Perspectives on families and social policy

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  • 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
    • 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
      • 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
    • 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
  • 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

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