perspectives on the family

Question 1

who are the key functionalist sociologists?

Answer 1

Murdock and Parsons

Question 2

What did Murdock say about the family?

Answer 2

the family performs 4 functions.

Question 3

what are murdock 4 functions?

Answer 3

Sexual
educational
reproductive
economic

Question 4

What is the sexual function?

Answer 4

Allows for adult sexual relationships to be socially acceptable. For Murdock, this mean heterosexual, monogamous relationships.

Question 5

what is the reproductive function of the family?

Answer 5

The continuation of society through creating the next generation.

Question 6

What is the education function of the family?

Answer 6

This is the socialisation of norms and values. This allows children to be integrated into mainstream society and maintains the social hierarchy.

Question 7

What does Parsons say?

Answer 7

The family performs two functions.

Question 8

What are these two functions?

Answer 8

Primary socialisation and the stabilisation of adult personalities.

Question 9

What is primary socialisation?

Answer 9

Similar to Murdock’s education function, in that it suggests that children are taught the norms and values essential for continuing society.

Question 10

What is the stabilisation of adult personalities?

Answer 10

Refers to the emotional release for adults within their relationship and family. Parsons argues there is a warm bath theory, which is the idea that a working man is able to distress in the home by his wife, which reduces conflict in society.

Question 11

Criticise the functionalist view of the family as a whole.

Answer 11

The nuclear family is not the only family type, and these must become more diverse as society changes. This can be seen as pre industrial families were extended, with multiple generations living together, whereas post industrial families need to be smaller so they can be geographically mobile. This is known as the best fit theory.

Question 12

What is a criticism of Murdock?

Answer 12

Functions such as economic and education have been taken over by the state, through welfare and compulsory education.

Question 13

What are the evaluations of the functionalist view of the family?

Answer 13

They minimise the role of conflict, for example domestic violence and inequality.
It is out of date research, most women now work, rather than being housewives.
It is deterministic and assumes that all members of society will simply accept the norms and values.
It ignores family diversity and assumes that the most functional family type is nuclear.

Question 14

Who are the key Marxist sociologists?

Answer 14

Engels, Zaretsky and Althusser.

Question 15

What do Marxists overall believe about the family?

Answer 15

That it is a tool of capitalism, used to maintain and reinforce social inequalities.

Question 16

What does economic base mean?

Answer 16

Combination of the forces and relations of production into which people enter to produce necessities and amenities of life.

Question 17

What is superstructure?

Answer 17

Culture, institution, political power, structure, roles, rituals and state.

Question 18

What is the cushioning effect?

Answer 18

Similar to Parsons’ warm bath theory, states that the family provides a haven from the harsh oppression and exploitation of the capitalist world.

Question 19

What is an ideological state apparatus (ISA)?

Answer 19

the social institutions such as education, the churches, family, media, trade unions and law, which were formally outside of state control but which served to transmit the values of the state.

Question 20

What did Engles say about the family?

Answer 20

Isolated nuclear families allows men to secure heirs to their wealth. This means that their wealth stay within the family, through private inheritance. This helps to maintain capitalism, by keeping wealth within the private family rather than being shared amongst the community.

Question 21

What did Zaretsky say?

Answer 21

The family allows men to feel powerful, which they do not get to feel in the workplaces due to the controlling bourgeoisie. This also promotes capitalism as it prevents a proletariat revolution, as they do not realise the oppression they are facing.

Question 22

What else did zaretsky argue?

Answer 22

Families are units of consumption in a capitalist society. The workers are paid less than the product they are creating. They are then targeted by advertising and are victim to “pester power” as children are targeted.

Question 23

What did Althusser say?

Answer 23

Agrees with Functionalists that socialisation is a key function of the family. However, Marxists argue this is because it is an ISA used to socialise the next generation into the ruling class ideology and the unequal distribution of wealth. This justifies and legitimates the oppression of the proletariat.

Question 24

What are the negative evaluations of the marxist view of the family?

Answer 24

It ignores family diversity.
It is deterministic in that it overemphasises the role of capitalism and ignores other forms of inequality, such as the patriarchy.
Ignores the positive effects of the family for its members.

Question 25

What are the positive evaluations of the marxist perspective of the family?

Answer 25

Discusses the idea that the nuclear family is socially constructed and may not be the best family type for society.
Explains the existence of the dark side of the family.

Question 26

What is the general feminist view of the family?

Answer 26

The family is a tool of female oppression and the nuclear family serves the needs of men rather than women. Examples of this include domestic violence and segregated conjugal roles. The believe gender inequality is socially constructed.

Question 27

What is the triple shift?

Answer 27

The idea that women are expected to perform three roles, emotional support, domestic labour and paid work

Question 28

What is the dual burden?

Answer 28

The two traditional roles women are expected to play in the family, emotional support and domestic labour

Question 29

What is male stream sociology?

Answer 29

Refers to the way that sociologists will apply data collected about men to the lives of women, despite the vastly differing experiences.

Question 30

What do liberal feminists argue about the family?

Answer 30

Slowly becoming more equal through changes in law and social attitudes. Equality is not yet achieved but society is moving positively toward it.

Question 31

What is a criticism of liberal feminists argument?

Answer 31

It overstates how much progress has been made.
Other feminists state they fail to explore the underlying causes of women’s oppression.

Question 32

What do radical feminists say?

Answer 32

Men are the enemy and marriage and the family have allowed patriarchy to thrive. In order for equality to be achieved the patriarchy must be overturned. They argue the family needs to be abolished.

Question 33

What is political lesbianism?

Answer 33

A radical feminist idea that states women should all become lesbians as all heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive.

Question 34

What did Greer say?

Answer 34

The dominant family type should be matrifocal, meaning all female with shared parental responsibilities.

Question 35

Who criticises the radical feminist view?

Answer 35

Sommerville

Question 36

What does Sommerville say?

Answer 36

Radical feminists fail to see the improvements that have been made to women’s experiences in the family, like divorce becoming easier and control over fertility. Women are no longer trapped in the nuclear family. She also argues that separatism is unattainable due to heterosexual attraction.

Question 37

What do Marxist Feminists say?

Answer 37

Family is a tool of capitalism and capitalism oppresses women not men.

Question 38

What three ways do they see the family supporting capitalism as oppressing women?

Answer 38

1. Women reproduce the workforce and socialise them into the social hierarchy.
2. Women absorb the anger of men from the oppression they face in the workplace, Ansley- “takers of shit”
3. Women are a reserve army of cheap labour, only used when needed, for example during the world wars.

Question 39

What is a criticism of Marxist feminists views?

Answer 39

Women are no longer a reserve army of cheap labour as they now have equal rights at work and are equally like as men to be the breadwinner in the family.

Question 40

What do intersectional feminists say?

Answer 40

Not all women will have the same experience of family life due to their individual characteristics. For example, black women may find her family provides a haven away from societal racism, rather than viewing it as oppressive or inherently negative.

Question 41

What is a criticism of intersectional feminism?

Answer 41

Ignores the fact that many women do share the same experiences of family regardless of ethnicity or social class. For example, domestic violence.

Question 42

How does the personal life perspective define the family?

Answer 42

Takes the definition beyond the ties of blood and marriage.

Question 43

What does the personal life perspective focus on?

Answer 43

The meanings behind relationships we have. They focus on the families chosen due to wants or needs. However, they suggest these are based on past experiences and not an open choice.

Question 44

What are the evaluations of the personal life perspective?

Answer 44

Accused of taking too broad a view, they are at risk of overlooking the special aspects of relationships that are based on marriage or blood ties.
This approach makes it easier to understand how people themselves construct and define “family” relationships.

Question 45

Who are the key sociologists for the postmodernist view of the family?

Answer 45

Giddens and Beck and Stacey

Question 46

What do Giddens and Beck say?

Answer 46

Individualisation thesis. Individuals now have more freedom and choice, and they are not ascribed roles. Giddens argues that this has been caused by advancement , such as an increased availability of contraception, which has allowed the basis of couples relationships to change.

Question 47

What did Stacey say?

Answer 47

Women can now shape their family arrangements based on their wants and needs. There is a new family type emerging, known as the Divorce-Extended family. Members of such families may include ex in-laws, ex partners and their new partner.

Question 48

What is an evaluation of the postmodernist view?

Answer 48

Vanessa May- “Beck and Giddens view of the individual is simply an idealised version of a white middle class man.”
Smart- connectedness thesis- people are social beings who live in a web of connectedness.