Roles and Relationships Within the Family Flashcards
What are ‘conjugal roles’?
Are the roles of husband and wife (or partner and partner) within a home.
Describe the differences between joint and segregated conjugal roles.
- Joint roles are where the husband and wife roles are flexible and shared, with less defined tasks for each. Leisure time is shared and responsibility for making decisions is shared.
- Segregated roles consist of husbands and wives leading separate lives with clear and distinct responsibilities within the family. The man goes to work and does DIY and the woman stays at home and looks after the children, providing emotional support.
What is meant by the ‘dual burden’ of women in modern society?
Oakley found that women took on a dual burden- taking on paid jobs and still keeping the traditional responsibilities for home and children.
How was the role of ‘housewife’ socially constructed, according to Oakley?
Oakley thinks that the role of the housewife was socially constructed by the social changes of the Industrial Revolution, when people started going to work in factories instead of working at home.
What did the Children Act 1989 do?
Was set up so the state can intervene in families if social workers are concerned about children’s safety.
What proportion of violent crime in the UK is estimated to be domestic violence?
The Home Office estimates that 16% of all violent crime in the UK is domestic violence.
What do radical feminists think is the cause of domestic violence?
Radical feminists see domestic violence as a form of patriarchal control. They say violence against women is treated differently to other violent crimes.
Give two criticisms of the radical feminist view of domestic violence.
- It overemphasised the place of domestic violence in family life.
- It presents men as all-powerful and women as powerless when in reality women often hold some power over men.
