theories of the family

Question 1

what is the functionalist perspective of the family?

Answer 1

they say society is based on a value consensus into which they socialise its members

regard society as a system made up of different parts that depend on each other (organic analogy), the family is an important sub-system

Question 2

what did Murdock say about the family?

Answer 2

the family performs four essential functions:
stable satisfaction of sex drive - with same partner prevents social disruption
reproduction of the next generation - without which society would cease to exist
socialisation of the young - into norms and values
meeting its members’ economic needs - e.g. food and shelter

Question 3

why did Murdock support the nuclear family?

Answer 3

(practicality and universality)
it helps to maintain social stability, its functions could be performed by other institutions but the sheer practicality of the nuclear family as a way of performing the functions explains why it is universal

Question 4

criticisms of Murdock

Answer 4

marxists and feminist reject his ‘rose-tinted’ harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all members of the family

Question 5

what does parsons say about the family?

Answer 5

the kinds and range of functions depends on the type of society its found, also determines family structure

Question 6

what family structures does parsons identify?

Answer 6

the nuclear family - of just parents and dependent children, found in modern industrial society

the extended family - of three generations living under one roof, found in pre-industrial society, was multi-functional, a unit of production and consumption

Question 7

what needs of modern industrial society does the nuclear family meet?

Answer 7

geographically mobile workforce: industries constantly spring up and decline in different places. its easier for the compact two-generational nuclear family to move where the jobs are

socially mobile workforce: status in industrial society is achieved not ascribed, so adult sons can now achieve a higher status than their fathers, breaking away to set up their own nuclear family unit removes the status conflict that would result if they stayed (structurally isolated)

Question 8

what are the irreducible functions of the family?

Answer 8

primary socialisation: of children, equipping the next generation with basic skills and society’s values

stabilisation of adult personalities: enabling adults to relax and release tensions so that they can return to the workplace and perform their roles efficiently

Question 9

what does the new right say about families?

Answer 9

biologically based division of labour: male breadwinner, female homemaker natural and biologically determined, segregated conjugal roles best for socialising children

families should be self-reliant: reliance on welfare state leads to dependency culture, undermines traditional roles and produces family breakdown and lone parent families, lack of role models for boys causes problems

Question 10

what do marxists see as the function of the family?

Answer 10

all institutions contributing to maintenance of exploitative capitalism, family is an oppressive institution:

inheritance of property
ideological functions
unit of consumption

Question 11

marxism: inheritance of property

Answer 11

Engels argues that as private property became more important, men who controlled it needed to ensure they could pass it to their own sons

this led to monogamous marriage and women became the private property of her husband, who controlled her sexuality to ensure he was the father of her children, so legitimate heir inherited his wealth

Question 12

marxism: ideological functions

Answer 12

socialising children that hierarchy and inequality are inevitable, parental power accustoms them to idea that someone has to be in charge, preparing them for working life

Zaretsky argues that there is a ‘cult of private life’, the belief that we can only gain fulfilment from family life which distracts attention from exploitation

Question 13

marxism: unit of consumption

Answer 13

capitalism exploits labour of workers and profits of products so needs consumers to buy its products

media target children who use ‘pester power’ to persuade parents to spend more, children who lack ‘must haves’ gadgets are mocked and stigmatised by peers

the family is an important market for consumer goods and therefore enables capitalists to make profits

Question 14

criticisms of marxist perspective

Answer 14

feminist say focus on class and capitalism underestimates gender inequalities within the family

functionalists say marxists ignore real benefits family provides for its members

Question 15

what are the different types of feminism?

Answer 15

liberal feminists
marxist feminists
radial feminists
difference feminists

Question 16

what do liberal feminists say about the family?

Answer 16

gender inequality is gradually being overcome through legal reforms and policy changes (equal pay),challenging stereotypes and changing peoples attitudes and socialisation

there is a march of progress view e.g. ‘new man’ is becoming more widespread

but full equality will depend on further reforms and changes in attitudes and socialisation

Question 17

what do marxist feminists say about the family?

Answer 17

capitalism is the main cause of women’s oppression in the family, which performs several functions for capitalism:

reproducing labour force - through unpaid domestic work, women socialise the next generation of workers and service the current one

absorbing men’s anger - that would otherwise be directed at capitalism, wives soak up their husbands frustration that come from being exploited at work (‘takers of shit’), explains domestic violence

reserve army of cheap labour - when not needed, women workers return to their domestic role

Question 18

what do radical feminist say about the family?

Answer 18

patriarchy is the main cause of women’s oppression, the family and marriage are key patriarchal institutions

men are the enemy as they are the source of women’s oppression and exploitation

men benefit from women unpaid domestic labour and sexual services and dominate women through violence or the threat of it

some radical feminist believe in ‘political lesbianism’ and complete separatism from men, heterosexual relationships are inevitably oppressive they involve ‘sleeping with the enemy’

Question 19

what do difference feminists say about the family?

Answer 19

not all women share the same experiences of oppression, women of different ethnicities, class backgrounds etc may have different experiences of the family

e.g. by regarding the family solely as a source of oppression, white feminist neglect black women’s experience of racism, many black feminists view the black family positively as a source of support in a racist society

Question 20

how does the personal life perspective criticise structural approaches?

Answer 20

tend to assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type, ignoring increased family diversity

they are all structural theories, assuming families and members as passively manipulated to perform certain functions, ignoring choice in creating family relationships

Question 21

what is the personal life perspective?

Answer 21

takes a ‘bottom up’ approach, to understand families we must look at the meanings individual family members give to their relationships

Question 22

PLP: beyond ties of blood and marriage

Answer 22

by focusing on peoples meanings, PLP draws attention to a range of other relationships that are important to people even through they might not be conventionally (blood of marriage) family

include all kinds of relationships that individuals see as significant and given them a sense of relatedness, e.g. fictive kin (close friends treated like family ‘auntie), friends, dead relatives, pets

Question 23

PLP: donor received children

Answer 23

relationships beyond blood and marriage raise questions about what counts as family from viewpoint of the individuals involved

Nordqvist and Smart’s research on donor-received children found that parents often emphasised the important of social relationships over genetic ones in defining family

some defined being a mum in terms of the time and effort put into raising a child

where couples knew their donor, they had to resolve questions about whether they counted as family

lesbian coupes were concerned the sperm donor might be treated as the real second parent

Question 24

evaluation of PLP

Answer 24

takes too broad of a view, by including a wide range of different kinds of personal relationships, ignores what is special about relationships based on blood or marriage

Nordqvist and Smart’s study shows value of PLP compared to structural approaches, helps understand how people themselves define relationships as family rather than imposing traditional sociological definitions of the family