Theories of Families Flashcards
Murdock(Functionalist)
Argues for 4 essential functions that meet society’s and member’s needs. Says the nuclear family performs them best.
- Stabilise the sex drive- prevents social disruption from ‘free-for-alls’.
- Reproduction of the next
generation. - Socialising the young- into shared
norms and values. - Meet members economic needs-
food/shelter.
criticisms of murdock
- Rose-tinted and overly harmonious- Feminists say the family benefits men and exploits women, Marxists say the family meets capitalism’s needs, not members or society.
Functions can be done by other institutions or non-nuclear families
Parsons:functional fit theory
Argues a functional fit theory where family functions and structure
depend on the type of society they’re in. For instance :Nuclear family- parents
and dependent children, fits modern industrial society. Extended family-
3 generations under one roof, fits pre-industrial
society.
Parsons two essential functions
Here, the nuclear family specialises in 2 essential functions
- Primary socialisation of children (skills, society’s values, etc)
-stabilising adult personalities (family to relax and release tensions in order to go back to work refreshed).
Parsons :loss of functions
Pre-industrial families were multi-
functional, units of production (working together on a family farm) and
units of consumption (feeding/clothing members).
Even though this family type is more self-sufficient, Parsons argues that a
family changes from extended to nuclear when society industrialises,
and ends up losing some of its functions and is just a unit of
consumption. Other institutions like schools and health service take over.
Parsons :mobility
Geographically mobile workforce- industries rise/decline in different areas
or overseas, so people move a lot for work. Parsons says the nuclear family is easier to move around and therefore fulfils this function better
than the extended family.
Socially mobile workforce- society is constantly evolving, so workforces need to be technically skilled and competent- someone’s status in the force depends on talent/ability, not ascribed status based on family.
Parsons- nuclear family fulfils this function better because
extended families have sons at home (father has higher status), even though at work they are above him. This causes tensions- the nuclear family fixes as sons move out and form their own socially mobile family.
Primary Socialization of Children Chain of reasoning
Parsons (1955) argues that the family plays a key role in teaching children the norms and values of society.
-Families act as a ‘personality factory’, molding children into conforming citizens who accept the value consensus.
-This prevents anomie (normlessness) and ensures social stability, as children learn discipline, respect, and cultural expectations.
-Evaluation: Marxists (Althusser) argue this function serves capitalism by creating false class consciousness, socializing children into accepting inequality. Feminists (Oakley) argue it reinforces gender roles, teaching boys and girls patriarchal expectations from birth
Parsons:stabalising adult personalties
The family provides emotional support to relieve the stress of modern work life, allowing individuals (especially men) to function effectively in the workforce.
The expressive role (women) offers warmth and care, while the instrumental role (men) provides financial security.
This function prevents breakdown in society by ensuring mental and emotional well-being.
Evaluation: Feminists (Dobash & Dobash) argue this idealizes the nuclear family and ignores issues like domestic violence, which can make family life more stressful rather than stabilizing. Postmodernists argue that emotional needs can now be met outside of traditional families (e.g., therapy, friendships).
chain of reasoning for stable satisfaction of sex drive
- According to Murdock (1949), the family ensures that the sexual desires of individuals are regulated within a stable monogamous relationship.
- This reduces sexual competition and prevents social disruption, maintaining order in society.
- Functionalists argue this reinforces traditional gender roles, with men as providers and women as nurturers, which stabilizes social order.
Marxist:unit of consumption
Families are a market for selling consumer
goods, giving them a role in helping capitalism
profit:
* Keeping up with the Joneses- encourage
families to consume latest products.
* Media targets children, who use ‘pester
power’ to make parents spend more.
* Children without latest products are
mocked/stigmatised by peers.
Marxist inheritance of property
- Engels argued that in early human societies (primitive communism), property was communally owned, and there were no strict family structures.
- With the rise of capitalism, wealth and private property became concentrated in the hands of the bourgeoisie, who needed a structured family system to pass down their wealth to legitimate heirs.
- The monogamous nuclear family emerged as a means of ensuring paternity certainty, preventing wealth from being passed to non-biological children.
- This reinforced both class inequality and patriarchy, as women were controlled to ensure the legitimacy of inheritance.
maintains capitalism by ensuring that wealth stays within the ruling class, preventing economic mobility for the working class
Marxist Ideological functions of the family
– Marxists argue that the family performs ideological functions by maintaining capitalism and justifying class inequality.
- Althusser (1971) states that institutions like the family, education, and media act as Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs), transmitting ruling-class ideology to maintain the capitalist system.
- The family socializes children into accepting hierarchy, obedience, and inequality as ‘normal’, preventing them from challenging the system.
- This ensures that the working class (proletariat) remains exploited without questioning their position in society
How the family acts as an ideology
- Socialising children so they believe hierarchy
and inequality are inevitable. Parental
power over children gets them used to the
idea that someone’s always in charge,
preparing them for working life under
capitalist employers. - Zaretsky (1976)- family is a ‘haven’ from the
exploitative capitalist world- workers can be
Zaretsky (1976) argues that the family creates the illusion of a ‘safe haven’ from capitalism, making workers believe that home life is separate from exploitation at work.
However, this is a false consciousness—the family actually reinforces capitalist control by ensuring workers continue to be exploited without resistance.
Criticisms of Marxist perspective on families
Assumes nuclear family is dominant in capitalist
society, ignores wide variety of families we have
today.
* Feminists argue Marxists put too much
emphasis on class/capitalism, arguing that the
power of gender inequalities in the family that
means it serves men, not capitalism.
* Functionalists argue they ignore the benefits
the family gives.
Criticisms of Liberal Feminists
Criticisms- they don’t challenging underlying
causes of oppression and their attitude/law
changes aren’t enough to bring equality.
Marxists/Rad feminists argue deep-rooted
structures need big changes for equality to
happen.
Judgements for Feminists explanations
Liberal feminism explains progress but underestimates deep-seated patriarchal norms.
Marxist feminism highlights capitalism’s role in women’s oppression, but class is not the only factor.
Radical feminism is useful for exposing male domination but is extreme in its solutions.
Difference feminism adds nuance, but its fragmented approach makes collective action difficult.
A combination of Marxist and Radical feminism offers the strongest critique of patriarchy while recognizing economic factors.
Liberal Feminists
-Argue women’s oppression is gradually overcome by changing attitudes via law changes like the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
-Believe we’re moving towards greater equality but full equality
comes from more reforms and changes in attitudes/socialisation.
* View the family similarly to march of progress, but think there
isn’t full gender equality yet, just gradual progress. EG: studies
show men are doing more domestic labour and
sons/daughters are being socialised into more equal
aspirations.
campaign against sex discrimination and for women’s equal rights/opportunities.
Marxists Feminists
argue main cause of women’s oppression in the family is
capitalism, not men. They link women’s oppression to
exploiting the WC so therefore argue the family
needs to be abolished at the same time as a socialist
revolution.
Women reproduce labour force- unpaid domestic labour,
socialising next gen of workers and maintaining/servicing the
current one.
* Women absorb anger- so it’s not aimed at capitalism. Ansley
(1972)- wives are takers of shit who absorb the frustration
husbands get from alienation/exploitation at work.
* Women are reserve army of cheap labour- recruited when extra workers needed, then ‘let go’ to their unpaid domestic role later.
Marxist feminists provide a structural explanation of why women’s oppression exists in capitalist societies
- Difference Feminists
don’t assume all women live in conventional nuclear families- they say we can’t generalise women’s experiences.
* They say lesbian, heterosexual, black white, MC and WC
women all have different experiences of family. EG: white
feminists regarding family as all negative. Black feminists
see the black family as positive because they’re a source of
support/resistance to racism.
Criticisms of Difference Feminists
- Criticisms- other feminists say difference feminists ignore
the shared experiences women do have, like all facing the
risk of domestic violence, sexual assault, low pay, etc
Personal Life perspective on families
Personal life is bottom-up, emphasizing meanings
individual family members hold and how these shape
actions/relationships. On the other hand,
Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism are structural,
top down approaches on how societal structures
influence people.
Personal life perspective argue the M and F theories of family have two weaknesses:
They are all structural theories they assume families and members are simply passive piuppets-ignore we have some choice in creating our family relationsips— we must focus on the meanings is members give to their relationships and situations rather than on the familys supposed functions
-assume that the traditional nuclear family is dominant which ignores increased diversity of families today
Beyond ties of blood and marriage
Takes a wider view of relationships than jsut traditional family relationships. By focusing on peoples meanings the PLP draws attention to a range of other personal or intimate relationships that are important.
Friends (who are ‘like family’).
* Fictive kin (close friends treated as relatives, like your
‘auntie’).
* Gay/lesbian chosen families (support network of
friends/ex-partners/others, who aren’t related by blood).
* Dead relatives (live in people’s memories, still shape
identities/affect actions).
* Pets (Tipper, 2011 studies children’s views of family
relationships and found they consider pets part of the
family).
Donor -conceived children
Nordqvist and Smart found issue of blood and genes raised a range of feeling. some parents emphasised the importance of social relationships over genetic ones in forming family bonds.
Donor study shows the value of personal life theory in helping us
understand how people construct their own relationships and give
meanings to ‘family’ beyond genetics
