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family - Coggle Diagram
family
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families + social policy
Familial ideology
Suggests:
opposite sex parents
women should care for children
nuclear family best family type
too many single parents = crisis in society
Promoted by media, religion, social services- asserting msg abt what family type society should deem as “ideal”
value consensus ^
Marxists + feminists- nuclear family is oppressive
gittens- dark side to family, experience of family life isnt representative of whats portrayed in media
Single parent families responsible for raised crime rates
^ marxists- this helps gov to place blame on poorest and least powerful members of society
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New right policies
Section 28
Local authority couldn’t “promote acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship in any maintained school”
Married couples allowance
tax relief given to married couples, up to £150 a year
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Marxism
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Donzelot- policies are a form of state power over families
social workers, doctors etc use their knowledge to ctrl and change families
surveillance by professionals not targeted equally on all social classes, poor families more likely to be seen as “problem families” and causes of crime- targeted more for improvements
rejects march of progress view
Feminism
Policies
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Divorce reform act 1969
easier to obtain, “no fault” divorces
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Leonard- policies that appear to benefit women still reinforce patriarchal family and act as social ctrl over women
eg courts may assume woman should have custody of children in divorce cases as seen as “natural carers”- gender roles reinforced
x = some policies support women’s rights and not patriarchy eg sex discrimination laws
Functionalism
Fletcher- intro of health, edu and housing policies benefit family as help perform functions in society- socialisation and stability of relationships
family is extension of gov which looks after interests of society as a whole
policies are important sources of support that look after interests of society as a whole
x = deterministic
cross cultural policies
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chinas one child policy
families with 1 child got benefits, 1+ had benefits cut
women had to seek permission from work to get pregnant
germanys two fold policy
discouraged abortion and contraception to breed "master race"
women rewarded for having kids- motherhood cross
romanias enforced baby boom
abortion and contraception banned
childless ppl above 25 fined 20% of annual salary
rise in backstreet abortions, over 10k women died due to botched terminations
demography
Births
Total fertility rate- av number of children a woman will have during fertile years
rate risen since 2001, but lower than in past
av age have first child- 29.6
less fertile years = less children
Decline in BR
changes in position of women
decline in infant mortality rate
children seen as economic burden
child centredness
Childbearing
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Reasons
having fewer children/having later
less judgement for having kids outside of marriage
inc family diversity
Effects
dependency ratio- dec number of children reduces eco burden on working pop
long term- may inc as less kids = less YAs = smaller working pop
public services- fewer schools needed
Deaths
Reasons for decline
dec in infectious diseases
improved nutrition
medical improvements
smoking and diet
public health measures
other social changes eg less dangerous occupations
Ageing population
Advantages
Boosting economy
lawson- emergence of new markets supported by “grey pound”- purchasing power of older gens
usually leisure areas eg tourism
Community involvement
taking part survey- nearly 4.5mil 65+ ppt in volunteer work
provides opps for younger gens
Family support
unpaid childcare and help w household tasks
value of a parent survey- grandparents performed tasks that would be worth £73 per week if paid
Disadvantages
Shift in dependency ratio
more ppl retiring and relying on pensions- rising taxes and withdrawal of free services for older gens
More poverty and family hardship
marxists- taking pension causes substantial drop in income, affects WC
may have to rely on kids for financial support- burden
adequate care may be unaffordable, feminists- this falls to the woman, further pressures
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Ill health and disability
illness more common in old ppl, pressure on NHS
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Migration
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Pop size inc due to immigration
age structure- lowers av age of pop direct/indirectly as imms generally younger and more fertile = have more children
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theories of the family
functionalist approach
murdock- 4 universal functions of the family (SEER)
sexual function- provides sexual gratification for the spouses
educational function- socialises members into shared norms and values
economic function- provides food and shelter for its members
reproductive function- provides new members for society
parsons- 2 functions of the family
primary socialisation- teaching kids basic skills + societys values, enabling to integrate into society
stabilisation of adult personalities- warm bath theory, mother creates loving nurturing environment, allowing family to release outside tensions
^ suggests m+f have diff. roles female- caregiver "expressive" male- breadwinner "instrumental"
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marxist approach
engels- capitalist main concern to make sure land/property stayed in families
^ nuclear family meant women only had husbands kids- stayed in family
^ oppresses women as "glorified prostitutes"- only used for their sexual/reproductive functions
althusser- capitalism needs wc to submit to survive
capitalist ideology justifies inequality by persuading ppl to accept as fair
^ family does this thru socialisation
zaretsky- modern society family creates illusion that work and home life are different
^ home = refuge from work stresses
^ not true as wages spent on "useless commodities" that ppl r convinced they need thru advertisement
family tries to cushion effects of capitalism but fails
postmodernist approach
beck- live in a risk society where tradition has less influence + ppl have more choice
negotiated family- doesnt conform to traditional norms, varies according to members wishes
^ more equal but less stable as free to leave if needs not met
giddins- inc in choice and equality has transformed family
relationships now defined on love, sexual attraction etc = pure relationships
^ unstable as built on feelings that might not be permanent
feminist approach
liberal feminism
sommerville- women ignore progress made e.g. sex discrimination act 1975
many men dont take on full share of responsibilities
radical feminism
dworkin- "marriage as an institution developed from rape as a practice"
marriage means men "take" the women- "own" them
greer- men benefit from marriage more than women
3/4 divorces applied for by women
woman who just gave birth has to "keep young and beautiful if she wants to be loved"
marxist feminism
benson- hard for a man to stop working if he has a wife + child to support
^ weakens his bargaining power in getting better working conditions
ainsley- "women are the takers of shit", act as a safety valve for men's frustrations at work
difference feminism
cant generalise all womens experiences
black feminists say placing blame for oppression on family ignores racial discrimination they face- family is an escape from this
new right approach
murray- single parents are the most important problem of our time
young teenage girls most disruptive- try and get pregnant to gain council house, "perverse incentives"- rewarded for undesirable bhvr
almond- state policies introduced that undermine nuclear family:
- divorce reform acts: easier to obtain = marriage undermined as lifelong commitment
- civil partnerships = gay ppl equal rights
- tax allowances = nuclear families w 1 working parent taxed more than dual earners (encourage woman to work) = undermines importance of woman staying home to socialise children
dark side of the family
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laing- SZ produced by family, not madness
overprotective nature of parents- children felt they were being watched, mail intercepted etc
childhood
Social construct that differs from time to place + culture
punch- cross-cultural diffs in childhood eg 5yo kids in Bolivia expected to work
firth- childhood in tikopia, doing as instructed by an adult is a choice, not a given right
x = outdated
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couples
functionalist approach
parsons-
expressive role: mother, primary socialisation of kids, meeting familys emotional needs, household tasks
instrumental role: father, breadwinner, bringing eco. stability to family
^ essential roles for stability
bott- conjugal roles
two types of CRs where each partner has set of mutually agreed + integrated tasks to perform:
- segregated crs: m+f clear differentiation of tasks + considerable number of separate interests/activities
- joint crs: carry out many tasks together with minimum task differentiation + separation of interests
young + willmott-
march of progress: moved from segregated to joint crs in relationships
^ caused emergence of "symmetrical family" where h+w roles becoming similar
symmetrical family characteristics:
- men help w household/childcare
- spend leisure time together
- women in work
feminist approach
oakley- challenging symmetrical family (criticise y+m)
only 15% husbands took major part in housework, 25% ppt in childcare
gershuny- gradual inc in amount of DL done by men
"lagged adaptation"- time lag between women taking paid employment + men making greater contribution to DL
duncombe + marsden- women work triple shift in relationship as:
- women put in emotional effort, men devalue it
- men focused on work, dont take emotional responsibility at home
- men want "picture" of marriage, but not emotional effort that comes w it
sclater- household appliances that advertised to make housework "easier" for women actually have opposite effect as now a higher standard for cleanliness in the home
fatherhood
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beck- PM society, fathers cant find identity in work anymore- look to their children to do so instead
gender division of labour
2 explanations:
- cultural explanation: division based on patriarchal norms + values reinforced in society
- material explanation: women earn less than men, so makes more sense for man to work + woman stay home
lesbian couples
dunne- found lesbian couples more likely to describe relationship as equal, view childcare positively + give equal importance to both partners careers
^ bc het couples feel pressure to follow gender role scripts- not present in wlw relationships = more equal
decision making
barret + mcintosh- men gain far more from womens domestic work than they give back in financial support
^ usually unpredictable + w strings attached
edgell- 3 types of decision making practices:
- very important decisions: usually decided by husband w main source of income (e.g. moving house)
- important decisions: jointly decided as affect entire family (e.g. where kids go to school)
- less important decisions: usually by wife (e.g. food)
money management
pahl + vogler- 2 types of control over family income:
- pooling system: shared income w joint bank acc
- allowance system: husband gives wife a small % of his income on a regular basis to meet familys needs
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domestic violence
stats:
women more likely to be victims of dv at the hands of men
dv accounts for nearly 1/4 of all recorded violent crime
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dobash + dobash- marriage legitimates violence on women due to dependency of wife + authority of husband