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theories of the family - Coggle Diagram
theories of the family
FUNCTIONALISM
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sexual - emotional bonds, social order, regulated sex
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economic- divisions of labour, meetings its members needs
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socialisation - socialisation of children provides parents with a sense of stability and responsibility
stabilisation of adult personalities - emotional security which is achieved in marriage, working life for men is hard and family is a place to de-stress = warm bath theory
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interpretivists - educational fuctions of the family will differ, its a product of culture not biology
downplays the role of conflict - the oppression of women and domestic violence, the family is not always a safe place e.g. child abuse and domestic violence
out of date - women now go out to work and do not take on the biological expressive role that fucntionslaists suggest
SUMMARY = functionalists believe the family is a beneficial place for all its members and society as a whole - the family has a number of basic functions that contribute to the smooth running of society - fucntions will change depending on the society ( functional fit theory)
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FEMINISM
general view = critical of the family as a social institution as they believe that the family is a tool in the oppression of women and reproduction of patriarchy as nuclear families serve the needs of men and not women. e.g. unequal division of domestic labour
LIBERAL = slowly becoming more equal through changes in Law and social attitudes. full equality hasn't been reaches yet.
RADICAL = family and marriage are key institutions that allow patriachy to exist. In order to achieve equality, patriarchy needs to be overturned. they argue that girls are socialised to believe that oppression and patriarchy is normal.
MARXSIST = families help to preserve both patriarchy and capitlaism. They point out that the capitalist system gets the benefit of unpaid female work.
EVALUATION= SOMMERVILE
- not all family roles are the same e.g. stay at home dads and cohabitation
- women do have choices: some women enjoy being housewives instead of pursuing a career
- 70% of divorces are initiated by women: showing that they can leave the oppression and do hold some power within the relationship
MARXISM
View of the Family =
- tool of capitalism and its main function is to maintain capitalism and reinforce social inequalities
- cushioning effect (zaretksy) suggests that the family provides a haven from the harsh oppression and exploitation of the capitalist world
Functions of the Family =
- inheritance of wealth: Engles - nuclear family means that wealth is kept within the family maintaining capitalism
- stabilisation: the family allows a man to feel powerful which they don't at work due to the oppression from the bourgeosie, this maintains capitalism as it prohibits the proletariats from rebelling and recognising their oppression
- children are socialised into the RCI:Althusser- family plays an important role of primary socialisation, socialising them to be conformist, passive, perfect workforce.
- generation of profits for the bourgeoise: families are targeted to buy products in order to "keep up with the jones" meaning advertise are targeted to children as they have pester power.
EVALUATION
- ignores family diversity: nuclear family
- deterministic: overemphasises the role of the family in maintaining capitalism and ignores other inequalities such as patriarchy.
- only takes a negative view and ignores the positive functions that family has on society
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