Sociologist Family+households Flashcards
Couples - Dobash and Dobash
Marriage and the nuclear family is the key institution of patriarchy, and the main source of women’s oppression.
Couples - Wilkinson
Domestic violence is the result of stress on the family caused by social inequality.
Couples - Ansley
Domestic violence is the product of capitalism: male workers are exploited at work and take their frustration out on their wives.
Social policy - Donzelot
argues that social policy is a form of state control of the family.
Social policy - LEONARD (FEMINISM)
although maternity leave policies benefit women, it reinforces patriarchy, because the terms of paternity leave are less generous, implying that women are the natural carers.
Childhood - Gittins
There is an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency.
Couples - Parsons
Expressive role (Women) = Homemaker; involves cooking, cleaning and looking after children. Instrumental role (Men) = Breadwinner; involves paid work and earning the income for the family.
Couples - Bott
Segregated conjugal roles: couples work and spend leisurely time seperately. Joint conjugal roles: couples share domestic tasks and leisure time.
Couples - Duncombe and Marsden
Women not only carry the dual burden of paid and domestic work, but also have to do the emotional work
Demography - PHILLIPSON (MARXIST)
The old are of no use to capitalism because they are no longer productive and are an economically dependent group
Demography - HUNT (POSTMODERNIST)
Age is just a number. The elderly are becoming a market for body maintenance and rejuvenation services and goods.
Childhood - ARIES
in the Middle Ages ‘the idea of childhood did not exist’ – children were not seen as essentially different to adults like they are today.
Childhood - Postman
childhood is essentially a social artifact. Its origin is closely linked to the printing press and the growth of literacy, which made possible the segregation of groups into children and adults.
Childhood - Shorter
families and societies have become more ‘child-centred,’ where children are seen as a priority.
Childhood - Palmer
Rapid technological and cultural changes have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development.
Changing Family - Fletcher
the rising expectation of marriage based upon unrealistic scenarios shown in movies has led to the dissatisfaction amongst many couples
Social policy - Fletcher
health, education and housing policies in the years since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the development of families functioning more effectively
Social policy - Murray
welfare policies have undermined the nuclear family and given perverse incentives for people to start single-parent families or to end their marriages and form single-parent families
Social policy - Drew
uses the concept of ‘gender regimes’ to describe how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and at work.
Family diversity - Parsons
Parsons functional fit theory argues that as society changes, the family changes in order to fit into society and be useful to society
Family diversity - Chester
There has been an important change from the conventional family (segregated conjugal roles) to the neo-conventional family, which adopts a symmetrical
family structure.
Family diversity - Giddens
Society has become ‘disembedded’ from traditional family structures, leaving us free to choose how we live our lives.
Family diversity - Beck
Equality and individualism have created the ‘negotiated family’ which varied according to the members wants.
Family diversity - Rapoport
5 types of family diversity: Organisational (role allocation), cultural, class, life course (family change) and Cohort(altering norms).
Family diversity - Smart
By focusing on people’s meanings, our attention is drawn to a range of other personal or intimate relationships that are important to people, even though they may not be conventionally defined as family.
Family theories - Murdock (functionalist)
The nuclear family performs four essential functions:
• Socialisation of the young
• Satisfaction of the member’s economic needs
• Reproduction of the next generation
• Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
Family theories - Parsons (functionalist)
Pre-industrial society = extended family - had the function of production and consumption
Modern society = nuclear family - have the function of social and geographical mobility
Family theories - Parsons #2 (functionalist)
The nuclear family has two irreducible functions: Primary socialisation of the young and Stabilisation of adult personalities
Family theories - ENGELS (marxist)
The family exists so men can pass their private property onto their biological offspring, notably a son.
Family theories - ZARETZKY (marxist)
the ‘cult of private life’ - this is the belief that we can only gain fulfilment from family life, which distracts attention from exploitation.
Family theories - POULANTZAS (marxist)
Nuclear families are brainwashed into thinking capitalism is fair, which teaches lower generations how to conform and co-operate with the capitalist system.
