Topic 4- Families And Households Flashcards
What is the comparative view?
Comparing across culture and time.
China- one child policy, gets benefits such as free healthcare
Communist romania- introduced policies to drive up birth rate- restricted contraception and abortion
Nazi germany- encouraged racially pure, sterilised disabled people
Democratic society- policies weren’t as extreme, family was seen as the private sphere in which the government didnt intervene.
How have perspectives affected social policy?
1) functionalism- fletcher- introduction of health, education and housing policies has led to development of the welfare state that supports family
2) danzelot- policies create conflict, helps state exert power and control. He argues that policies allow for the policing of families, through professionals such as health workers, social workers, ect.
3) the new right- dislike any policies that undermine the nuclear family, laws making divorce easier or introduction of civil partnerships and same sex marriage.
Murray- argues welfare policies reward irresponsible behaviour: father’s are more likely to leave id they know the state is helping
What is the new rights solution to policies? And how are they criticised?
They believe we need to cut welfare spending and have tighter restrictions on who is eligible for benefits. This could reduce taxes, both giving fathers incentive to work. Denying council housing to unmarried teens, reduced teenage pregnancies.
Feminists- an attempt to return to patriarchal society
Marxism- cutting benefits makes the poor poorer.
What did the conservative government do from 1979- 97
Magret thatcher:
1) banned promotion of homosexuality and banned teaching it was acceptable
2) defined divorce as a social problem
What did the new labour government do 1997- 2010?
Agreed the family is the core of society and believed the best family types was headed by a married heterosexual couple.
Labour policies favoured dual earner, neo conventional households:
1) Longer maternity leave
2) working family tax credit
Believe in state intervention:
1) welfare, tax and minimum wage policies aimed to redistribute wealth
Support of alternatives to the nuclear family:
1) civil partnerships
2) giving unmarried couples same right to adopt as married couples
3) outlawing discrimination about sexuality
What did the coalition government do from 2010-15?
Conservatives have been divided into modernists and traditionalists. This has caused a struggle on policies.
The coalition introduced:
1) same sex marriage
2) cuts to benefits
What do marxists think about family?
Marxists reject the march of progress view that social policies help improve family life.
Policies are there to benefit privileged positions and further subordinate the working class. Policies such as benefit cuts and cute to public transport.
What are feminist views on policy?
They see policies benefiting men and subordinating women.
Land- many social policies assume the best family type is a cereal packet family ( traditional nuclear).
Policies such as:
1) tax and benefit polices- believe men are the main wage earners
2) childcare- not enough funding as they assume most couples are married
3) care for the elderly- middle aged women are expected to care
Argue policies that appear to help women actually help men
What are criticisms of the feminist views on family?
There are policies that help women:
1) equal pay act 1970
2) rights of lesbian marriage
3) equal rights to divorce
What are gender regimes?
This is a comparative approach seeing if patriarchy is inevitable or some policies encourage equality.
Drew- there are 2 types of policy:
1) familistic gender regimes- policies are based around male bread winner and female homemaker. Seen in Greece which have little welfare for childcare, believe in traditional division of labour
2) individualistic regimes- policies based on husbands and wife’s being treated the same- seen in sweden
Drew argues EU countries are moving towards individualistic regimes
