Theories of the Family - Feminism

Question 1

what does feminism aim to achieve

Answer 1

It aims to achieve political, social, economic and personal equality between the sexes

Question 2

what approach does feminism take

Answer 2

It takes a structuralist approach

Question 3

is it a conflict theory

Answer 3

yes

Question 4

who is in conflict in society according to feminists?

Answer 4

Men and women

Question 5

why are feminists critical of the family

Answer 5

They see the family as benefitting the patriarchy and maintaining male dominance over women

Question 6

what are the different feminist perspectives and their key sociologists

Answer 6

Liberal Feminism - Willmott & Young, Somerville
Marxist Feminism - Ansley
Radical Feminism - Germaine Greer
Difference Feminism - N/A
Post-Modern Feminism - Smart?

Question 7

what is Liberal Feminism concerned with?

Answer 7

It is concerned with fighting for equal rights and opportunities within the existing legal system.

Question 8

what is the main argument put forward by LibFems

Answer 8

They argue that campaigns against sexual discrimination and laws can change people’s attitudes to women’s role in the family and that the best way to improve the position of women in the family and society at large is through legal reform.

Question 9

what acts have helped improve women’s place in the workplace and the family

Answer 9

Equal Pay Act (1970)
Sexual Discrimination (1975)
Equality Act (2010)

Question 10

what measures do liberal feminists believe help women

Answer 10

1. Establishing the legal rights of women help make the family better
2. Changing socialization practices - they argue that children are now socialized with equal aspirations

Question 11

what have those measures help achieve according to LibFems

Answer 11

gender equality

Question 12

why do they believe those measures have helped achieve gender equality

Answer 12

because men are doing more domestic labour

Question 13

what view is the liberal feminist view in a nutshell

Answer 13

March of progress view.

Question 14

what does the match of progress mean and who is behind it

Answer 14

Willmott and Young argue that there has been gradual progress in achieveing gender equality in the family

Question 15

evidence to support the feminist view

Answer 15

Men doing more - 2020 survey by the American Sociological Association found that among heterosexual couples in the US, men reported doing a larger share of household work during the pandemic than before. Men were doing 30% of the housework compared to 15% previously.
Equal Socialization - 2017 study by the Pew Research Center found that the majority of parents in the US encourage their sons and daughters to pursue a wide range of activities, not limited to traditionally masculine and feminine ones.

Question 16

Criticism of Liberal Feminism

Answer 16

Marxist and Radical Feminists argue that laws don’t change society’s attitudes as they do not address unconscious bias and underlying gender stereotypes, though they provide a framework which people are mandated to follow. It doesn’t mean they accept the laws or won’t find ways to get around this, as a result, women are still oppressed in the family.
LibFems do not address the causes of women’s weakened position in the family, they fail to challenge the underlying causes of women’s oppression.

Question 17

Evidence to suggest that equality before the law doesn’t mean equality in practice - BBC

Answer 17

Though the Equal Pay Act was passed, the BBC gender pay gap scandal found that women still earned significantly less than their male counterparts. In 2018, it was found that among BBC journalists, men earned an average of 9.3% more than women in the same position; among the highest earners, men earned 14.6% more.

Question 18

what according to radical feminists are all society’s founded on

Answer 18

the patriarchy

Question 19

what does all societies being founded on the patriarchy mean

Answer 19

They are all dominated by men, which had led to women being subservient to the male.

Question 20

what is the family and marriage a source of according to RFs

Answer 20

They act as a source of female exploitation

Question 21

why do the family and marriage act as a source of female exploitation

Answer 21

because they are institutions in a patriarchal society

Question 22

what does Greer argue that men benefit from

Answer 22

Women’s unpaid domestic work and sexual services

Question 23

evidence to support the RF idea that women do unpaid domestic labour

Answer 23

Action Uk reported that 75% of women globally perform domestic work

Question 24

what else according to RF’s maintains male dominance

Answer 24

girls are socialised to accept male dominance, this then allows them to be dominated through sexual and domestic violence when they become women with families

Question 25

evidence to support RF view - socialization

Answer 25

A study published in the Journal of Social Issues by Bussey and Bandura 1999 - ‘Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation’ found that girls are socialised to believe that boys are more important and powerful than they are, which makes girls submissive to boys.

Question 26

what is the solution according to Greer

Answer 26

Seperatism

Question 27

what is seperatism

Answer 27

Women living independent of men

Question 28

criticism of RF - somerville

Answer 28

LibFem Somerville, critiques radical feminism for failing to recognise that women’s position has improved considerably through the law. Women have autonomy, which has been strengthened by better access to divorce, better job opportunities and other rights they have been granted by the law. The fact that about 2/3rds of divorces are initiated by women suggests that the law has made it possible for women to escape from oppressive relationships which improve their position as well.

Question 29

RF critic - Hakim

Answer 29

According to Hakim, RF assumes that women are passive victims with no choice. Women’s inequality in the family and what is treated as proof of gender discrimination may be proof of women’s personal choices and preferences. Some women may choose to be housewives, not because of the patriarchy but because they find it fulfilling.

Question 30

what do difference feminists argue

Answer 30

they argue that the other feminist approaches generalise women’s experience of the family.

Question 31

what point of view do other feminist arguments come from according to difference feminists

Answer 31

A white, middle class, nuclear family centered POV

Question 32

what do the other feminist perspective overemphasise according to difference feminists

Answer 32

They argue that other perspectives regard the family as a purely negative institution which neglects the positive experience some women enjoy.

Question 33

what do black feminists argue

Answer 33

They argue that the family can be a source of support and resistance against racism and racial oppression.

Question 34

study to support black feminist argument

Answer 34

A study carried out by Burton and Tucker 2009, found that black families have developed a range of strategies for coping with and resisting racism. One key strategy is by developing a strong sense of racial pride and identity

Question 35

what function do difference feminists argue the family serves

Answer 35

A positive role not necessarily a patriarchal role as identified by RF or a capitalist role as identified by MF

Question 36

criticism of difference feminism

Answer 36

Other feminists argue that difference feminism neglects the fact that all women share many of the same experiences. For example, they all face a risk of domestic violence and sexual assault, low pay etc. The guardian in Feb 2022, reported that more than one in 4 women globally experience domestic abuse before the age of 50.

Question 37

what do Marxist feminists argue

Answer 37

They argue that capitalism is to blame for women’s weaker role in the family

Question 38

what are the 3 main functions women in the family perform for capitalism

Answer 38

1. Reproducing the Labour Force
2. Women absorb anger
3. Women are a reserve army of cheap labour

Question 39

reproduce the labour force

Answer 39

Women reproduce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour. They also reproduce the labour force by socializing children into accepting capitalist ideology, this way they can produce the next generation of workers which helps capitalism thrive.

Question 40

reproduce the labour force - examples

Answer 40

Unpaid Domestic Labour - ONS stat - women perform 60% of unpaid care/domestic work
Hobson found that women’s unpaid care work is a form of social reproduction that reproduces the workforce, which is essential for the functioning of capitalism
Socialise - Nathanson and Lopez 2005, found that women socialize their children into patterns of consumption that contribute to the reproduction of capitalist values.

Question 41

women absorb anger

Answer 41

Women according to Ansley are ‘takers of shit’ who soak up their partner’s frustration from the workplace as they suffer from alienation.

Question 42

according to Marxists, what happens when women absorb anger

Answer 42

Domestic Violence against women

Question 43

women absorb anger - examples

Answer 43

Crime Survey England 2022, found that 1.7M of women are victims of domestic violence. 10.3% of which are from the west midlands, and according to data from the UK government in 2019/20, that area had a higher % of households in relative poverty with 23% compared to a national average of 22%.
CPAG 2019, 3.5% of women in low income households are more likely to experience DV

Question 44

women are a reserve army of cheap labour

Answer 44

Women are employed when companies are short on staff and are the first to be let go to return to their primary role as unpaid domestic labourers when not needed.

Question 45

women are a reserve army of cheap labour - examples

Answer 45

ONS 2022 labour stat, in the Oct-Dec 2022 period, women in employment make up 3.9% of those on zero-hour contracts while men make up 3.0%. This means that they have less job security and experience lower pay.
In addition, sections vulnerable to job cuts are hospitality, retail, social work and health care, according to the HofC 2022 summary on Women and the UK Economy, 78% of women hold jobs in the health and social work sector. People 1st 2017 report found that 65% of women are in hospitality, meaning when there are austerity cuts to public sectors and job cuts, women are the first to be let go

Question 46

critique of marx fems - reserve army

Answer 46

Women are working and have independent incomes, women make up 72.3 of people in employment according to ONS 2022. Even with the conservatives since 2010 who advocate for job cuts in the public sector as part of their effort to create limited government intervention, women’s employment rate peaked and has not fallen below 65% since 2010.

Question 47

critique of MF - reproduce labour force

Answer 47

Day-to-day relationships in the family are less likely today to create an unquestioning and obedient workforce. Children have much more status and power in the family today due to families being more child-centred. Women are also less likely to assert themselves in family life. Moreover, if Marxists argue that every single bit of society is capitalist surely children are learning capitalist ideology from outside secondary forms of socialization and not always from their mothers.

Question 48

a general critique of feminists

Answer 48

Functionalists argue that feminists, particularly radfems and marxfems overemphasize conflict in the family. To parsons, the family is not a capitalist or patriarchal institution but a system in society which serves irreducible functions for society and maintains social stability.