Topic 5: Domestic Labour, power and the family Flashcards
What does the distribution of labour within the family do? (Parsons)
It stabilises the family unit.
The nuclear family gives men and women distinct roles:
- Husband: Economic welfare, and protection.
- Wife: Emotional care and socialisation of children.
What does Parsons say about the power within relationships?
He claims it is balanced but that the roles are different.
How do marxist-feminists critique Parsons’ view on power?
Women aren’t earning a wage from their role - they are financially dependent on the husband.
What do Young and Willmott claim?
1950s research: Conjugal roles and domestic labour were clearly segregated.
By 1970, it was more symmetrical and egalitarian:
- Greater educational and job opps for women.
- Greater number of women in the workplace (policies)
- Women had acquired more power - economically, fertility (1961). They could put pressure on the man to do more.
What did Young and Willmott conclude?
These changes had resulted in a new family unit - the symmetrical family where men and women were equals.
- Both in paid work and jointly contributed to bills etc.
- Housework more fairly distributed.
- Decision-making shared.
How does Ann Oakley (1974) criticise Young and Willmott?
They ignored domestic work (Chambers 2012) - example of malestream sociology.
The patriarchy was still present: interviewed 40 housewives in London - 15% of husbands helped in housework.
- Still saw it as women’s work.
What examples in the modern world support Oakley?
Craig (2007): women do between 1/3 and 1/2 more housework than men. This rises when a child is born - “mother penalty”.
Ben-Galim and Thompson (2013): 8/10 women did more household chores than men.
Is decision making equal?
What does Stephen Edgell (1980) note?
Decision making can be allocated to three broad categories:
- Very important decisions (economic) were always taken by the husband - he had superior earning power.
- Important decisions (eg, child’s schooling) were taken jointly.
- Less important (everyday minutiae of family life) were usually made exclusively by the wife.
Is decision making equal?
What did Hardill (1997) discover?
She repeated Edgell’s research and found some change.
MC wives deferred to their husbands in major decisions.
The man was able to to demand the interests of his wife or family should be subordinated to his career as he was the breadwinner.
Is decision making equal?
How does Leighton (1992) counter Hardill?
The power to influence changed when males became unemployed.
Also, in professional couples, working wives took over responsibility for bills and initiated cutbacks.
Is decision making equal?
What do Vogler and Pahl (2001) say?
Decision-making was shaped by income.
1/5 of households were egalitarian.
Men controlled decision-making as they had the higher income.
Childcare and domestic work:
What does Craig (2007) say?
Craig (2007): women do between 1/3 and 1/2 more housework than men. This rises when a child is born - “mother penalty”.
Childcare and domestic work:
What does Fisher et al’s (1999) research show?
Dad’s care of infants rose 800% between 1975 and 1997.
15 minutes to two hours on the average working day.
Childcare and domestic work:
What did Smith (2009) find?
Fathers in nuclear families carry out (on average) 1/4 of the family’s child-related activities on weekdays and 1/3 on weekends.
Childcare and domestic work:
Why does Craig say the quantitative evidence needs to be taken with caution?
It says nothing of the relationship between the child and the parent.
Men spend more time talking and playing with the child whilst the woman doesn’t get this quality time as she is often looking after the child when they interact - dual burden.
