Families- Couples

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  • Families - Couples
    • The Domestic Division of Labour
      • Parsons
        • Instrumental Roles
          • The husbands role, geared towards achieving success at work so he can provide for the family- the breadwinner
        • Expressive Roles
          • The women's role, geared towards the primary socialisation of the children and caring the emotional needs of the family- the homemaker
        • Criticisms
          • Young and Willmott
            • Men are now taking a greater share of domestic tasks and more wives are becoming wage earners
      • Bott
        • Segregated conjugal roles
          • Where the couple has separate roles, a male breadwinner and a female homemaker. Leisure activities also tend to be separate
        • Joint conjugal roles
          • Where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare, they also spend their leisure time together
      • Young and Willmott
        • The symmetrical family
          • Family life is gradually improving for all, it's becoming more equal and democratic
            • The roles of the husband and wives, although not identical, are now more similar, women now go out to work (could be part time not full time) and men now help with housework and childcare
            • The rise of the symmetrical family has occurred due to the result of many social changes, the changes in women positions, new technology and higher standards of living
        • March of progress view
          • The symmetrical family
            • Family life is gradually improving for all, it's becoming more equal and democratic
              • The roles of the husband and wives, although not identical, are now more similar, women now go out to work (could be part time not full time) and men now help with housework and childcare
              • The rise of the symmetrical family has occurred due to the result of many social changes, the changes in women positions, new technology and higher standards of living
      • Feminists view of Housework
        • The reject the march of progress view, little has changed men and women still remain unequal as the women do most of the housework
          • Inequality comes from the fact that the family and society are male dominated, women occupy a subordinate  and dependent role in society and the family
        • Oakley
          • Young and Willmotts view of the symmetrical family is exaggerated. They found that husbands help their wives once a week, for Oakley this is hardly reflecting symmetry
            • Husbands are more likely to help out with childcare than housework, but only the more pleasurable aspects. The father would 'take an interest' by taking 'them off her hands' but this leaves more time for housework for the mother
    • Are Couples becoming more Equal
      • The March of Progress View
        • Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare just as women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home
        • Gershuny
          • Women working full time is leading to a more equal division of labour in the home
      • The Feminist View
        • Women going into paid work has not lead to greater equality, their is little sign of the 'new man' who does an equal share of housework and childcare, while women now carry a dual burden
      • Emotion work and the triple shift
        • Hochschild
          • Emotion work
            • Women are required to perform emotion work where they are responsible for managing the emotions and feelings of the household, ensuring everyone is kept happy while exercising control over their own emotions
        • Duncombe and Marsden
          • Women have to perform a 'triple shift' of housework, paid work and emotion work
      • Explaining the gender division of labour
        • The cultural explanation
          • The division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values that shape gender roles. Equality will only be achieved when norms about gender roles change
            • Gershuny
              • Couples whose parents had a more equal relationship are more likely to share housework equally themselves. This suggests parental role models are important
            • Dunne
              • Lesbian couples had more symmetrical relationships because of the absence of traditional heterosexual 'gender scripts' (norms that set out the different gender roles men and women are expected to play)
        • The material explanation
          • The fact that women generally earn less than men means it is economically rational for women to do more of the housework. If women joined the labour force and earned as much as their partners we should expect to see more equal amount of domestic work
            • Arber and Ginn
              • Better paid middle class women were more able to buy in commercially produced products and services rather than having to spend time carrying out labour-intensive tasks
            • Ramos
              • Where the woman is the full time breadwinner and the man is unemployed he does as much domestic labour as she does
              • Untitled
    • Resources and decision making
      • Barret and McIntosh
        • Men gain more from women's domestic work than they give back finically
        • The financial support that husbands give to their wives is often unpredictable and comes with 'strings' attached
        • Men usually make the decisions about spending on important items
      • Money management
        • Pahl and Vogler
          • The allowance system
            • Where the man gives their wives an allowance out of which they have to budget and meet the families needs
          • Pooling
            • Where both partners have access to income and joint responsibility for expenditure
      • Decision making
        • Pooling indicates more equality in decision making, however where the pooled income is controlled by the husband it gives more power in major financial decisions
    • Domestic Violence
      • Is just the behaviour of a few disturbed individuals however
        • Domestic violence is far too widespread
        • Domestic violence does not occur randomly but follows particular social patterns which have social causes
      • Official statistics
        • Under-estimate the true extent of the problem
          • Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police
            • Dar
              • Victims are less likely to report the offence to the police as they beleive it is not a matter for the police or i'ts too trivial
          • The police may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute cases that are reported to them
            • Cheal
              • The police aren't prepared to get involved due to three assumptions made about the family
                • The family is a private sphere so access by state agencies should be limited
                • The family is a good thing so agencies tend to neglect the 'darker side' of the family
                • Individuals are free agents so it is assumed that if a woman is experiencing abuse she is free to leave
      • Radical feminists explanation
        • Widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power all men have over women
          • The male domination of state agencies explains the reluctance of the police and courts to deal with cases of domestic violence
      • The materialist  explanation
        • Focuses on economic and material factors such as inequalities in income and housing to explain why some groups are more at risk than others
          • Those on low incomes or living in overcrowded accommodation are likely to experience higher levels of stress, reducing their chances of maintaining stable and caring relationships and increase the risk of conflict and violence

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