Paper 1: The sociology of Families EX: TG: Date of exam: 20 May 2019

Paper 1: The sociology of Families EX: TG: Date of exam: 20 May 2019 Sociology Start time: pm Duration: 1h 45m Name: Mr. Tsannos

Functions of the family

They believe the nuclear family is a key social structure in society The family fulfils both the needs of the individual and society, and therefore helps it to run smoothly Functionalists ignore the ‘dark side’ of the family such as child abuse Marxists are critical of the family and its function in capitalist society Marxists believe that the family serves the interests of capitalism They believe that the setup of the nuclear family enables social inequalities to continue from one generation to the next. E.g., the rich can pass down large amounts of money to their family members They ignore families who are satisfied and happy with family life Marxist Functionalist They believe the family has a negative function, especially on the lives of women They do not take into consideration families where there are shared conjugal roles In another colour write some criticisms of each perspective Functions of the family They have a very traditional and conservative view of the family They believe that children brought up by both parents grow up to be stable adults They oppose single-sex families They do not take into consideration other family types (such as same-sex) where children receive the functions of the family Feminists New Right

Functionalist: Functions of the family Murdock (49) 1. Educational- Families teach their children the acceptable behaviour of society (socialisation). Parents, also, teach their children about their culture 2. Economic support- The family gives financial support, as well as food and shelter 3. Reproduction- The Family ensures the continuation of the human race through procreation and childbearing 4. Sexual- The family regulates the sexual behaviour of the couple and helps to maintain their relationship and binds them together Parsons: 1. Primary socialisation: Children learn their culture and society’s norms and values. Also, he argued that mothers perform the expressive role within the household and the father the instrumental roles 2. The stabilisation of adult personalities: Husbands and wives can support themselves emotionally; but also can express childish elements of their own personality with their kids. This helps to keep adult personalities stable

Marxist: Functions of the family 1. Marxists seen the family as ‘consumer units’, as they buy for their family, for example, family cars houses, large televisions etc. 2. They believe that the set-up of the nuclear family enables social inequalities to continue from one generation to the next. E.g. the rich can pass down large amounts of money to their family members Criticisms of the Marxist theory: 1. They ignore families who are satisfied and happy with family life 2. The approach is a bit old fashioned 3. They ignore family diversity

Feminism: Functions of the family Radical feminists Marxist feminists Liberal feminists Radical feminists Marxist feminists Liberal feminists believe the nuclear family mainly believe that the look at the functions to benefit nuclear family increasing equality men because gender benefits capitalism, between men and role socialisation results in boys and and therefore the women. girls behaving in rich stereotypical ways They campaign for Men benefit more from For example, the changes in the law division of labour family life than women to ensure equality (men and women is recognised. having different roles in the household) Criticisms of feminist theories: They do not take into consideration families where there are shared conjugal roles Marxists believe that issues in the family are based on capitalism rather than patriarchy

Family Forms

Nuclear family creates most balanced individuals, and they believe it is good that conjugal roles are shared as it allows the family to run smoothly Functionali In the nuclear family: Evidence of unpaid labour and this supports capitalism as it socialises the next generation of passive workers Marxis t They believe that the nuclear family is based on patriarchy, especially in the nuclear family where conjugal roles tend to be shared In another colour write some criticisms of each perspective Family forms They believe the nuclear family is the most ‘natural type’ of family They believe that children brought up by both parents grow up to be stable adults They oppose single-sex families and value marriage Feminist s New

Different family forms Types of Families Description Nuclear family A family group consisting of parents and their children It contains two generations and family members live together Also, known as the cereal packet family Extended family This consists of children and other more distant relatives For example, grandparents, aunts and uncles Reconstituted (blended) family This is when two adults with children from previous relationships remarry (or cohabit) to form a new family This is also called a blended family Lone Parent family This is a family with only a mother or father as a consequence of death, divorce or individual choice Same Sex family These are families headed by a couple of the same sex Gay or lesbian households Beanpole family This is a family whose living members come from many generations, but with few members in each generation

Alternatives to the family Alternative Description Communes This is a group of people living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities Kibbutz This is a collective community in Israel that aims to provide communal living for individuals who wanted to be part of that sort of lifestyle This is a shared households The number of house shares with people aged between 35 and 44 rose by 186% House share Residential homes These are available for the elderly who struggle to look after themselves

Families across the world Country/ region Description China In an attempt, by the Chinese authority, to control population growth, couples in China, who lives in cities, were restricted to just one child South Asia (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) Extended family is popular in these countries Caribbean Caribbean families, the fathers and husbands are largely absent and women assume the most responsibility in childrearing

Family Diversity- Rapoports Organisational diversity This describes the structure of the family Cultural diversity Different cultures, religions and ethnic groups have different family structures, beliefs and norms and values Social class diversity Differences in family structure are the result of income differences between households of different classes Life cycle This relates to the stage in the (cohort) family life cycle that a particular diversity family has reached Family life Defined as older and younger course diversity generations having different attitudes and experiences that reflect the historical periods in which they have lived Rapoport and Rapoport (1982) were some of the first sociologists to identify the increase in family diversity in the UK. They argued the nuclear family is no longer the main type of family in society, and found five different types of diversity: How does Chester (85) criticise the Rapoports’ research? He believed that they exaggerated the degree of diversity in the British society He argued that the basic features of family life have remained the same for the majority of the population since the 1950s

Legal Changes 1. Divorce Reform Act (1969) 2. Equal Pay Act (1970) 3. Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (2013) Changes in social values and attitudes Reasons for Family Diversity The Divorce Reform Act (1969), made it easier for couples to escape an unhappy marriage The Equal Pay Act (1970) meant that women and men doing the same job would get the same pay. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (2013) allowed same couples to get married in England and Wales Previously, people tended to marry later and did not consider creating a family as the most important thing in their lives However, today more and more people choose to live alone, which now has less stigma attached to it than before Changing gender roles and employment opportunities An increasing number of women work and no longer need to depend on men for their financial security State benefits for lone parents The decision to divorce and raise children in a lone parent household easier to do Longer lie expectancy An increase in life expectancy means that when couples marry today they are likely to spend a considerable amount of their life with one person Decline in religion (secularisation) Secularisation refers to the declining influence of religious beliefs and institutions Goode argued that secularisation has resulted in marriage becoming less of a sacred, spiritual union and more of a personal and practical commitment Immigration Immigration of people from other parts of the world has led to an increase in different family types

Is the nuclear family still important in modern Britain? For Leach (67) recognised the power of the image of the nuclear family. He argued that the ‘cereal packet image of the family’ showed how families ought to be Chester (85) nuclear family still typical family type Huge majority of family commercials still depict the nuclear family Functionalist perspective - emphasising the importance of the nuclear family in providing essential functions for individuals and society. In 2016, there were 18.7 million nuclear families (still most popular) Against The increasing diversity of the family in contemporary society, with many people now live in other family forms e.g. lone parent, reconstituted, samesex. (Rapoports) Other types of family are becoming much more popular due to immigration e.g. Asian families tend to be extended families New Right perspective - arguing that children are more likely to develop into stable adults if brought up by both parents. But due to decline of nuclear family the nuclear family is now in “crisis”

Conjugal role relationships

‘natural’. Men and women simply have naturally different roles and that both are needed for the family to run smoothly Parsons, believed that working life can be stressful and the family is the place where adults can de-stress, which reduces conflict in society. This is called the ‘warm bath’ theory They ignore conflict within the family e.g. husband and wives unhappy with their roles They believe that men and women have different roles because that structure supports capitalism Zaretsky believes that the family supports capitalism by providing unpaid labour Marxism ignores the benefits of a nuclear family, for example, both parents supporting their children Marxist Functionalist ‘Triple Shift’ of women, 1. Career. 2. Housework. 3. Emotional work (Support family) Feminist Ann Oakley (74) identified the existence of strong segregated roles. She said women tend to do all the housework. What is Delphy and Leonard believe it is men, who benefit the most from women’s labour. They believe the family is maintains patriarchy Similar to Functionalists they believe that segregated roles in the nuclear family are the best way for a family to function They tend to have a very negative view of lone- parent families and do not take into account one- parent families who thrive and contribute to society Functionalists would argue that feminists put too much emphasis on the negative side of family life because it ignores the possibility that women enjoy running the home, being married and raising children In another colour write some criticisms of each perspective Conjugal role relationships Feminists New Right

Conjugal roles Conjugal roles roles within a marriage. Bott (71) identified 2 types Segregated conjugal roles Joint conjugal roles Definition This is where the husband and wife perform different and clearly defined activities, This is where husbands and wives share household tasks Roles within the household The mother may cook and clean while the husband may go out and work Both partners are likely to be in pair work. With household tasks being shared Statistics A study of households in 34 countries found that there was no modern country where men did more housework than women Research has found that men ARE taking on more household roles . BUT these are more masculine jobs e.g. DIY

Ann Oakley 1982 x Her work focused on the conventional family (which was the nuclear family) She said that women are expected to do unpaid work inside the home while men are expected to do paid work outside the home Men have economic power within the family because of the paid work they do outside the home Women therefore depend on men’s wages and this is an aspect of inequality in the family However, she notes that conventional family stereotypes are increasingly seen as dated and some groups are looking towards alternative ways of living RAL LIBE Criticism of Oakley’s view on conjugal roles She failed to study any other factors e.g. ethnicity or class

Ann Oakley 1974 Research method: 40 married women were interviewed Results: 70% of women interviewed were ‘dissatisfied’ with the housework Only 25% of husbands had a high level of participation in childcare Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework Conclusion: There was no evidence of shared conjugal roles RAL LIBE Criticism of Oakley’s view on conjugal roles There was not a big sample results are hard to generalise to a wider society

Key concepts in conjugal roles Key concept Dual Burden Sociologist Definition OAKLEY (74) According to Oakley, this is when women are in paid work but also perform the bulk of the domestic work Triple shift DUNCOMBE (95) Domestic division of labour N/A This refers to three types of work performed by women Paid work, domestic work and emotional work These are household tasks divided between family members

Conjugal roles: Studies on changing relationships within families Edgell (1980) Aim: Look at decision making in the home Research method: Interviewed middle- class couples Results: Men held decision making responsibilities in important areas; women in unimportant areas Pahl (05/08) Aim: Decision making in the family, including decision on money, going on holiday etc Results: Money management responsibility was with the one who earned the most money

Changing relationships within families

They believe that today the family has They believe that today lost many of its the family has lost many functions of its functions For example, the function For example, the of emotional support can function of emotional now be seen to be taken support can now be on by the education seen to be taken on system and various by the education welfare systems system and various welfare systems The rich and business owner use as a way Thethe richfamily and business owner demand useto thecreate family as a way toto selldemand their good create to sell their good ThisThis happens by happens by families families constantly constantly comparing comparing themselves to others around themselves to others them in terms of having aroundgoods them in consumer terms of having consumer goods Marxist Functionalist Some feminists believe more equality has been Some feminists believe more gained in the family; equality has been gained in however other the family; however other feminists disagree feminists disagree who disagree for Those Those who disagree example, believe that even for example, believe though men may help out that even though more often at home. On the men may help out whole women still carry the more often at home. burden of the triple shift On the whole women still carry the burden of the triple shift In another colour write some criticisms of each perspective Changing relationships within families They believe that family are They believevalues that family declining and and thisthis values are declining putfamily the family hashas put the in crisis in crisis Feminists New Right

Functionali st perspectiv e Young and Willmott 1973 Identified four stages of family life: Stage 1: The pre-industrial family Stage 2: Early industrial family of p le m sa e in wed peopl d e i rv 0 n Inte ly 200 don a n r s nea ter Lo g area a n e i Gr ound r sur Stage 3: The symmetrical / privatised nuclear family Emerged in middle classes but spread into and common in working classes, reflecting the boring and repetitive nature of paid manual jobs leading to more focus on home life Nuclear family at he expense of extended family; home centred and privatised; more time spent with family Symmetrical roles – less segregated, more equal – household chores and decisions; not interchangeable but equally important Reasons for rise in symmetrical family: Improved living standards Increasing geographical mobility Reduction in the number of children in the family Commercialisation of housework Improved status of women Stage 4: The asymmetrical family Principle of stratified diffusion – This is the idea that social changes start at the top of the social stratification system and spread downwards For example, changes in family life spread from the middle class into the working class U S N SE N S CO

Changes in family relationships over time Type of family Extended family Family roles Father as head of household, exercising economic control over family The family need a lot of family members to help them with the family’s work Family was the main unit of production producing most of the goods for the families survival Industrial Family Nuclear family This family emphasised the women's role as "mother" and domestic labourer Contemporary/ Modern Family Nuclear family, however, because of the huge amount of diversity in the UK there are many different types of family Women and men’s role in the family became more equal. Partners carry out different tasks but each makes similar contribution to the family (symmetrical family) Pre-Industrial Family

Criticisms of the family

Criticisms of the family Criticism Explanation and elaboration Loss of traditional functions (New Right view) With the rise of cohabitation, lone-parent homes and same-sex families they believe families are unable to offer and deliver the traditional and balanced functions of the family Lack of contact with wider kinship networks Some family members especially the elderly are now outcasts in the family Increasing geographical mobility and women’s involvement in full-time work have meant that family members see each other less often The status and role of women within families Despite changes in women’s roles, feminists still believe that the family has a negative impact on women. For example, in the past they were expected to take part in a double shift; with the inclusion of work they now take part in a triple shift Dysfunctional families Some members of the family can be harmed by family life, this is called, ‘the dark side of the family’. Within these families domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse can take place The home can become a place of fear rather than somewhere that people feel safe and loved

Delphy and Leonard 1992 In their view it is men, who benefit the most from women’s labour The family plays a major role in maintaining and reinforcing patriarchy Family is an economic system involving a division of labour which exploits women but benefits men Women are oppressed as their work is adopted within the family For example, women may be employed outside the home but still expected to do domestic chores when they get home – work is not share equally with their male partners Feminist perspective CAL RADI

Zaretsky 1976 The Marxist Zaretsky believes that the family supports capitalism by providing unpaid labour, reproducing a new labour force and being a unit of consumption Zaretsky also claims that the family allows individuals to express their frustrations with capitalism in a nonthreatening way The family supports the capitalist economy: It relies on the housewife role as unpaid labour and reproducing the next generation of workers It acts as an vital unit of consumption Marxist perspective

Divorce

Functionalists would explain divorce by identifying the beneficial results to both the individuals involved and to the society For example, we would end up with a happier society and fewer dysfunctional families Marxists would describe divorce as the competition for resources and power within the marriage where both parties cannot come to an agreement Unequal access to resources in society can lead to tension within families. This could explain the higher rate of divorces among the working classes Marxist Functionalist Feminists believe that divorce now allows women to leave unhappy marriages whereas before divorce was legal they would have had to remain in unhappy marriages In another colour write some criticisms of each perspective Divorce Blame the decline of marriage on moral decline – part of the broader breakdown of social institutions and due to too much acceptance of diversity. This results in the inability of people to commit to each other, and they see this as bad for society and the socialisation of the next generation. Feminists New Right

Marriage and Divorce Trends in Marriage Trends in Divorce Official statistics show that there has been a decline in the number of marriages Marriages in the UK peaked in 1972 at 480 000. Since then, the overall number of marriages has fallen and in 2011 there were just over 286 000 marriages Compared with the early 1970s, people are now putting off marriage until they are older In general, the number of divorces per year is going up, although there has been decreases In 1970 there was 63 000, in 1993 there were 180,000 and in 2005 there were 155,000

Factors effecting marriage Factor Changing role of women Explanation Changing social attitudes Increase in cohabitation Secularisation Today women are much more independent economically and therefore they have much more choice and say in their relationship choices. Women they have ;less need for the financial security of marriage and support from men This is linked to increased educational and employment opportunities, especially for women It is also related to changing social attitudes towards premarital sex Some people cohabitate without expecting the relationship to develop into a longterm one. For others, it is a long-term thing The increase in cohabitation on the whole is based on the changing attitudes towards sex outside of marriage post-1950s. Due to the decline in the importance of religion in the UK, marriage is not as fundamental to UK life. Less than a third of marriages involve a religious ceremony Rising divorce rates Many people choose not to marry in the light of the rising divorce rates Expense of marriage The high cost of marriage and the high costs of saving for a mortgage may put people of marriage

Divorce Legal changes Legal changes have made divorce easier, quicker and cheaper than in the past The Divorce Reform Act (1969) in England and Wales played a big role in this. Legislation in 1984 (Divorce Law) allowed couples to request for divorce after only one year of marriage, rather than three Since the 60s divorce has become less stigmatized and more socially acceptable Changing For example, members of the Royal Family have divorced and in the media, we often social attitudes hear of celebrities divorcing Secularisation This means that less people are getting married in churches As, a result the religious barrier to divorce is weaker today than it was in the past Changing role Today, women participate more in the labour market and are now more independent The availability of welfare benefits allows women not to be poor after a divorce. They of women can apply to a variety of state benefits that can support their family Media The popular media (magazines, pop music and soap operas) tend to emphasise the importance of mutual attraction and ‘romantic love’ relationships. Consequently, individuals may have high expectations of marriage

Divorce Consequences of divorce Impact on family members Consequences of Emotional effects of a divorce, for example, grief and loneliness divorce for husbands Legal aspects relating to a divorce, for example, courts, custody of and wives children Economic aspects of a divorce, for example, less money Consequences of divorce for the family The increase in divorce has led to an increase in lone-parent and reconstituted families Consequences of divorce for children Divorce leads to children having to spend time with parents separately and can often require adjustments to new sets of relationships in reconstituted families Consequences of divorce for the extended family Grandparents may not see their grandchildren and in other situations they might be required to help out in the home and with childcare