Power relationships

Question 1

What is meant by the domestic divisions of labour?

Answer 1

It refers to the patterns of organisation of tasks done in the household
- cooking, cleaning, caring for the children
These are often organised based on gender

Question 2

What is meant by the March of Progress?

Answer 2

That there is greater equality between males and females in the sharing of tasks now showing progress from previous years

Question 3

What does egalitarian mean?

Answer 3

Equal
- in terms of family, the equality between men and women

Question 4

Which sociologists give evidence to support the March of Progress?

Answer 4

1) Young and Willmott
2) Bott
3) Van Every
4) Kan

Question 5

1) Young and Willmott
The symmetrical family

Answer 5

• compared their research to their previous study of WC families in the 1950s
• traditional segregated roles for men and women
• 72% of men did housework other than washing up
• more likely to share paid work, housework, childcare
• more likely to have leisure time together rather than separately

Question 6

Symmetry was more common in younger affluent couples, wat did they believe this to be a result in changes in?

Answer 6

• Geographical mobility
• Women’s changed positions
• New technology
• Higher standards of living

Question 7

2) Bott
Joint conjugal roles

Answer 7

Conjugal roles = roles within marriage
Since the 1970s, joint conjugal roles became much more common amongst the middle classes
Joint- sharing responsibilities
Segregated- separate housewife/breadwinner

Question 8

3) Van Every
‘Refusing to be a wife’

Answer 8

Some household activities can be influenced by enjoyment
= cooking, cook more if they enjoy it
HOWEVER, tasks such as cleaning are influenced by issues of knowledge, standards and efficiency

Question 9

How do feminists criticise Van Every’s research?

Answer 9

Argue that gender roles and stereotypes still heavily influence all household activities as women are expected to do it

Question 10

4) Kan
Time spent on domestic tasks

Answer 10

Found that British men’s time spent on domestic tasks had increased from
1960- 90 mins per day
2004- 148 mins per day
More equal male and female wages = more equal DDOL

Question 11

How do Vincent and Ball criticise Kan’s research?

Answer 11

‘Background Fathers’
- men are more likely to get involved in childcare than housework
- men helped out with childcare was more about their relationship with their partners rather than their responsibilities as fathers
- influenced by the ‘provider ideology’

Question 12

What sociologists give evidence against the March of Progress?

Answer 12

1X Oakley
2X Edgell/ Pahl and Vogler
3X Hochschild n Duncombe n Marsden
4X Dobash and Dobash

Question 13

1X Oakley
The Triple Shift

Answer 13

Women today have the responsibility of paid work, domestic work and emotion work
- only 15% of the men in her study had a high participation in housework
- only 25% had high participation in childcare

Question 14

2X Edgell
Money and decision making

Answer 14

• interviewed both husbands and wives
• who made the decisions, which they thought were most important
• men, less frequent but more important decisions
• women, more frequent but less important decisions

Question 15

2X Pahl and Vogler
Money and decision making

Answer 15

• interviewed both husbands and wives
• money organisation
• when money was ‘pooled’ together in joint accounts
• men still more likely to have more control over it
• men more likely to make more financial decisions

Question 16

What did Hardhill say about money and decision making?

Answer 16

Found greater equality in middle class households

Question 17

3X Hochschild n Duncombe n Marsden
Emotion work

Answer 17

Argue that women are more likely to have the responsibility for the emotion work in families
-they take the burden for holding the relationship with their partners together as well as managing the relationships between other member of the households

Question 18

Why might a Functionalist disagree with a feminists view of emotion work?

Answer 18

Believe emotion work to be the woman’s role as their function is socialisation of the young into the gender role stereotypes

Question 19

4X Dobash and Dobash
Domestic Violence

Answer 19

Radical feminists- domestic violence deemed acceptable due to the patriarchal attitudes of society
Marxist feminist Ansley- ‘punch bag theory’
Liberal feminism- upbringing of a child witnessing domestic violence may think it to be acceptable, suffer from it or do it themselves

Question 20

Which sociologists can be used to evaluate the March of progress itself?
- use in a conclusion

Answer 20

1- Dunne
2- Smart
3- Young & Wilmott/ Van Every

Question 21

1- Dunne
Lesbian households and gender scripts

Answer 21

• describe their relationship as equal, housework, childcare, view childcare positively
• give equal importance to both partner’s career
• under no pressure to conform to deeply ingrained masculine or feminine ‘gender scripts’
• no need to perform certain tasks to confirm their gender identities
  In lesbian relationships, household tasks are not linked to particular gender script, allows lesbian couples to create a more equal relationship

Question 22

2- Smart
Personal life perspective

Answer 22

Found that same sex couples less likely to put as much emphasis on financial power
- ‘do not enter relationships with the same historical, gendered, heterosexual baggage of cultural meanings around money that see money as a source of power

Question 23

3- Young & Willmott/Van Every
Criticisms of their research

Answer 23

• only focus on MC affluent couples
• what about WC couples?

Question 24

What are cultural explanations for the DDOL?

Answer 24

Determined by the patriarchal norms and values that shape gender roles, only achieved of they change
- Dunne, lesbian couples
- Gershuny

Question 25

How does Gershuny’s research support cultural explanations?

Answer 25

Fond that couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share housework equally themselves
- suggest parental role models are important
- argues that social values are gradually adapting to the fact that women are now working full0time
- establishing new norms and values that men should do more domestic work

Question 26

What are material explanations for the DDOL?

Answer 26

Women generally earn less meaning it is economically rational for them to do more housework and childcare
- if women join labour force and earn as much as their partners we should see a more equal amount of time invested in domestic tasks
KAN
- for every £10,000 a year more a woman earns, she does 2 hours less housework per week
ARBER N GINN

Question 27

How does Arber and Ginn’s research support material explanations?

Answer 27

found that better paid, MC women were more able to buy into commercially produced products and services such as labour-saving devices, ready meals and domestic help and childcare
- spend less time themselves carrying out labour-intensive tasks