Theoretical views of the family

Question 1

Who are the 2 key functionalists?

Answer 1

Murdock 1949
Parsons 1959

Question 2

What did Murdock study?

Answer 2

• Looked at 250 societies
• Found in all these societies that family was the most important institution

Question 3

What was Murdock 4 Functions of the family?

Answer 3

Sexual
Reproductive
Education
Economic

Question 4

What is the sexual function?

Answer 4

Where the family info is centred around a monogamous relationship between 2 adults. Controls sexual behaviour and stabilises sex drive

Question 5

What is the reproductive function?

Answer 5

The family reproduces the next generation for society

Question 6

What is the educational function?

Answer 6

The family socialised the next generation into the norms and values of society

Question 7

What is the economic function?

Answer 7

The family unit financially provides for all the dependents in the unit

Question 8

What does Parsons study?

Answer 8

Looked at the change of society from pre-industrial to industrial and how it impacted the family. Called the functional fit theory

Question 9

What are Parsons 2 functions?

Answer 9

Primary socialisation
Stabilisation of adult personalities

Question 10

What is the primary socialisation function?

Answer 10

The family passed on the norms and values of society to the new generation

Question 11

What is the stabilisation of adult personalities?

Answer 11

Where the family is a relaxing place that takes away stress which prevents the overflow of emotion and served to stabilise personalities

Question 12

What roles do functionalist say that men and women should have?

Answer 12

Men: Instrumental
Women: Expressive

Question 13

What is the instrumental role?

Answer 13

Financially proved for the family and takes control in terms of power

Question 14

What is the expressive role?

Answer 14

Emotionally provides for the unit and is the care giver

Question 15

Why do the New Right think the bucket family has declined?

Answer 15

Because of the underclass

Question 16

What did Charles Murray argue?

Answer 16

Single parents were to blame for all of society’s problems and we are too dependent on the welfare state

Question 17

What did Charles’s Murray identify the underclass as?

Answer 17

• The New Rabble: LT unemployed, welfare dependent and single mothers
• The New Victorians: Respectable middle class who marry, socialise their children properly, work & pay tax

Question 18

What doe Marxists argue?

Answer 18

The family is being used by the bourgeoisie to help maintain the capitalist state and ensure the rich stay rich

Question 19

Who are the 2 key marxists?

Answer 19

Engels (1884)
Zaretsky (1976)

Question 20

What key function does Engels say the family has?

Answer 20

To ensure that rich families passed on their inheritance to the rightful heir

Question 21

What does Engels think about the family before capitalism?

Answer 21

Property was collectively owned and the family structured reflected this as there was tribal groups

Question 22

What has capitalism done to the family?

Answer 22

The bourgeoisie use their wealth to benefit themselves. The monogamous NF is the best way of guaranteeing that you are passing on priestly to your son

Question 23

What function does Zaretsky suggest the family have?

Answer 23

To transmit ideology that helps maintain the capitalist state and stop the proletariat from rebelling

Question 24

What did Zaretsky say about passing on ideology?

Answer 24

That it’s needed to justify and legitimate the power of the ruling class

Question 25

How is ideology passed on?

Answer 25

Through the socialisation process that the RC will always be in control and the WC will always be exploited

Question 26

What other key function does zaretsky suggest the family play?

Answer 26

That the family acts a unit of consumption

Question 27

Criticisms of the Marxist view

Answer 27

• Assume NF dominate capability society
• Ignore the positive functions of the family (Functionalists criticism)
• Focuses too much on class conflict not gender (Feminist criticism)

Question 28

What is the Feminist view of the family?

Answer 28

That it oppresses women and focus on issues such as the unequal division of labour and DV

Question 29

What doe feminists say about gender inequality?

Answer 29

That it’s not natural and is created by society

Question 30

What is liberal feminism?

Answer 30

• Campaign against sex discrimination
• Women’s oppression is being gradually overcome through changing attitudes

Question 31

What is radical feminism?

Answer 31

• Argue all societies have been founded on patriarchy
• Men benefit from W’s unpaid labour and sexual services
• Need patriarchal family to be overturned
• Argue for political lesbianism

Question 32

What is difference feminism?

Answer 32

Argue that we cannot generalise about W’s experiences and that lesbian, heterosexual, diff races have very diff experiences of the family

Question 33

What is marxist feminism?

Answer 33

• The main cause of oppression is capitalism
• Reproduce labour force through unpaid labour
• W absorb anger (Ansley 2007 describe W as takers of shit)
• Family must be abolished same time as a social revolt replaces capitalism with a classless society

Question 34

What is the personal life perspective?

Answer 34

• Emerged due to the weaknesses in sociological perspectives
• Argue F, M & F assume NF is still dominant family and ignore increase in FD
• Suggest because F, M & F are structural theories and assume family members are passive puppets manipulated by structure of society

Question 35

What is the personal life perspective influenced by?

Answer 35

Interactionist society