The Role of Couples in the Family Flashcards
Which functionalist believe men and women are equal but different?
Parsons (1955)
What did Parsons mean by saying men and women are equal but different?
Men and women have clearly defined roles. The man is the instrumental leader, meaning he provides for his family by acting as a breadwinner. The women is the expressive leader, meaning she is responsible for providing the families domestic and emotional needs.
Why do men and women have different roles in the eyes of Parsons?
Men and women are biologically programmed to take on roles.
How are men biologically prepared for his role?
Men are historically the providers
How are women biologically prepared for her role?
Women have maternal instincts making them better suited for care giving.
Evaluation of Parsons and the functionalist perspective on the roles of couples?
- presumptuous that all families are nuclear families, there are more single parent and same sex families
- the idea men and women perform different roles is outdated, men and women swap roles more frequently now
Which sociologist believed couples can adopt different approaches to their conjugal roles?
Bott (1957)
What are the two different types of conjugal roles according?
- joint
- segregated
Explain couples that perform segregated conjugal roles?
Couples see their roles to be completely separate - similar to Parsons.
Explain couples that perform join conjugal roles?
Couples share jobs. This can include domestic chores and support financially. Women are likely to be in paid employment and men are likely to perform jobs around the house. More likely to spend their leisure time together too.
What type of conjugal roles were performed by working class families?
Segregated conjugal roles
Evaluation of the joint and segregated conjugal roles theory?
- feminists disagree, they believe that joint conjugal roles don’t exist, instead women have a dual burden
- fails to consider the man his more power in segregated roles
Which sociologist theorised the March of Progress view about the role of couples?
Young and Willmott (1973)
What do Young and Willmott describe the family as today (March of Progress)?
Symmetrical
Men that are more hands on as parents are described as what (March of Progress)?
The new man
What 4 reasons do Young and Willmott give for a more symmetrical family (March of Progress view on couples)?
- geographical mobility
- educational opportunities for women
- higher standards of living
- household technologies
How has geographical mobility made the family more symmetrical (March of Progress view on couples)?
Families need to travel further and further for work. This means that families now do not live as close to family relatives as they did. This means the couple is more dependent on one another for support.
How has educational opportunities for women made the family more symmetrical (March of Progress view on couples)?
With a higher education for women, women are pursuing careers of their own. Therefore men have to help out more with housework and childcare.
How has a higher standard of living made the family more symmetrical (March of Progress view on couples)?
Families want to spend more money on luxury goods such as; cars, houses, technology and material goods. For families to afford this, they need two sources of income meaning both the man and women will be in paid employment
How has household technology made the family more symmetrical (March of Progress view on couples )?
Technology has made domestic labour quicker and more efficient. Before, labour required a specific skill set which men didn’t have. Now, with technology, both the man and the women can perform domestic labour jobs easily
Evaluation of the March of Progress Theory view on couples?
- only refers to the nuclear family, doesn’t explain how non nuclear families split up domestic labour
- ignores the working class
- feminists argue that the women still does the majority of the house work, dual burden
What 3 areas do feminists believe about the roles of couples in the family?
- women still do most of the housework
- women still do most of the childcare
- women get less leisure time to themselves.
What does Oakley (1974) believe about women still doing most of the housework?
Despite change since the 1980s, women still see domestic labour as a full time job which is time consuming and somewhat demeaning
What did the British Social Attitudes Study (2012) tell us about women still doing most of the housework?
Challenged the theory of the “new man”. Even with both adults in full time employment, men did 8 hours of housework, and women did 13 hours of housework on average.
What do Warde and Hetherington (1993) believe about women doing most of the housework?
Couples tend to “sex-type” their chores depending on whether they were masculine or feminine. Women more likely to do housework whilst men are more likely to to do DIY and clean the car
Evaluation of of the claim that women still do most of the housework?
- ignore the fact women may enjoy doing the housework
- men are more suited to doing DIY, they are on average stronger.
What does Hoschchild (1989) believe about women doing most of the housework?
Coined the term “dual-burden”. Women are expected to contribute financially as well domestically
What do Ferri and Smith (1996) believe about women doing most of the childcare?
Found that in only 4% of families, men are the primary giver, 96% women are. Implies little has changed through the expectation of women being the primary caregiver.
What do Dex and Ward (2007) find about women doing most of the childcare?
78% of fathers regularly played with their children, however when their child is sick, 1% stepped in to provide care
What do Braun et al (2011) find about women doing most of the childcare?
Men continue to see themselves As the provider for the family. In a study of 70 men, only 3 saw themselves as the main care giver. Meaning the other 67 saw themselves to help out the women when needed.
What do Duncombe and Marsden (1995) believe about women doing most of the housework?
Describe something as the triple shift. Women are expected to take responsibility for paid work, domestic work, and then the emotional support for her family.
Evaluation of the claim that women doing most of the childcare?
- practically it is more sensible for women do to more of the childcare as they do less hours
- women may prefer to do more of the childcare as they have more of an emotional bond with their child
What does Southerton (2011) believe about women having less leisure time than men?
Found that women had the responsibility for organising family events. In terms of leisure time, men have leisure time that is strictly their own whereas women have leisure time that includes the plans of her children
Evaluation of the claim that women have less leisure time than men?
- men tend to work longer hours, meaning they deserve uninterrupted hours
- services such as childminding allows women to have time to herself
What does the cultural perspective seek to understand about the roles of couples?
The seek to understand changes in social attitudes and behaviour over time
Evidence from the cultural perspective to suggest there is a movement towards greater equality?
Gershuny (1994) found that couples whose parents had an equal relationship were more likely to be equal themselves. Social attitudes are changing over time
Evidence from the cultural perspective to suggest inequality continues to exist?
Dunno (1999) found that lesbian coupes were more likely to be in a more equal relationship than their straight peers
What does the material perspective seek to understand about the roles of couples?
They are interested in the relationship between the earning power of the man and the impact this has on equality
Evidence from the material perspective to suggest there is a movement towards greater equality?
Kan (2001) found that every extra £10,000 more a women works, they do 2 hours less housework a week
Sullivan (2000) found that as women access full time employment, their domestic responsibilities reduce.
Evidence from the material perspective to suggest inequality continues to exist?
Ramos (2003) found that in couples where the women was the breadwinner, and the man was unemployed, they still do 50/50 of the housework Arber and Ginn (1995) found that middle class families often spend money on cleaners and nannies meaning these families are not sharing responsibility, instead outsourcing it
What 5 theories are there into the role of coupes in nuclear families?
- functionalist perspective
- march of progress perspective
- feminist perspective
- cultural perspective
- materialistic perspective
What 2 theories are there under the distribution theory?
- distribution theory
- decision making
What 2 theories are there that explain domestic violence?
- radical feminism
- materialistic perspective
Which feminist sociologists/theories talk about women doing most of the housework?
- Oakley (1974)
- British Social Attitudes Survey (2012)
- Warde and Hetherington (1983)
- Hoschschild (1989)
Which feminist sociologists talk about women doing most of the childcare?
- Ferri and Smith (1996)
- Dex and Ward (2007)
- Braun et al (2011)
- Duncombe and Marsden (1995)
Which feminist sociologists talk about women having little leisure time to themselves?
-Southerton (2011)
Which 4 studies concern over the division of childcare in the family?
- research into 70 fathers, only 3 acted as the main care giver
- 4% of men are primary care givers
- triple shift
- 78% of men play with their children, 1% step into provide care when sick
Which 4 studies are concerned with the division of domestic labour in the family?
- men do 8 hours of housework, women do 13 hours
- even since 1980s, women still see domestic labour as a full time job
- couples sex type their chores
- dual burden
