theories of the family Flashcards
What do functionalists believe society is based on? What does this mean?
Value consensus - a set of shared norms and values into which society socialises its members
What analogy do functionalists use to describe society?
The organic analogy - society is made up of different organs (institutions) that perform different functions for society
Name and briefly explain the four functions that Murdock believes the family performs in order to meet the needs of society and its members
Stable satisfaction of the sex drive - with same partner, preventing social disruption caused by a sexual free for all
Reproduction of the next generation - without which society could not continue
Socialisation of the young into society’s shared norms and values allowing social solidarity and harmonious coexistence
Meeting members economic needs - Creates stability and provides individuals with food and shelter
Give two criticisms of Murdock’s view of the family
The functions outlined by Murdock can be carried out by other institutions (religion, the media, politics) or other non-nuclear family structures (same sex families, symmetrical families) / Marxists and feminists criticise his rose-tinted harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of both society and its members.
Explain Parsons’ functional fit theory
The functions that the family performs will depend on the society it is found in. In traditional pre-industrial society, people spend their whole lives working on the same farm and create a unit of production. However, in modern society, the family needs to become geographically and socially mobile meaning that, according to Parsons, the family needs to be nuclear as it is the family type that best performs these functions.
What are Parsons’ two irreducible functions?
The primary socialisation of children - equips them with basic skills and society’s values to enable them to cooperate with others and begin to integrate into society
The stabilisation of adult personalities - the family is a place where adults can relax and release tensions.
What do marxists see society as based on?
The unequal conflict between two social classes: the capitalist class who owns the means of production and the working class whose labour the capitalists exploit for profit.
Explain the function of the family according to marxists put forward by Engels
Engels argues that in modern society, monogamy became essential because of the inheritance of private property - men had to be certain of the paternity of their children in order to ensure that their legitimate heirs inherited it from them. Therefore, Marxists argue that only with the overthrow of capitalism and private ownership of the means of production will women achieve liberation from patriarchal control.
Explain the function of the family according to marxists put forward by Zaretsky
Zaretsky argues that the family performs an ideological function by offering an apparent haven from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism outside where workers can be themselves. However, he claims that this is an illusion - the family cannot meet its members’ needs. He also argues that the family is a unit of consumption where the children use pester power to pressure their parents to buy the toys and products that they see advertised by the bourgeoisie. Parents comply to ‘keep up with the joneses.’
Explain the function of the family according to marxists put forward by Althusser
Althusser argues that the family is an ideological state apparatus which socialises children into the norms and values of the ruling class - the hegemony.
Give two criticisms of the marxist perspective of the family
Marxists tend to assume that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society - ignoring the wide variety of family structures found in society today.
Functionalists argue that marxists ignore the very real benefits that the family provides for its members.
What view do liberal feminists hold regarding the family? - give some examples.
Liberal feminists take a march of progress perspective - they argue that although there has not yet been full gender equality, there has been gradual progress - men are doing more domestic labour, parents socialise their children more equally, parents have equal aspirations for their children regardless of gender.
Who is the key sociologist for liberal feminism and what policies did she help to implement?
Jenny sommerville helped to implement policies such as the sex discrimination act (1975), the equal pay act (1970) and policies regarding abortion and divorce.
What view do marxist feminists hold about the family?
Women reproduce the labour force through unpaid domestic labour by socialising the next generation of workers and maintaining and servicing the current one, women absorb anger (fran Ansley describes this as ‘takers of shit’ who soak up the frustration of their husbands), and women are a reserve army of cheap labour that can be taken on when extra workers are needed.
What view do radical feminists hold about the family?
All societies have been founded on patriarchy. Men are the enemy and the family and marriage are the key institutions in patriarchal society where men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and from sexual services. Greer argues for separatism - women must organise themselves to live independently from men such as through political lesbianism.
What view do difference feminists hold about the family?
We cannot generalise about women’s experiences. Everyone has different experiences of the family from one another. White feminists neglect black women’s experience of racial oppression.
Outline the new right view of the family
The new right argues in favour of the nuclear family as it is self reliant - it is able to meet its needs without relying on the welfare state and it is the most successful at socialising children. Murray argues that other family types rely on perverse incentives which are rewards given by the state for antisocial and irresponsible behaviour which are leading to an underclass.
What weaknesses do these perspectives suffer from according to the personal life perspective?
They tend to assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant family type ignoring the increased diversity of families today. They (functionalism, feminism and marxism) are all structural theories which assume that families are passive puppets manipulated by society’s structure.
What relationships do the personal life perspectives draw our attention to that may not be conventionally defined as ‘family’
Relationships with friends, fictive kin (close friends treated as relatives), gay and lesbian chosen families, dead relatives and pets (Tipper → found in her study of children’s view of the family that they often saw their pets as part of the family)
What did Nordqvist and Smart find in their study of donor-conceived children?
The issue of blood and genes raised a range of feelings - some parents emphasise the importance of social relationships over genetic ones in forming family bonds.
