianity God created the ten commandments which acts as a way of controlling and giving a clear guideline to individuals to follow which ultimately means individuals do not need to think and make decisions as the ten commandments do this for them.
religion
What are some of religions functions that prevent social change? say at least two.
• The promise of an afterlife gives people something to look forwards to. It is easier to put up with misery now if you believe you have a life of ‘eternal bliss’ to look forward to after death.
• Religion makes a virtue out of suffering - making it appear as if the poor are more
‘Godly’ than the rich. One of the best illustrations of this is the line in the bible: ‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
• Religion can offer hope of supernatural intervention to solve problems on earth: this makes it pointless for humans to try to do anything significant to help improve their current conditions.
• Religion can justify the social order and people’s position within that order, as in the line in the Victorian hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’
religion
How does religion maintain capitalism? Say at least two points.
- religion is an ideology, it is a belief system that creates a false class consciousness
- Religion is an ideological state apparatus that maintains the socio economic inequalities in society
- Religion encourages people to accept their suffering as divine and promises them false rewards in heaven
- Religions material success as a sign of gods favour and further in engenders the class divide
- Religions quells rebellion by preventing its followers taking action as all things are seen as Gods will
Overall, Religion maintains social control and prevents social change
religion
At least two examples of why religion maintains capitalism (not points but the examples that support the point)
- hindu castle system puts priests and teachers at the top and street sweepers or outcasts at the bottom
- Religious people commit acts of terrorism and say that their higher being wanted them to do it
- Predestination = God has already checked what people will do
religion – Neo Marxist theories
What is Ernst Bloch theory?
Principle of hope
Dual Character - Positive and Negative
Positive: Religion can inspire rebellion - Presents a vision of the perfect world to strive towards
Negative: Inhibits change - dreams of a utopia can cause people to wait for heaven/afterlife rather than creating change themselves.
religion – neo Marxist theories
What is the liberation theology?
Movement to encourage social change, unlike the tradition Catholic Church which encouraged acceptance of the status quo. Priests in Latin America led the charge in educating the poor, rising up to support the oppressed against dictators. Otto Maduro suggests this shows that religion can be a revolutionary force. Others argue that Liberation theology only cause minor changes and did not disrupt the capitalist agenda.
religion – Neo Marxist theories
What is Gramsci’s theory?
Religion and hegemony
Gramsci was a sociologist during the Fascist regime in Italy. He argues that the ruling class maintain power in society through hegemony. Hegemony is the ideological domination of ideas in society. Once established he argues that the ruling class maintain power by relying on popular consent.
Although, Gramsci argues, hegemony can never be guaranteed, as a working class can develop an alternative vision of society - a counter hegemony. For example, the revolution in Libya would be an example of counter hegemony because members of the society no longer agree with the ideas of their government.
Gramsci argues that the dual nature of religion has the ability to help workers through the ruling class hegemony in their society. He sees clergymen as organic intellectuals - educators, organizers and leaders I can help workers see through their situation and create working-class organizations such as trade unions. All these help build a counter hegemony and threaten ruling class domination.
religion
Give reasons why religion would be considered a conservative ideology
Religion supports traditional values and often resists change. In the American Bible Belt, groups like the American Religious Right (ARR) back conservative politics, funding leaders like Trump, Bush, and Reagan to reverse liberal policies. These groups push for laws aligned with Christian values, like anti-abortion measures.
According to Halevy, Non-Conformist Churches (e.g., Methodists) in 18th-19th century Britain prevented working-class revolutions by offering a religious outlet, maintaining social order instead of promoting rebellion. Religion can thus uphold existing social structures and resist progressive changes.
religion
Give reasons why religion would not be considered a conservative ideology
The church of England causes out government policies that promote austerity and tax avoidance period they suggest that they are fighting against the corporate elite. However, the church holds huge amounts of wealth it fails to share with the most vulnerable.
religion – Marxism
Give criticisms of Marxism’s view of religion
Give at least two
- Pessimistic
Only looks to the negatives of religion rather than acknowledge any benefits, e.g. charity work - Secularisation
Religion is declining in power, but capitalist values still hugely successful - Narrow focus
Only acknowledges the ideological nature of religion, so ignores other features of religion e.g. psychological benefit - Feminism
Ignores patriarchal nature of religion and its promotion of gender inequality - christo-centric
Heavily only applies to Abrahamic faiths - Religion and communism
Marx said religion wouldn’t exist in communist societies but China is predicted to be world’s most Christian nation by 2030
religion
Explain Parsons 3 functions of religion
- Providing moral guidelines. These guidelines are created from religious scriptures and teachings and then shared by religious leaders e.g. Priests, Imans, Rabbis etc, Schools and teachers via RE, PSHE, Values, Families through parents and grandparents sharing moral values and codes.
- Allowing people to cope with events, beyond their control, and adjust to them without breaking social order. Religion help people to adjust to large events in their life. It can provide a reason for events, or a feeling of comfort and then unite a community. Beckford found that religion played a significant role in the nation mourning the loss of Princess Diana. It helped people across age, class and race barriers.
- Providing a sense of reason and purpose. Religion can provide a greater meaning for peoples live. Religious events create a sense of reason and purpose when events seem out of control. Parsons particularly look at funerals and how the religious nature or references provide the bereaved with a sense of comfort but also can reintroduce them to the community and their social roles.
religion
Who is Weber and what does he argue
Looked at the social impact religion has and the ways in which a decrease of the value of religion impacted society.
Key Arguments - Religion causes social change. The rise of Protestantism led to the rise of capitalism.
- Religion serves key functions in society but
these have been replaced by science.
religion
What does Weber think about Marx’s theory
Weber rejected Marx’s theory that religion was a tool of capitalism. He thought Marx was an ‘economic reductionist.
Instead he believe that religion was a force for social change and created the social conditions that allowed for capitalism to flourish.
Religion is more than just an ideological tool or a response to deprivation. Religion is a social force.
religion
What is theodicy
refers to a religious justification or explanation of something e.g. there is a storm because we have sinned.
religion
What is disenchantment
refers to the movement away from the magical explanation of the world, to the logical ones.
religion
What do Calvinists argue?
God has already chosen is your going to heaven or hell → started capitalism because it made the conditions for capitalism to grow
religion
Name at least two criticisms to Weber
- Not all Calvinist countries were capitalist!
Weber does acknowledge the need for other key factors to create capitalism, but some argue that the fact that Scotland, Norway and Sweden all had large Calvinist populations but not capitalist ones disproves his theory. - Other factors where more influential
Marxists argue that slavery, colonialism and piracy were more important features that led to the rise of capitalism as they provided a large capital for countries to invest and grow. - Weber didn’t really get Calvinism
MacKinnon argues that Weber didn’t really understand Calvinism, as Calvin was heavily opposed to material greed and the pursuit of wealth. - Calvinism didn’t lead to Capitalist
Kautsky argued that Calvinism predated Capitalism and that Capitalist just used Calvinism to excuse their behaviours without really believing in its values. - Marxists don’t agree as they see religion as a way of maintaining social control not creating social change!
religion
What are the supporting arguments to Weber
- Religious Ideas and fuel Economic and Social Change
Berger and Redding agree as they say we can still see this happening in societies today e.g. modern Confucianism led to the rise of the Asian Tiger economies e.g. Singapore or the rise of the Pentecostal Church and the rapid economic growth of these communities in Nigeria and Latin America - Mormons are the modern day Calvinists
Aldridge saw a similar pattern in the Mormon community who had a similar work ethic the Calvinists. They promote hard work and abstain from many pleasures. There is a large amount of economic prosperity in the Mormon community in America
beliefs
Who came up with the typologies used to classify religious organisations?
Troeltsch, Niebuhr, Wallis
What type of religious organisation is also known as world rejecting?
Sect
What type of religious organisation is typically conservative?
Churches
Which type of religious organisation is known for focusing on individual spiritual development?
Cult
What are organisations New Religious Movements (NRMs)
New religious movements are social movements that aim to alter existing religious organisations or establish new religious groups.
NRM’s arose around the 1950’s in the west, as people started to look for alternatives to mainstream religions. In the 80’s there was a huge amount of fear around them, and the media presented these emerging belief systems as dangerous and deviant. These emerging belief systems were often described as cults or sects.
Wallis the use term NRM as he felt that cult and sect hold negative connotations. NRM’s can be split into 3 main categories.
What is the difference between cults and sects?
The difference between sects and cults lies in their origin and relationship to mainstream religion:
• Sects: Break away from an established religion to follow stricter or different beliefs. They still share some roots with the main religion.
• Cults: Start as entirely new groups with unique beliefs, often centered around a charismatic leader, and aren’t connected to traditional religions.
Think of a sect as a branch of a tree (a larger religion) and a cult as a completely new plant.
Cults:
- small exclusive groups
- lower levels of commitment
- world affirming
- client based
- tolerant of other faiths and beliefs
Sects:
- Small exclusive groups
- high levels of commitment
- world rejecting
- charismatic leadership
- monopoly on truth
What does Wallis argue about cults and sects
Argues that both cults and sects are similar in that they deviate from traditional religions
What do Stark and Bainbridge argue about cults and sects
sects are the result of schisms from traditional churches- formed from resistance to teachings.
Cults are independent of traditional religions and are more aligned to consumer culture and attract more affluent membership than sects.
According to sociologists, there are free key reasons for the rise of NRMs, what are they?
- Changing values.
- Changing social structures.
- Change to the role and character of religion.
What does Bellah say about NRMs
Bellah suggests that NRMs are successor movements to political protests. The 60’s what times of huge political revolution.
Stark and Bainbridge categorise NRM’s into….
Audience cults
Client cults
Cult movements
This can help to differentiate between the types of NRMs as there is such a diversity in them
Given an explanation of why cults may be seen as dangerous
They undermine social cohesion by rejecting mainstream societal values and norms. They manipulate members leading to isolation. Impacts social stability and they claim in a monopoly of the truth which allows for the promotion of shared norms and values. Eg the English legal system.
What is meant by the term new age movement.
New Age movements focus on spiritual growth, are less organised than traditional religions, and allow individuals to choose beliefs and practices, like a “ spiritual supermarket”
What is the key difference between traditional
religions and new age movements?
Traditional religions are structured and collective, while New Age movements are flexible and individualistic
What does Eileen Barker suggest about NAMs?
Eileen Barker suggests that individuals involved in NAMs often have overlapping memberships, freely moving between different practices and beliefs, reflecting the flexibility and eclectic nature of New Age spirituality.
What does John Drane argue about the popularity of New Age movements?
Drane argues that New Age movements reflect postmodernity, as they arise from a loss of faith in meta-narratives like science and religion, leading people to turn inward to find spiritual truth.
How does Bruce explain the rise of New Age movements?
Bruce links the rise of New Age movements to modernity, emphasizing individualism and their appeal to those in expressive professions. He sees them as ‘watered down’ versions of traditional religions, reflecting consumerism and individual spiritual exploration.
What are the two key characteristics of New Age movements according to Heelas?
- Self spirituality. - individuals seek spirituality within themselves rather than external religious authorities.
- Detraditonalisation - traditional religious teachings and authorities are rejected in favour of personal experience and individual truth.
Heelas links the New age to modernity in what 4 ways
- Provides authentic identity in a fragmented modern life.
- Offers a path to perfect perfection, unlike unfulfilling consumer culture
- Creates certainty amidst rapid social change and anomie
- Thrives where organised religion declines, such as in secular areas like California.
True or False? Substantive definitions of religion are inclusive.
False. Substantive definitions are exclusive because they define religion by its content (e.g., belief in God or the supernatural), often excluding belief systems that do not fit these narrow criteria.
How does Durkheim distinguish between the sacred and the profane?
Durkheim distinguishes the sacred as things that are set apart, special, and worthy of reverence (e.g., religious symbols, rituals), while the profane refers to the ordinary, everyday aspects of life. The sacred represents the collective beliefs and values of a society, while the profane is mundane and secular.
Explain how religion may perform a cognitive function.
Religion provides a cognitive framework for understanding the world. It offers concepts, categories, and classifications that help individuals make sense of their experiences (e.g., time, space, cause and effect). For Durkheim, religion contributes to the development of human thought by providing a basis for scientific thinking.
Explain what is meant by ‘civil religion’.
Civil religion refers to a belief system that attaches sacred qualities to society itself, often expressed through symbols, rituals, and ceremonies that promote national unity. It’s the idea that secular beliefs and practices can function similarly to traditional religion in uniting people.
Identify two criticisms of the functionalist view of religion.
- Ignores Conflict: Functionalism overlooks how religion can be a source of division and conflict (e.g., religious wars, sectarianism).
- Overly Positive: It tends to present an overly positive view of religion, ignoring how it can justify inequality and oppression (e.g., legitimizing patriarchal or class hierarchies).
According to Marx, what is the main cause of alienation?
The main cause of alienation for Marx is capitalism, where workers are disconnected from the products of their labor, the production process, their own human potential, and other workers, leading to a sense of powerlessness and isolation.
Identify one way in which Hinduism may legitimate inequality.
Hinduism legitimates inequality through the castle system, which is religiously sanctioned, promoting the idea that one’s social position is determined by karma and dharma, thereby justifying the hierarchical structure.
Identify three examples of ways in which religions may be patriarchal.
- Exclusion from Leadership: Women are often barred from religious leadership roles (e.g., Catholic Church’s prohibition of female priests).
- Religious Texts: Some religious texts depict women as subordinate to men (e.g., Eve being created from Adam’s rib).
- Control over Women’s Bodies: Religious doctrines may regulate women’s dress, sexuality, and reproductive rights (e.g., rules on modesty or bans on contraception).
Give one example of how religion may be empowering for women.
Religion can be empowering for women by providing a sense of community and support (e.g., women’s circles in religious communities) or by promoting social change (e.g., women using religious beliefs to campaign for gender justice, like in some interpretations of Islam that advocate for women’s rights).
