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Theoretical perspectives: Family - Coggle Diagram
Theoretical perspectives: Family
Functionalism
Families are the building blocks of society and stable families underpin social order and economic stability.
Talcott-Parsons: biologically natural expressive and instrumental role, warm bath theory away from exploitative workplace, stabilisation of adult personality, extended family not necessary.
Murdock: parents of both sexes joined by marriage, same household, children. Four functions: stable satisfaction of the sex drive, biological reproduction, socialise the young and meet its members' economic needs.
The Fit Thesis- the nuclear family has developed to suit the needs of modern industrial society. E.g. Chester's neo-conventional dual-income family.
Marxism
Family is a source of social inequality and a tool of an unequal system (gender, power and class). Families feel that they should work hard for non-essential goods.
Zaretsky (1976): family life gave proletarian men something they could control. Provides a clear function of capitalism as workers would tolerate powerlessness, frustration and exploitation as they could be the 'king of the castle' at home.
Ansley: women are the 'takers of sh*t' as they absorb the pressures of capitalism in the home and act as a safety valve for husbands' frustration.
Althusser and Poulantzas: the family serves the functions of an ideological state apparatus by socialising pro-capitalist ideology like socialising its members into accepting gender roles, and that it is natural for men and women to marry and have separate roles.
Feminism
Family oppresses women who effectively work to support the family without pay or recognition. Marxist-feminists see the capitalist system as exploitation of women , radical-feminists see the dominance and power men hold and liberal-feminists see some cultural, legal, political and social change. Feminists argue that the family has a MALESTREAM BIAS as it views things from the male perspective.
Wallace (1990): women are expected to do the emotional work of the family, work outside the home and do housework: THE TRIPLE SHIFT.
Benston (1972): if housework was even paid minimum wage, it would damage the capitalist system hugely.
Delphy and Leonard (1992): the family is a patriarchal institution where women do the most work and men get the most benefit and they dominate and exploit women.
Greer (2000): wives get less out of marriage than husbands. E.g. Single women tend to be happier than married women, and the opposite is seen for men.
Hardhill et al. (1997): studied dual income families and found male domination of family decisions but noted a shift to more equal relationships.
Gershuny (1992): talked of the lagged adaption as more women are going to work but male role change is much more slow.
The New Right
The nuclear family helps perform vital functions like socialising children, it is natural and based on fundamental differences between men and women. Marriage strengthens bonds, same-sex relationships provide inadequate role models of each gender, any societal breakdown can be blamed on the breakdown of the nuclear family (e.g. poverty).
Murray: welfare policies undermine the nuclear family and give perverse incentives for forming single-parent families. It creates a dependency culture. E.g. Teenage girls see pregnancy as a route to financial support.
Dennis and Erdos (1992): link fatherless children to antisocial behaviour, criminality, delinquency and educational under attainment due to lack of complete socialisation.
Saunders (1990): working class people have worse life choices due to poor attitudes not unequal opportunities. Middle class children see their parents working hard and so go on to work hard and gain high paying jobs.
Postmodernism
Freedom of individual choice (e.g. friends over blood relatives).
Stacey (1998): argues that family life is now characterised by diversity, variation and instability. E.g. Liberated sexual attitudes, new reproductive technologies. Women are rejecting the traditional housewife routine.
Pahl (2000): people have become socially and geographically mobile so the supportive role of family is now often taken by friends.
Smart (2007): the concept of 'personal life' goes beyond biological kin.
Interactionism
Explores the meanings attached to family, the sense of identity, roles, behaviours and emotional bonding.
Rubin (1976): wives of middle class families say that ideal husbands are ones who communicate well and share feelings while working class families said ideal husbands are ones who don't drink too much.