Theories of the Family

Question 1

What is a household?

Answer 1

A person living alone or a group of people living together who share meals, bills and housework.

Question 2

What does the family do?

Answer 2

Play a key role in the socialisation of children - teaching them norms and values.

Question 3

What is the dominant family type in Britain?

Answer 3

Traditional Nuclear Family

Question 4

What does the Traditional Nuclear Family consist of?

Answer 4

• Small family
• Mother, father and 2-3 biologically related children.
• Heterosexual relationship between mother and father is based on love and fidelity.
• Parents are married
• Clear division of labour - wife is the nurturer and husband is the breadwinner.

Question 5

What family type is socialised into being the norm?

Answer 5

The Traditional Nuclear Family

Question 6

Give at least three examples of different family types.

Answer 6

At least three from the following:

• Same sex families
• Lone parent families
• Polygamous
• Reconstituted family
• Extended family
• Cohabiting family
• Single person household
• TNF

Question 7

What is the Functionalist view of the family?

Answer 7

• Families help maintain social order and social cohesion
• Prefer the TNF
• Agent of primary socialisation
• Function is to maintain a functional society, with social stability and consensus.

Question 8

How can Functionalist views be criticised?

Answer 8

• Ignore the idea that the dark side of the family can bring harm:
  1) Domestic violence
  2) Child abuse
  3) Neglect
• The TNF is not the only family type that can provide the functions that Murdock and Parsons discuss.
• Marxist Feminists would argue that the TNF benefits men and not all members.
• Marxist Feminists would argue it is wrong that women are the ones expected to stay at home, and are not getting paid for this.
• Marxist Feminists would argue there is a ‘slave to the wage slave’ where women are being slaves to men, and men are being slaves to the workplace.

Question 9

When were New Right ideas popular?

Answer 9

1970s and 1980s

Question 10

Which family type do the New Right believe to be the best?

Answer 10

Traditional Nuclear Family

Question 11

Why do the New Right believe the TNF is the best?

Answer 11

As:

• it is the most suitable for society and creates stability in society.
• the husband and wife are committed through marriage.
• children are raised to respect their parents, the law and other social institutions.

Question 12

How is labour divided in the TNF?

Answer 12

• Clear division of labour

- Segregated conjugal roles

Question 13

What do the New Right believe about the division of labour in the TNF?

Answer 13

The clear division of labour is in place because:

• women have natural maternal instincts
• men have natural aggressive instincts

TNF controls their instincts

Question 14

How did family structure change in the 1970s?

Answer 14

• There was a decline in the TNF and family values

Question 15

According to the New Right, what caused the change in family structures in the 1970s?

Answer 15

• Other family types became more common:
  1) Contraception
  2) Legalisation of abortion

Question 16

What do the New Right believe things like contraception and legalised abortion caused?

Answer 16

• More sexual freedom and less commitment to the TNF

Question 17

How do the New Right believe the Equal Pay Act impacted women?

Answer 17

• It changed women’s priorities - now their career

- It distracted women from their natural role as mothers.

Question 18

How do the New Right believe the 1969 Divorce Reform Act impacted the family?

Answer 18

• Gave women more freedom to get divorced and undermined the commitment in marriage

Question 19

How do the New Right feel about the fact that homosexuality is no longer illegal?

Answer 19

• It is wrong and unnatural

Question 20

What do the New Right give as evidence to show that the traditional nuclear family is declining?

Answer 20

• People not being so interested in getting married.
• Increase in birth outside of marriage.
• Increase in cohabitation
• Increase in single parent families
• Increase in working mothers

Question 21

What do the New Right believe to be the result of a decline in the TNF?

Answer 21

• Threats to the TNF - new types of family cause social disorder.

Question 22

What do the New Right believe has been the result of a decline in the TNF?

Answer 22

• The emergence of an underclass.

UNDERCLASS: People who do not work and cannot be self sufficient.

Question 23

How does the TNF benefit Capitalists?

Answer 23

• Performs an ideological function
• Justifies inequality
• People believe hierarchy/inequality is natural
• Children socialised to accept someone will always have control over them.

Question 24

How do Feminists view the family?

Answer 24

Negatively - they say that it is patriarchal

Question 25

How do Feminists view gender inequality?

Answer 25

They believe it is not natural, and is socially constructed by a patriarchal society.

Question 26

What is the Marxist-Feminist perspective on the family?

Answer 26

• Capitalism is the cause of the oppression of women in the family, and not men in general.

Question 27

What are some of the criticisms given to Marxist-Feminist ideas? (3 examples)

Answer 27

1) They believe the solution is to create a communist society - this won’t work - the TNF still exists.
2) Ignore the progress made by women in the Capitalist society.
3) Assume all families are patriarchal.

Question 28

What do radical feminists believe about the family?

Answer 28

• Men are the enemy

- Family and marriage are key institutions for the oppression of women.

Question 29

What is a possible criticism for Marxist or Radical Feminists?

Answer 29

• Don’t particularly recognise the differences between families and focus on the TNF.
• They ignore family diversity.

Question 30

What do difference Feminists highlight?

Answer 30

• Differences in experiences between families.

- Different groups of people have different experiences of the family.