Theories of the Family Flashcards
functionalists - the organic society
the human body is made up of different parts that function together to meet its needs and maintain it
functionalists believe society does the same, in which it is made up of interdependent parts (e.g: the education system, the government, religion etc.) that work together to maintain the social system as a whole
functionalists - Murdock
the family performs 4 essential functions:
- socialisation of the young
- satisfaction of the member’s economic needs
- reproduction of the next generation
- stable satisfaction of the sex drive
functionalists - Parsons: the functional fit
the functions that the family perform depend on the type of society in which they are found
- pre-industrial society (extended family) had the function of production and consumption
- modern society (nuclear family) have the function of social and geographical mobility
the nuclear family has 2 irreducible functions:
- primary socialisation of the young: equipping the next generation with basic skills and society’s values
- stabilisation of adult personalities: enabling adults to relax so they can return to the workplace and perform their roles effectively
marxists - Engles
the family exists so men can pass their private property onto their biological offspring - notably a son
marxists - Zaretzky
there is an ideological function of the family called the ‘cult of private life’ - this is the belief that we can only gain fulfilment from the family, which distracts attention from exploitation
marxists - Poulantzas
nuclear families are brainwashed into thinking capitalism is fair, which teaches lower generations how to conform and co-operate with the capitalist system
feminists - liberal feminists
liberal feminists take a march of progress view in suggesting gender inequality is gradually being overcome through reform and policy change, which changes people’s attitudes towards socialisation and challenges stereotypes
for example, the new man is becoming more widespread
feminists - marxist feminists
capitalism is the main from of women’s oppression in family and this performs several functions for capitalism:
- reproducing the labour force - women socialise the next generation of workers
- absorbing mens anger: wives soak up their husband’s frustration from being exploited at work
- a reserve army of cheap labour: when not needed, women workers can turn to their domestic role
feminists - radical feminists
the family and marriage are the key institutions in a patriarchal society, meaning that men benefit from the women’s unpaid domestic labour and sexual labour and sexual services, as well as dominate them through violence or the threat of it
radical feminists also believe the patriarchal system needs to be overturned, and the only way to achieve this is through separatism, meaning women need to organise themselves to live independently to men
feminists - difference feminists
not all women share the same experience of oppression; women of different ethnicities, class, age etc may have different experiences of the family
new right
a biologically-based division of labour: the division of labour between a male breadwinner and female homemaker is natural and biologically determined
families should be self-reliant: reliance on state welfare leads to a dependency culture and undermines traditional gender roles, it produces a family breakdown and an increase of lone-parent families, which results in social problems due to poor socialisation
personal life perspective - Smart
looks at relationships that individuals see as significant and gives a sense of identity, belonging and relatedness (pets, friends etc.)
integrationists believe that structural approaches assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant type of family
this ignores the increased diversity of families today
