Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Theories about conjugal roles and gender inequality within the family (pg…
Theories about conjugal roles and gender inequality within the family
(pg 124)
Functionalism
Main: Asymmetrical gender relationships give way to symmetrical relationships based on joint-conjugal roles in post-industrial society
.
Is based on the idea that as societies pass through different stages of industrialization, gender roles gradually converge through
'stratified diffusion'
Changing roles can be seen in these two new developments:
New man
: someone who combines work with their share of domestic labor
New father
: someone who combines traditional masculinity with being 'a good, caring, and responsible father'
Theorizes that men and women play different family roles:
Men-instrumental
Women- expressive
Neo-Functionalism
Swenson
focuses on adults as providers of a safe, stable family environment for primary socialization
Main: Parents give their children a knowledge of both expressive and instrumental relationships
- no matter which provides which
Based on the idea that as societies pass through different stages, of industrialization, gender roles gradually converge through 'stratified diffusion'
'Optimal socialisation' takes place in stable (married) families where both parents play complementary roles
Marxism
Main: Focuses on families as social spaces involving complex conflicts and power struggles
Political economy
centers on economic aspect of family life. This involves resource theory where power struggles are a part of conjugal relationships; those w most valued resources have greatest power
Moral Economy
refers to the values and norms relating to the conjugal roles and responsibilities of different family members
Emotional economy
relates to interpersonal relationships and 'affective power'
If someone loves you, this gives you power
Feminism
Liberal feminism
: men and women should be free to choose both their roles and how they are performed in a family context.
Marxist feminism
: Women perform a service role in the family, earning them the title of 'unpaid' servants.
Radical feminism
: sees patriarchy as the primary source of male domination in the family. From this perspective, biology is the essential gender difference from which all cultural differences flow.
Post feminism: Argues that the social position of women varies, so no single theory can explain the position of women in society.