Power relationships Flashcards
What is meant by the domestic divisions of labour?
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
What is meant by the March of Progress?
That there is greater equality between males and females in the sharing of tasks now showing progress from previous years
What does egalitarian mean?
Equal
- in terms of family, the equality between men and women
Which sociologists give evidence to support the March of Progress?
1) Young and Willmott
2) Bott
3) Van Every
4) Kan
1) Young and Willmott
The symmetrical family
- 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
Symmetry was more common in younger affluent couples, wat did they believe this to be a result in changes in?
- Geographical mobility
- Women’s changed positions
- New technology
- Higher standards of living
2) Bott
Joint conjugal roles
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
3) Van Every
‘Refusing to be a wife’
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
How do feminists criticise Van Every’s research?
Argue that gender roles and stereotypes still heavily influence all household activities as women are expected to do it
4) Kan
Time spent on domestic tasks
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
How do Vincent and Ball criticise Kan’s research?
‘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’
What sociologists give evidence against the March of Progress?
1X Oakley
2X Edgell/ Pahl and Vogler
3X Hochschild n Duncombe n Marsden
4X Dobash and Dobash
1X Oakley
The Triple Shift
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
2X Edgell
Money and decision making
- 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
2X Pahl and Vogler
Money and decision making
- 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
What did Hardhill say about money and decision making?
Found greater equality in middle class households
3X Hochschild n Duncombe n Marsden
Emotion work
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
Why might a Functionalist disagree with a feminists view of emotion work?
Believe emotion work to be the woman’s role as their function is socialisation of the young into the gender role stereotypes
4X Dobash and Dobash
Domestic Violence
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
Which sociologists can be used to evaluate the March of progress itself?
- use in a conclusion
1- Dunne
2- Smart
3- Young & Wilmott/ Van Every
1- Dunne
Lesbian households and gender scripts
- 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
2- Smart
Personal life perspective
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
3- Young & Willmott/Van Every
Criticisms of their research
- only focus on MC affluent couples
- what about WC couples?
What are cultural explanations for the DDOL?
Determined by the patriarchal norms and values that shape gender roles, only achieved of they change
- Dunne, lesbian couples
- Gershuny
How does Gershuny’s research support cultural explanations?
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
What are material explanations for the DDOL?
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
How does Arber and Ginn’s research support material explanations?
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
