topic 7 Feminism and the Family

Question 1

Delphy and Leonard
Familial Exploitation: A New Analysis of Marriage in
Contemporary Western Societies

Answer 1

-ensure male dominance through female subordination to men in
their unpaid domestic labour as housewives and mothers
-family as an economic system in which men benefit from
 two types of roles: head of household and their dependants.
-Members of the household work without pay for the head of household and wives also carry out sexual and reproductive work.
-Dependants often receive payment in kind from the head of the household in the form of clothing and so on rather than money.

Question 2

Ann Oakley: Gendered behaviour in the family

Answer 2

gender roles are socially constructed through socialisation.
1) Manipulation -encouraging behaviour that is seen as stereotypically acceptable for the
child’s gender
2) Canalisation - This involves parents channelling their child’s interests into toys, games and activities that are considered the norm for their gender( ballet and football)
3) Verbal appellation - This refers to giving children nicknames or pet names that reinforce gender expectations.

Question 3

Margaret Benston

Answer 3

1) Supporting the male workforce: On a daily basis, women renew
men’s ability to go out to work and create profits for the capitalist class by cooking meals, washing clothes and attending to their emotional and sexual needs.
2) Free reproduction of the labour force: On a generational basis, they socialise and care for children, reproducing the next generation of workers at no cost to capitalist employers.

Question 4

Fran Ansley

Answer 4

women act as a ‘safety valve’ – a release from the pressures of the world.
-‘the takers of shit’ as husbands return home having been exploited at work and take their frustrations and anger out on their wives. This frustration could be in the form of anger, complaining, emotional or even physical abuse.
-“his possibly revolutionary
ire , the bosses rest more secure.’

Question 5

Jennifer Somerville
(somevillain)

Answer 5

-Somerville argues that the picture of the family painted by some feminists of women being exploited by men in families is outdated
-For example, women have much more choice today about
whether to marry or cohabit, to become single mothers or
engage in lesbian relationships,

Question 6

Evaluation of the feminist view

Answer 6

-Overly negative? have ignored positive aspects of
family life. Many women gain real satisfaction from performing traditional roles in the family such as bringing up children.
-Outdated? ignore the very real changes in the roles of women
and men in families and the wider society. Post-feminists, such as Hakim
women can now make free and rational choices about their lives;
many women choose to only work part-time and take on a greater share of domestic
responsibilities than their partners because that is what they want, not because they have
been forced into these roles by the power of patriarchy.