roles and relationships within the family Flashcards
what has the rise of the nuclear family led to?
joint conjugal roles
what are conjugal roles?
the roles of husband and wife within the family
what are the 2 ways household jobs can be shared identified by Bott (1957)?
segregated roles and joint roles
what are segregated roles?
husband and wives lead seperate lives with clear and distinct responsibilities within the family. the man goes out to work and the woman stays and home and looks after the kids and provides emotional support
what are joint roles?
husband and wife roles are more flexible and shared with less defined tasks for each. leisure time and responsibility for making decisions is shared
what did Willmott and Young (1973) study?
the changing structure of the British family from extended to nuclear
what did Willmott and Young (1973) find?
men and women’s attitudes towards the distribution of labour in the home had undergone radical changes and conjugal roles were being shared in m/c and w/c households
what are 3 ways Willmott and Young (1973) argue roles are more similar?
- women now go out to work, although this may be part-time rather than full-time
- men now help with housework and childcare
- couples now spend leisure time together instead of separately with workmates or female relatives. they are now more privatised or home-centred
how did Oakley (1974) criticise Willmott and Young?
Willmott and Young’s study only required men to do a few things around the house to qualify as having joint roles. their methodology overlooked the amount of time spent on housework
what does Gershuny argue?
women working full-time is leading to a more equal division of labour in the home
what did Gershuny (1994) find?
wives who worked full-time did less domestic work. the longer the wife had been in paid work, the more housework her husband was likely to do
what do feminist sociologists argue the division of labour does?
benefits men and oppresses women
what do liberal feminists believe the key to change is?
equal gender socialisation
what do radical feminists argue women have acquired?
a dual burden of paid work and unpaid housework
what is the triple-shift identified by radical feminists?
females take primary responsibility for paid work, domestic work and emotion work
what do Duncombe and Marsden (1995) argue emotin work is seen as?
a ‘labour of love’ because it involves caring for other family members
what does emotion work involve?
liasing between family members, offering advice, listening to and supporting family members
what % more of women than men are doing unpaid chores at homes
40%
how many hours do men compared to women help out at home?
16 hours compared to 26 hours, with those on maternity leave doing the most
what was the female employment rate in 2018?
71%
how many men did Vileda (2009) find still think household chores are a woman’s job?
4 out of 10
what were traditional relationships formed on?
the basis of reproductive and economic factors resulting in patriarchal power and dominance
what are contemporary relationships formed on?
the basis of confluent love
4 characteristics of confluent love
- not forever if relationship isn’t working
- stay together out of choice not obligation
- reltionship is negotiated, open, equal, mutual satisfaction
- same for all sexualities
4 characteristics of traditional parent child relationships
- children seen as a source of income - they were workers and didn’t go to education, no child labour laws
- gender socialisation more definined - boys work, girls stay home (ascribed status)
- high infant mortality rate
- children spend most of their childhood and adult life in the family
4 characteristics of contemporary parent child relationships
- children go to school aged 5-18, financially dependent on parents for longer
- children have a lot more legal rights
- infant and child mortality rates are low
- people have children because they want to rather than convenience or as it’s expected
why do men take a greater share of the family’s resources?
they usually contribute more money, due to their higher earnings
what did Edgell (1980) find very important decisions were done by?
taken by the husband or taken jointly but with the husband having the final say e.g., finance