Topic 3 - Gender Roles

Question 1

What does the domestic division of labour refer to?
What are the 4 subheadings?

Answer 1

The roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work.

1.) Parsons: instrumental and expressive roles
2.) Joint and segregated roles
3.) The symmetrical family
4.) A feminist view of housework

Question 2

1.) Parsons: instrumental and expressive roles (Include criticisms)

Answer 2

▪️Husband has an instrumental role; Achieving success at work to be the breadwinner.
▪️Wife has an expressive role; Primary socialisation of the children + meeting the family’s emotional needs (full-time housewife).
-Parsons argues this division of labour is based on biological differences, with women ‘naturally’ suited to the nurturing role and men to that of provider. Argues this division is beneficial to men, women, children + society.

❌ Young + Wilmott (1962) argue that men are now taking a greater share of domestic tasks and more wives are becoming wage earners.
❌ Feminists reject the view it’s ‘natural’ + claim it only benefits men.

Question 3

2.) Bott: Joint + segregated conjugal roles

Answer 3

-Elizabeth Bott :
▪️Segregated conjugal roles; separate roles - a male breadwinner + a female homemaker/carer (leisure activities too tend to be separate).
▪️Joint conjugal roles; where the couple share tasks such as housework + childcare and spend their leisure time together.

Question 4

3.) Young & Willmott: The symmetrical family

Answer 4

-Young + Willmott take a ‘March of progress view’ seeing the fam as gradually improving for all members (equal).
-See a long-term trend away from segregated conjugal roles —> conjugal roles + ‘symmetrical family’
-Symmetrical family = roles of husbands + wives, although not identical, are now much more similar: ▪️Women now go to work (may be part-time).
▪️Men now help with housework + childcare.
▪️Couples now spend their leisure time together.

Question 5

3.) Young & Willmott: The symmetrical family - study

Answer 5

-Studies in London found that the symmetrical family was more common among younger couples, those who are geographically + socially isolated, + the more affluent.
-See the rise of symmetrical nuclear family as the result of many social changes that have taken place during the past century: ▪️Changes in women’s position (married women working).
▪️Geographical mobility; couples living away from home town.
▪️New tech/labour saving devices.
▪️Higher standards of living.
(Interlinked)

Question 6

4.) Feminist view of housework

Answer 6

-Reject this ‘march of progress view’ + argue little gas changed: men + women remain unequal in the family + women still do most of the housework.
-Stems from family + society being patriarchal.
-Oakley criticises Young + Willmott (symmetrical family) due to her own study and findings.

Question 7

4.) A feminist view of housework; Oakley + Boulton’s studies

Answer 7

-In her own research on housewives, Oakley found some evidence of husbands helping in the home but no evidence of a trend towards symmetry.
-Only 15% had a high participation in housework, and only 25% had high participation in childcare.
-Most couples defined the father’s role as one of ‘taking an interest’
-A good father was one who would play with the children in the evenings + ‘take them off her hands’ on Sunday morning.
-However, this could mean mother’s lost the rewards of childcare, such as playing with the children, and were simply left w more time for housework.

-Later research from Boulton found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare.
-Critiqued Y+W for exaggerating men’s contribution by looking at the tasks involved in childcare rather than the responsibilities.
-A father might help W specific tasks, but it was almost always the mother who was responsible for the child’s security + well-being.

Question 8

What comes under ‘are couples becoming more equal?’

Answer 8

1.) Impact of paid work
2.) The march of progress view
3.) The feminist view
4.) Taking responsibility for children
5.) Taking responsibility for ‘quality time’
6.) Explaining the gender division of labour

Question 9

1.) The impact of paid work

Answer 9

-Most of the women in Oakley’s study in the 70s were full-time housewives, but today many more wives go out to work.
-This trend towards both partners working raises 2 ?s:
1.) Is it leading to more equal div of domestic tasks, with a ‘new man’ taking responsibility + doing an equal share of the housework + childcare? (MOP view).
2.) Or does it simply mean that women now have a ‘dual burden’ of paid work as well as domestic work (fem view).

Question 10

2.) The March of progress view; Improved living standards in the home

Answer 10

-Improved living standards such as central heating, TV, DVDs, computers + the internet, and all the other modern consumer goods, have encouraged husbands + wives/cohabiting couples to become more home-centred, building the relationship + home.

Question 11

2.) March of progress view; The decline of close-knit extended family and the greater geographical + social mobility

Answer 11

-In contemporary society more geographical + social mobility has weakened the close-knit ties of the extended family.
-This is meant there is less pressure from kin on newly married or cohabiting couples to retain trad roles + it’s therefore easier to adopt new roles in a relationship.
-There’s often no longer the separate male + female networks for male and female partners to mix with —> ^ dependence upon each other, + may mean men and women who adopt new roles avoid being teased by friends.

Question 12

2.) March of progress view; The improved status + rights of women

Answer 12

-Most women are now in paid employment, which may encourage men to accept women,rn as equals instead of simply housewives + mothers.
-Women have become more assertive in demanding that household tasks are shared.

Question 13

2.) March of progress view; The ^ in the number of women working in paid employment (British Social Attitudes Survey 2013)

Answer 13

-Gershuny and Laurie found that as wives moved into paid employment or from part-time to full-time work, they did less housework, and med did a bit more.
-They saw this as leading to some progress in reducing gender inequalities in the home, but they stressed this was a very slow process.
-The ‘British Social Attitudes’ survey (2013) found a fall in the no. people who think it’s the man’s job to earn money + the women’s job to look after the house + family.
-In 1984, 45% of men + 41% of women agreed w this view, but by 2012 only 13% of men + 12% of women agreed.

Question 14

What 4 factors have causes housework to be shared more equally? (March of progress)

Answer 14

1. ) Improved living standards has meant families are more home-centred
2. ) Greater geographical and social mobility means has allowed couples to adopt new roles
3. ) Improved status of women’s rights means most women are now in paid employment, made them more respected
4. ) increase in women in paid employment means they did less housework and men did more

Question 15

3.) The feminist view (British Social Attitudes survey)

Answer 15

-Women going into paid work has not led to greater inequality in the div of domestic labour.
-There is still little sign of the ‘new man’ who does an equal share of housework + childcare, while women now carry a dual burden, as evidence from the British Social Attitudes survey shows:
▪️In 2012 men on average did 8 hrs of housework p/w, whereas women did 13 hrs.
▪️Men spent 10 hrs on care for family members, whereas women spent 23 hrs.
▪️Overall, therefore women did 2x as much as men.

Question 16

4.) Taking responsibility for the children (Boulton / Braun, Vincent + Ball)

Answer 16

-Mary Boulton argues that studies which focus upon the attitudes of tasks in the home exaggerate the extent of men’s involvement in childcare.
-Claims that, although men might help w particular tasks, it is their wives who retain primary responsibility for children.
-It is their wives who relegate non-domestic aspects of their lives to a low priority.

-Braun, Vincent + Ball found that men were doing more than previous gen.
-However, their research suggested men’s involvement was still limited.
-They found that there was a tendency for fathers to refer to mothers for ‘instruction + reassurance’

Question 17

4.) Taking responsibility for children; emotion work + the triple shift

Answer 17

-Duncombe + Marsden argue women now take on a ‘triple shift’ (Housework, Paid work, Emotion work).
-Emotion work includes; sustaining the relationship between fathers + children, keeping in touch with extended kin, planning social events + complimenting fam members for achievements.

Question 18

4.) Taking responsibility for quality time

Answer 18

-Another responsibility is that of coordinating, scheduling + managing the family’s ‘quality time’ - a responsibility that usually falls to the mothers, according to Southerton.
-This has become more difficult in the late modern society which sees an emergence of the 24/7 society + flexible working patterns.

Question 19

What are the two explanations for the unequal division of labour?

Answer 19

1. ) The cultural or ideological explanation of inequality, suggests the division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and value that shape the gender roles in our culture and society.
2. ) The material or economic explanation of inequality - The fact that women generally earn less than men means it is economically rational for them to do more housework and childcare.

Question 20

What evidence is there for the cultural explanation of the gender division of labour?

Answer 20

• Gershuny (1994): Couples who’s parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share household equally themselves. Parental role models are important. We are adapting too new norms.
• Man Yee Khan (2001): Younger men do more housework. Sons do more than father and daughters do less than mother’s.
• The British Social attitudes survey (2013): Less than 10% of under-35s agreed with the traditional division of labour, as against 30% of the over-65s.
• Gillian Dunne (1999): Found that lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of traditional heterosexual ‘gender scripts’

Question 21

What is the evidence for the material explanation of the gender division of labour?

Answer 21

• Kan: For every £10,000 a year more a woman earns, she does two hours less housework p/w.
• Sara Arber and Jay Ginn (1995): Better payed, m/c women were more able to buy products and services such as labouring-saving devices, ready meals, childcare etc.
• Sullivan shows that working full-time rather than part-time makes the biggest difference in terms of how much work each partner does.

Question 22

What are the conclusions we can draw up about the gender division of labour?

Answer 22

• Evidence supports that women being in payed work leads to more equality in the division of labour but feminists argue that, in reality, the extent of this is limited and women continue to do a dual/triple burden.
• Feminists say the root of this problem is patriarchal norms and values that shape today’s society.

Question 23

What do Michelle Barrett and Mary McIntosh (1991) note about resources in the family?

Answer 23

• Men gain more from women’s domestic work than they give back in financial support.
• The financial support that husbands give to their wives is unpredictable and comes with ‘strings’ attached.
• Men usually make decisions about spending on important items.

Question 24

1.) Money management; Pahl + Vogler

Answer 24

-Two types of control over family income:
1. ) The allowance system- Where men give their wives and allowance out of which they have to budget to meet the family’s needs.
2. ) Pooling - Where both partners have access to income and joint responsibility for expenditure.
-Pooling is on the ^

Question 25

2.) Decision making; Irene Hardill’s (1997 study)

Answer 25

In (30 dual-earner) couples the most important decisions were usually taken either by the man alone or jointly and that his career normally took priority when deciding whether to move house for a new job.

Question 26

Stephen Edgell’s (1980) study of professional couples found that?

Answer 26

1.) Very important decisions (moving house) were either taken by the husband alone or jointly but with the husband having the final call.
2.) Important decisions (children’s education) were usually taken jointly, and seldom by the wife alone.
3.) Less important decisions (home decor, food) were usually made by the wife.

-Argues that the main reason men are likely to take the decisions is that they earn more.

Question 27

What do feminists believe about inequalities in decision making?

Answer 27

Feminists argue that inequalities in decision making are not due to economic factors but a patriarchal society, where men as decision makers is ingrained into people.

Question 28

The meaning of money:

Answer 28

-If a man earns 2x his wife but contributes the same amount is this equality
Charlott Nyman (2003) money has no automatic, fixed or natural meaning.

Question 29

What is ‘a personal life perspective on money?’

Answer 29

• Carol Smart (2007) : Some gay men and lesbians attached no importance to who controlled the money
• Weeks et al (2001) : The typical pattern was pooling some money for household spending, together with separate accounts for personal spending.

Question 30

Domestic violence + it’s evidence

Answer 30

-Psychological, physical, sexual, financial + emotional abuse.
-CSEW found that 2 million people reported being victims of DV.
-2 women a week are killed by a partner/ex.

Question 31

Domestic violence stats

Answer 31

-On avg women are assaulted 35x before they report their fist report on DV.
-1 in 4 women may be victims in their entire life.
-Government stats are underrepresented.
-Office for National Statistics (ONS) report that in mid-May 2020, there was a 12% ^ in the number of domestic abuse cases.

Question 32

What are the 2 main explanations of DV?

Answer 32

1.) Radical feminist explanation
2.) The materialist explanation

Question 33

1.) Radical feminist explanation

Answer 33

-RF’s see the family + marriage as the key institutions in patriarchal society + the main source of women’s oppression.
-Widespread DV is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society + serves to preserve men’s power.
-RF’s give sociological, rather than a psychological, explanation by linking patterns of DV to dominant social norms about marriage.
-Male domination of state institutions helps to explain the reluctance of the police + courts to deal effective w cases of DV.

Question 34

Evaluating the RF explanation

Answer 34

❌ RF’s fail to explain female violence, e.g. child abuse + violence against male partners + in lesbian relationships.
❌Wrongly assume that all women are equally at risk of patriarchal violence.

Question 35

Who is most risk at of DV?

Answer 35

-Young women
-Those in the lowest social classes
-Those of high levels of alcohol consumption/using illegal drugs.
-Those w a long-term illness/disability.

Question 36

2.) The materialist explanation

Answer 36

-Focuses on economic + material factors, e.g. inequalities in income + housing to explain why some groups are more at risk than others.
-Wilkinson + Pickett (2010) see DV as the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality.

Question 37

Evaluating the materialist explanation

Answer 37

✅ MF also see inequality causing DV, e.g. Ansley describes wives as ‘takers of shit’
❌ Do not explain why women rather than men are the main victims.