Perspectives on families and social policy
- Created by: amelia511
- Created on: 27-04-18 10:05
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- Perspectives on families and social policy
- Functionalism
- Policies are:
- In the interests of society
- Serve a positive function
- Helps families perform their functions effectively
- Makes life better for society
- AO2
- Health, education, housing policies
- The welfare state
- AO3: Evaluation
- Assume that all members of the family are equal
- Assume that they make life better
- Marxists argue that some policies, such as welfare cuts, make life worse
- Donzelot: policing the family
- Argues how the government exercises power with the use of surveillance
- Poor families are targeted by professionals as needing improvement:
- For example, compulsory Parenting Orders through Courts
- Parents of young offenders, truants or badly behaved children may be forced to attend parenting classes
- Doctors, social workers and health visitors monitor the family
- Policies are:
- The New Right
- Do not like polices that encourage family diversity
- Divorce reform
- Civil partnerships
- Do not like family diversity because it creates instability and social problems
- Solution:
- Cut welfare benefits
- Stop council housing for teenage mothers
- Give tax breaks to married couples
- AO3: Result of this:
- Justify gender inequality
- Would increase poverty instead of reduce it
- Solution:
- Strongly support the conventional nuclear family with traditional gender roles
- Do not like welfare policies
- Weakens the family
- Creates a dependency culture
- Threatens functions of the family:
- Correct socialisation of children
- Maintaining a good work ethic among men
- AO2: Charles Murray(1984):
- Very critical of single-parent familes
- Increase in single parent families because of an over generous welfare state
- Welfare benefits offer perverse incentives and encourage irresponsible behaviour
- E.g. teenage mothers getting pregnant, young parents not getting jobs to support their families
- AO3
- Feminists see this as an attempt to return to the traditional patriarchal family
- Do not like polices that encourage family diversity
- Feminism
- Argue that policies reinforce patriarchal society by supporting patriarchal nuclear families
- Tax and Benefits polices assume males in the family are main wage earner
- Childcare payments not sufficient to enable parents to work full time
- School time tables and holidays- make it hard for mother to work full time
- Care for sick and elderly- policies assume the family will provide care
- Eileen Drew
- Gender regimes to study social policy
- Familistic gender regimes- policies based on traditional gender divisions in the family
- Individualistic gender regimes- policies support that husband and wife are equal, where there are good welfare policies
- Gender regimes to study social policy
- Argue that policies reinforce patriarchal society by supporting patriarchal nuclear families
- Functionalism
- Diane Leonard
- Social policies appear to support women, they reinforce patricarchy
- Custody is usually given to women
- Paternity leave is very short
- Child benefit usually paid to women
- Policies are reinforcing the female stereotype of staying at home
- Social policies appear to support women, they reinforce patricarchy
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