Sociology Year 1 topic 1 families and households PDF

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These are the notes for Module families and households in A-level sociology and it covers all of Couples. ...

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Sociology Year 1 Families and Households Topic 1-Couples What is a family? What is a household? Family- Involves monogamous marriage between a man and woman and their children, who all live together. But this definition rules out other formats such as unmarried cohabiting couples, who others would see as family. Other definitions of family might be the idea that any arrangements that those involved see as family, is family. Household- A household is a person living alone or a group of people living together. The Domestic Division of Labour Parsons: -Expressive role- Women as the homemakers. -Instrumental role- Men as the breadwinners. Criticisms of Parsons: - Young and Willmott argue that men are doing more domestic work and wives are becoming wage earners. - Feminist sociologists argue that the division of labour is not natural and is there to benefit men only. Joint and Segregated Conjugal Roles. Segregated Conjugal Roles- Where a couples have separate roles. The male is the breadwinner and the female as the homemaker. Their leisure activities are also separate. Joint Conjugal Roles- Where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and then spend their leisure time together. The Symmetrical Family Young and Willmott take a ‘March of Progress’ view of the family. They see family life as gradually improving for all of its members, becoming more equal and democratic, arguing that there is a trend away from segregated conjugal roles and towards joint conjugal roles and the ‘symmetrical family’. By symmetrical family it means: -Women now go out to work -Men help with housework and childcare -Couples now spend leisure time together, instead of separate. Young and Willmott Study In their study of London, they found that symmetrical families were more common amongst young couples. They concluded that this increase in the Symmetrical nuclear family type was due to: -Changes in women’s position (married women go out to work) -Geographical mobility (More couples live away from the communities that they grew up in) -New technology (labour saving devices) -Higher standards of living.

The March of Progress view This is the view that there is greater equality between men and women, and the division of labour is more equal. Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare and women are going out to work and earn wages. Feminist view of Housework Feminists reject the march of progress view. They say that little has changed, and men and women still remain unequal in society. Women still do most of the housework and this inequality is from the fact that family and society is male dominated. Feminist sociologist Oakley argues that the view of the symmetrical family is exaggerated, and women still do most of the work, while men take part in the pleasurable activities of childcare and playing with the children, while women are left to do the domestic work. Taking Responsibility for Children Boulton argues that although fathers help by taking part in specific tasks relating to childcare, it is usually the mother who takes responsibility for the child’s security and wellbeing. This view is supported by studies: - Ferri and Smith found that fathers took responsibility for childcare in fewer than 4% of families. - Dex and Ward found that although 78% of fathers had high involvement in their children and playing with them, but when it came to care for their sick child, only 1% of fathers were the main carers. - Braun, Vincent and Ball found that in 3 out of 70 families, the father was the main carer. Emotion work and the triple shift. Hochschild says that women also have the responsibility of emotion work, where they are responsible for managing family members emotions and feelings, therefore, they have to perform a triple shift of housework, paid work and emotion work. The Gender Division of Labour There are 2 explanations for the gender division of labour: 1) The cultural or ideological explanation of inequality This is the view that the division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values that shape the gender roles in our culture. Women therefore do domestic labour because that is what society expects them to do. 2) The material or economic explanation of inequality This is the view that women earn less than men generally, so it is economically rational that they do more housework and childcare while men spend more time earning from paid work. Evidence for Cultural explanation From this explanation, equality can only be achieved through change in gender norms. Gershuny- couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share housework equally themselves. This suggests that parental role models and influence is important.

Evidence of Material Explanation From this view, if women go out to work and earn as much as men, then we should see change in the amount of domestic work and childcare that men take part in. Kan -found that for every £10,000 a year more a woman earns, she does two hours less housework per week. Resources and Decision Making in Households Money Management There are two main types of control over family income: -The allowance system, where men give their wives an allowance out of which they have to budget to meet the needs of their family, with the man keeping any surplus income for himself. -Pooling, where both partners have access to income and hold a joint responsibility for expenditure, such as a joint bank account. Decision-Making It is assumed that pooling means there is equality in decision making and control over resources, but the pooled income actually tends to be more controlled by men- Pahl and Vogler found that even where there was pooling, men usually. Made the major financial decisions. Studies found that: -Very important decisions, like those to do with finance, a change of job or moving to a new house, were usually taken by the man alone, or the couple jointly decided, by the man having the final say. -Important decisions such as those about children’s education or where to go on holiday were usually taken jointly. -Less important decisions like choice of home decor or children’s clothes and food was usually taken by the woman alone. Feminists argue that inequalities in decision making aren’t simply the result of inequalities in earnings. They argue that societies patriarchy and the idea of men being decision-makers is due to the cultural definition and how it is ingrained in society in men and women and instilled through gender role socialisation. However, if both partners keep their money separately, this doesn’t always mean inequality. Vogler et al found that cohabiting couples were less likely to pool their money, to maintain independence, yet, evidence suggests that cohabiting couples are more likely than married couples to share domestic work equally. The Personal Life Perspective argues that we need to understand the different meanings money can have within a relationship. For example, different couple types such as lesbians and gays were perfectly happy to allow their partner have control and make decisions in regard to money as they did not see control of money as meaning either equality or inequality in their relationship. Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is widespread so it can’t be the work of a few disturbed individuals. According to Women’s Aid Federation, domestic violence accounts for between a sixth and a quarter of all violent crimes. Domestic violence does not occur randomly, but it follows a particular social pattern, and these patterns have social causes. The most striking of these patterns is that it is usually men who commit acts of violence against women. For example, research found that women are more likely than men to have experienced intimate violence. 2 types of explanations for domestic violence: 1) The radical feminist explanation -This emphasizes that idea of patriarchy, cultural value and institutions. 2) The materialist explanation - This emphasizes economic factors such as lack of resources. Radical feminist explanation Radical feminists believe that society is founded on patriarchy and there are key divisions between men and women. Men play the role of the enemy; they are oppressors and exploiters of women. They also see family and marriage as key institutions in society that are the main source of women’s oppression. Materialist explanation These focus on factors that are economic such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk than others. For example, some sociologists see domestic violence as a result of stress on family members, and that stress being caused by social inequality....