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Families and households, Murdock - FOUR ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Stable…

- - - - Criticism Of Engels -
        Feminists would say Gender inequality predates capitalism, most tribes are patriarchal
        Capitalist countries have the fastest reduction of gender inequalities
  - - - Fran Ansley -
        Woman are the 'takers of shit' and absorb the anger that would otherwise be aimed at the inequalities based on capitalism
      - Penny Red -
        Woman doing unpaid labour such as housework maintains capitalism as it allows the free market to be free for men to work within
      - The Marxist Feminist Solution -
        Marxist feminists believe that in order to tackle the patriarchy we need to tackle Capitalism. Therefore inequalities will be solved after the abolition of capitalism
      - Criticisms Of Marxist Feminists
        
        Woman in the modern age are just as likely as men to be in paid labour, therefore no longer acting as 'reverse army of labour'
        
        There is evidence that the patriarchy predates capitalism
        
        Capitalism may have an adverse effect as woman's liberation has seen a rise under capitalist societies
    - - Kate Millet -
        It is impossible for men and woman to live together in families as they are a key institution for reinforcing the patriarchy
        Traditionally, men had full ownership of their wives
        In contemporary society men still own their wives through status and such as the wife taking the mans name
      - Solution for Radical Feminists
        The nuclear family needs to be abolished and replaced with other family structures and sexual relations
        Radical feminists encourage political lesbian as heterosexual sex is 'sleeping with the enemy'
      - Evaluation Of Radical Feminism
        Can be seen as less relevant as woman are less likely to suffer from the dual burden or triple shift
        However, the #METOO movement shows sexual violence to still be commonplace
    - - Solution For Liberal Feminists -
        Drive change through the public sphere by decreasing the pay gap
      - Somerville -
        The increase of choice for women and rise of dual-earner households is an example of feminism triumphing to create social change
        Feminists need to focus on changing policy that will encourage greater equality in relatonships to build a more equal patriarchy and reduce inequality
      - Criticisms Of Liberal Feminism
        Difference feminists say it is an ethnocentric view
        Radical Feminism argues that it fails to see the deep rooted instiution of the patriarchy
        Sommervilles work is based on secondary research and therefore not empirical
  - - - Giddens -
        'Three characteristics of modern families
        
        Couples are now defines between themselves rather than due to laws or expectations. i.e. cohabitation over marriage
        
        The typical relationship is 'pure' and serves only to meet the needs of the partner
        
        Relationships are now part of a journey to discover self-identity
        
        However, Giddens agrees these new relationships are more unstable
      - Beck
        argues we now live in a 'risk society' tht is less bound by tradition and therefore and people have more choice
        two emerging patterns in family:
        
        Greater Gender Equality
        
        Greater individualism
  - - - Families can be based on relationships that form for the indvidual and not just family as a based unit. E.G.
        pets, dead relatives and friends can be considered part of the family
      - Although Families are diverse through how the different roles are divided up and different people may interpret who's in the family differently.
        They are still restrained by factors such as:
        Personal history, shared norms and Structural Factors (Class,
- - - - Liberal Feminist's -
        Changing gender roles have led to a decline in marriage as woman can become more economically independent and focus on their career with less of a focus on marriage and families
      - New Right -
        The decline in marriage is due to the decline in morality as society becomes too diverse. This means people cannot commit to each other and is bad for socialising the next generation
      - Post-Modernist -
        The decline in marriage is due to consumer choice as greater individual choices mean marriage is no longer the default choice
        There is also less stigmatisation due to the decline of tradition in secular societies
      - Beck's Late Modernist -
        Increased risk consciousness means that people see 50% of marriages ending in divorce and see marriage as too risky.
      - Evaluation of the theories behind marriage patterns changing -
        
        Marriage is not as simple as indvidual choice
        
        Social Change in general has caused this
        
        We should not exaggerate these changes
  - - - Functionalism
        
        Goode -
        Argues that conflict has increased because the family has become more isolated from other kin. There is more strain on the husband and wife as they now lack support from other relatives
        
        Denis -
        The family perform fewer functions because the bond between the husband and wife have become weaker
        
        Allan and Crowe -
        Point out the family is no longer an economic unit which makes it easier for families to breakup
      - The New Right -
        The increasing divorce rate is due to a moral decline
        It is also due to a benefits culture which enables woman to divorce as 9/10 times the child goes to the mother and this means they cannot get full time employment due to the burden of child care
      - Feminism and changing gender roles
        
        Feminism
        Woman are less financially dependent on their husbands and are freer to end unsatisfactory marriages. The Proportion of woman in paid work has changed from 50% in 1950s to now 70%
        
        Giddens (Gender Roles) -
        2 impacts of increasing divorce:
        
        Impact of Feminism lies behind all social change that gives woman greater freedoms.
        
        The advances in contraception means woman have less risk to have kids, marriages without children are easier to breakup.
        
        However, Feminists would argue that these changes should not be exaggerated as traditional gender norms remain in many families and woman still earn less than men
      - Postmodernism
        
        The decline in traditional and religious values have declined in Britain. There is no longer a set social value which force people into staying in marriages and there is less social stigma to stay in marriages.
        This reflects the declining importance of social structure and rise of consumer culture. Therefore individuals can choose their own lifestyles
        
        Giddens(Post-modernism) -
        Marriage has changed due to the nature of relationships changing
        
        in the 18th century marriage became more than an economic arrangement as ideas of romantic love developed.
        
        -The era of plastic sex means that sex is for pleasure rather than conceiving children in a perfect marriage. Therefore relationships and marriages are seen less permanently
        
        Marriage is based on confluent love - Love that is dependent upon partners benefitting from the relationship. If they are not fulfilled in their relationship they will not stay together due to a sense of duty and just get divorced.
        
        Beck -
        Increase divorce is due to increase individualisation
        
        More opportunities for individuals, especially women and the opportunity for individuals to take more decisions about their daily lives
        
        Increased conflict emerging from choice and uncertainty that leads to chaotic relationships and helps explain the higher divorce rate
  - - - Marriage is now a choice rather than a necessary tradition of a sacred duty
        
        Greater Family diversity as a result
      - Cohabitation has increased despite the decrease in marriage
        
        Cohabiting couples are more likely to break up and therefore relationships are more unstable
        Serial monogamy is the new norm as people seek monogamous relationship after monogamous relationships
      - There are more single-parent families
        and
        more reconstituted families
      - However, we must not exaggerate these changes - Most households are still headed by a married couple
    - - Feminists -
        They see the decline of marriage as a tradition a good thing because the traditional institution is patriarchal. Most divorces proceedings are initiated by women which suggests marriage works less well for women than men
        Radical feminists would point out that the increase in divorce has not necessarily benefitted women as 90% of mothers have children after divorce and single-parent families face more poverty and stigma
      - New Right/ Functionalism -
        The trends away from marriage are negative as the family is a basic building block of society and it is difficult to see what replaces it.
        The decline of marriage means we risk worse socialisation and more misbehaved children alongside adults reaching anomie
      - Postmodernism -
        The decline in marriage and increase in divorce reflect the fact we are part of consumer society where individual choice is central to life.
        The end of the ideology of the nuclear family is seen as good, and postmodernists tend to reject the idea that the traditional married nuclear family is better than other family forms.
      - Late Modernism -
        People still value marriage but the changes in social structure make it harder to start and maintain stable relationships. Greater gender equality means its harder to please both partners
        People now delay getting married to pursue a career and get a mortgage, and the fear of getting divorced with cohabitation being the premarital norm
        New institutions help us cope with the insecurities of modern relationships I.. marriage guidance
        Marriage is not about to disappear as an institution, but its not easy path to pursue either