Topic 5: Explanations for inequalities in domestic labour and power

Question 1

Biology:

Answer 1

Functionalists believe inequality is down to biological differences between the sexes.
Parsons: Women are the ideal carers and are naturally inclined to it due to them being the birth givers.
Murdock: Men are physically stronger and this is why they dominate economic life (suited better to the workplace).

Question 2

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

Who tend to blame familial ideology for inequalities?

Answer 2

Feminists and postmodernists as it claims that there is an ideal way to organise the family.

Question 3

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

What does Bernardes (1999) say about familial ideology?

Answer 3

Familial ideology is patriarchal in its outlook - masculinity associated with paid work etc.

It also shapes cultural expectations about femininity: motherhood and home-making despite societal changes.

Question 4

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

What does Leonard (2000) argue about patriarchal ideology?

Answer 4

Patriarchal ideology underpins dominant ideas about both paid work and domestic labour.
Suggests that men resist change because the unequal division of labour suits them.

Question 5

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

How does Oakley (2014) agree with Leonard?

Answer 5

She says men are a privileged group who won’t give up these privileges unless they are forced to do so.
Change has only occurred because of pressure put on men by women.

Question 6

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

What do O’Brien and Shamilt (2003) argue about ideological beliefs surrounding masculine and feminine roles?

Answer 6

The ideological beliefs around male and female roles have discouraged men from engaging in what they perceive to be “women’s work”.
Seen when men have more time to do housework than their partner - unemployed eg.

Question 7

Familial and patriarchal ideology:

What did McKee and Bell (1986) argue about unemployed men?

Answer 7

They felt emasculated - paid work was central to their sense of self-esteem and masculine power.
Resisted getting involved in housework as they saw it as degrading - it is women’s work.
They felt demeaned as men because their wives were the breadwinners.

Question 8

Ideology of motherhood and fatherhood:

What does Chambers argued about the ideology of motherhood?

Answer 8

It is organised around putting the children’s needs first.

Thus, mothers often feel guilty about full time work.

Question 9

Ideology of motherhood and fatherhood:

How does the BSA survey (2012) support Chambers’ argument?

Answer 9

26% of the population believed women should prioritise their caring role over having a job.
45% believed the role of a housewife was just as fulfilling as a paid worker.
30% believed preschool children suffer if their mother works.

Question 10

Ideology of motherhood and fatherhood:

What does familial ideology expect of mothers?

Answer 10

It expects women to take on jobs that are compatible with family commitments.
Some women give up work altogether to fulfil their roles as mothers.

Question 11

Ideology of motherhood and fatherhood:

What does Miller (2010) point out?

Answer 11

Responsibilities and practices associated with fatherhood aren’t as clear-cut or morally regulated as motherhood.
However, fathers are associated with being the breadwinner, head of the household, the provider, unemotional disciplinarian.

Question 12

Gender socialisation of children:

______ ______ influences the socialisation process and gender __________.

Answer 12

Familial ideology influences the socialisation process and gender expectations.

Question 13

Gender socialisation of children:

What happens when the children grow up to adulthood?

Answer 13

They are more likely to subscribe to traditional ideas about gender roles and are unlikely to challenge the inequality as it is perceived as normal.

Question 14

Social Policy:

According to Williams (2004), how does social policy encourage female economic dependence on men?

Answer 14

The lack of universal free childcare is an obstacle to gender equality - women don’t go to work and are thus dependent on men.

Question 15

Relative Resources Theory:

What is the main cause of gender inequality in the home?

Answer 15

The main cause is economic.

Men dominate relationships as they dominate the workplace.

Question 16

Relative Resources Theory:

Why do men have greater human capital?

Answer 16

They enjoy greater job opps, job security, earn higher pay.

Thus, the human capital of men (their work-related skills, knowledge and experience) is worth more than that of a woman.

Question 17

Relative Resources Theory:

What do Breene and Cook (2014) argue led to women achieving greater economic power?

Answer 17

As women entered the workplace en masse in the 1970s, their relative economic resources increased, giving them greater bargaining power over the distribution of domestic labour.

Question 18

Relative Resources Theory:

What has empirical evidence shown about double income households?

Answer 18

Households with dual earners experience a more egalitarian distribution of tasks.

Question 19

Relative Resources Theory:

What does Harkness (2005) say?

Answer 19

The burden of housework is more evenly split in families where the woman earns an equal or greater amount than their husband.

Question 20

Relative Resources Theory:

What are the weaknesses with the theory?

Answer 20

1. Households which are 50-50 equal are rare. Where there are kids, women generally put in twice the amount of domestic work regardless.
2. It is often women who take time off work to look after sick kids.
3. Full-time employed women increase their contribution to domestic chores when their partner loses their job.

Question 21

What do Marxist Feminists argue?

Answer 21

Domestic labour performed by the woman serves the needs of capitalism - it maintains the present workforce and reproduces future labour power.

Question 22

What do Cox and Federici (2010) argue?

Marxist Feminist

Answer 22

Under capitalism, women have assumed the role of breeders, housewives and consumers of the goods manufactured by capitalism’s factories.

Question 23

What do radical feminists, such as Delphy (1984) argue?

Answer 23

Women are oppressed and are an exploited class.

The housewife role was created and geared towards the needs of the patriarchy.

Question 24

What do radical feminists say with regards to domestic abuse?

Answer 24

It is used by men to punish and control women who claim about the exploitation.
As long as men have the capacity to threaten such violence, there cannot be true equality within marriage.

Question 25

How does Catherine Hakim (1996) criticise feminists?

Answer 25

She argues that feminists undermine women’s ability to make rational choices.
Many women choose to be mothers and housewives.
Feminists devalue the role of the mother or housewife as second class - they underestimate the fulfillment women get out of it as well as the amount of power they actually hold.