Segregated roles of husbands and wives Flashcards
For the segregated roles of husbands and wives, Parsons believe that a nuclear family should what?
Parsons believed that a nuclear family should contain segregated conjugal roles (separated roles of husband and wives).
This meant that the husband assumed the instrumental role and the wife the expressive role
What are the terms given to the two roles of the segregated roles of the husband and wife?
Instrumental Role – Husband
Expressive Role – Wife
What were Parsons’ assumptions about the segregated roles of husband and wife based upon?
Parsons assumptions were based on biological assumptions that men should assume the instrumental role as they were physically stronger and that as women gave birth to their children meant they were more predisposed to look after their children.
The outcome of these separate roles would have a direct influence on gender-role socialisation and can help us to understand how gender identities are passed down from one generation to the next.
What is Parsonss’ Warm Bath Theory?
Warm Bath Theory (Parsons) – It is assumed that the women’s role is to provide a ‘warm bath’ when her husband returns from work. The family acts as a metaphorical ‘warm bath’ whereby his stresses and tensions from work soak away as his wife looks after his physical, sexual and emotional needs.
Is Parsons considered modern in thinking with the theory of segregated roles of husband and wife?
Parsons assumptions are considered outdated on many fronts, such as conjugal roles are now changing and the rise of the symmetrical family where roles are now shared rather than segregated is characteristic of a modern family.
What are the Marxist views on Parsons view of the segregated roles of husband and wife?
Marxist Feminists would argue that women’s role in Parson’s view is subordinate to men’s. This is especially the case in the Warm Bath theory whereby women’s role is merely to serve her husband to deal with the ‘harsh realities of capitalist society’ – easing all of his pains and tensions caused by capitalism and then preparing him for work the next day – but what about women’s stresses and tensions – who is looking after these? Fran Ansly argued that women are ‘takers of shit’.
What are the Radical Feminist views on Parsons view of the segregated roles of husband and wife?
Radical Feminists would argue that these segregated roles are not based on efficiency, like suggested by Parsons, but on patriarchy, whereby men have economic power and more freedom of movement compared to women’s role as a housewife.
