The nature and role of family in society

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New Right Criticism

Criticised for 'blaming the victim' for their problems New right theories assume that children are empty vessels. Family is a one way process involving socialisation, children play an active role in family life.

Dennis and Erdos (2000)

Families without fathers are not an adequate alternative to the standard nuclear family.

Families are not changing, they are deteriorating

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3 Main (not all) strands of Feminism

Distinction between the theories is what they see as the root cause of Patriarcy:

  • Marxist F: Capitalist system
  • Radical F: Power dominance of men
  • Liberal F: Cultural attitudes & laws

Marxist Feminism:

  • Exploitation of women is essential to success of Capitalism
  • Family produces & cares for next generation of workers, no cost to Capitalist system because society accepts housework should be unpaid
  • Men paid for work outside home, women unpaid for work inside home
  • Evidence even if women work, still do most domestic labour

Benston (1969): If housework was paid even minimum wage, capitalist profit would be damaged

Radical Feminism:

  • Housework is an area of exploitation of women- DON'T see this as a fault of the Capitalist system
  • Exploitation of women is down to domination of men in society
  • Men will always oppress women

Delphy & Leonard (1992): Family is a patriarchal institution where women do most work and men get most benefit

Liberal Feminism:

  • Emphasis cultural norms & values which are reinforced by family and other social institutions
  • Family only sexist because it supports sexist mainstream culture
  • Social change IS possible
  • Liberal feminists put pressure on institutions (Legal System & Gov) to change laws/ social policies which discriminate against women
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How New Right see Family

Nuclear family is the bedrock of society, only family type that fits society's structure & fulfills society's functions

1) Came about in the 1980s:

  • Based on idea that traditional nuclear family & its values are best for society
  • Mum, Dad in paid employment, kids, parents married
  • Social policies undermine the family (family, childen, divorce,welfare)

2) Charles Murray (1989):

  • Traditional family is under threat
  • Welfare benefits are too high, they create a 'CULTURE OF DEPENDENCY' where individuals accept benefits instead of working

3) Don't like lone parent benefits:

  • Concerned about giving loads of welfare benefits to single mums
  • Bad idea to rear kids in families where parents don't work

4) Increasing family diversity = breakdown of traditional values:

  • Increase in lone-parent & reconstituted families & easier divorce have led to a breakdown of traditional values
  • This causes increase in social problems (crime)

5) Politicians

  • New Right theory influenced social policy, now harder to get benefits
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Murdock's 4 Functions

Sexual: 

  • Stable, safe sexual relationship for adults, controls sexual relationships of it's members

Reproductive:

  • Provides new babies

Economic:

  • Pools resources & provides fro all members (adults & dependent kids)

Educational:

  • Teaches kids norms and values of society
  • In turn keeps society's values going through generations
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How Feminists see Family

Most feminist theories left wing & anti-traditional

Most feminists believe family exploits & oppresses women

1) Family maintains existing social order

  • Similar to M & F perspectives

2) Feminists call the existing social order Patriarchy

  • Patriarchy is combo of systems, ideologies & cultural practices making sure men have power

3) Gender inequalities

  • Family supports & reproduces inequalities between men/ women

4) Family plays central role in oppression of women

  • Family socialises girls to be dependent on men & see themselves as second place to men
  • Male/ female roles formed in family and carried into wider society

5) Feminist sociologists say...

  • There's an ideology about men and women's roles in the family
  • Ideology- ideas about how things should be
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Feminist Criticism

1) Feminists portray women as too passive

  • Plays down individual women's ability to tweak and improve their situation

2) Feminist sociology doesn't acknowledge power share

  • Power might be shared equally in the family, man might do more domestic work

3) Feminist theory doesn't consider households which aren't Man + Woman partnerships

  • Lesbian, gay, lone-parent households
  • Power structures of everyone else not looked at

4) Black Feminists feel left out

  • Black feminists point out that most Feminist theory doesn't adress women from different ethnic backgrounds have different life experiences
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How Postmodernists see Family

Family structure diversity is a positive thing

1) Central idea of postmodern family views

  • Wide range of living options due to social & cultural changes
  • eg- Traditional nuclear families, cohabiting married couples, step families, single people flat-sharing, more divorced people

Judith Stacey (1990):

  • So much diversity of family types, relationships & lifestyles
  • There will never be a dominant type in Western Culture again
  • Individuals can move between structures, not fixed to one family structure

2) Key idea

  • Contemporary living is so flexible, one person can experience multiple family types in a lifetime
  • Diversity & flexibility is positive- gives choice depending on what suits their personal needs & lifestyle
  • Not restricted by tradition
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Marxist Criticism

The Marxist view is criticised for being too negative

  • Marxists never mention nice things, only that family is a tool of Capitalist oppression
  • Benefits the breadwinner's boss & ignores benefits to individuals in society

Traditional Marxism:

  • Assumes worker is male, women are housewives
  • No Marxist explanation for why family flourishes as a social institution in non-capitalist/ communist societies
  • Little Marxist research on family alternatives

1) Functionalists & Marxists agree:

  • Family has a key role in reproducing social structure & order

2) Functionalists & Marxists disagree:

  • Is reproducing social structure & order positive or negative, who benefits?
  • F: Fam keeps society going
  • M: Fam exploits common worker
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Murdock

Every institution in society is essential to the smooth running of society

Murdock (1949)

  • Family is so useful that it's inevitable and universal
  • Feature in ALL societies, cannot avoid

His study of 250 societies in different culture

He argues:

  • A form of nuclear family exists in all societies he studied
  • Family performs 4 basic functions:

Sexual, Reproductive, Educational, Economic

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Main (not all) types of family

Nuclear: 

  • Two generations living together
  • eg- parents & dependent kids

Traditional extended:

  • 3+ generations living together or close
  • Frequent contact between grandparents, grandkids, aunts, uncles etc.

Attenuated extended:

  • Nuclear families live apart from extended family
  • Keep in frequent contact through email, social media etc.

Lone parent: 

  • Single parent + dependent kids

Reconstituted:

  • New step families created when parts of two previous families come together
  • eg- new partners with kids from a previous marriage create a new family group
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Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons- American functionalist in the 1950s

Argued the family has two basic & irreducible functions:

1) Primary socialisation of kids

  • Process of learning & accepting values/ norms of society, allowing intergration
  • Parsons describes family as "factories where new citizens are created" 
  • eg- washing, eating dressing

2) Stabilisation of adult personalities

  • Stabilises personalities through couple's emotional relationship
  • Gives (emotional & financial) support/ security needed to cope with wider society
  • Warm bath effect- sanctuary from work stress, release tension
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How Marxists see Family

Marxists see the family as meeting the needs of the Capitalist system (Useful tool of capitalism)

  • Performs essential functions for modern, industrial society (similiar to functionalists)
  • The family benefits the Bourgeoisie & economy
  • Disadvantages working class majority (Proletariat)

1) Engels (1884): Family plays an economic function

  • Keeps wealth within the Bourgeoisie, passes it through generations through inheritance 
  • Rich person dies, kids get dolla

2) Zaretsky (1976): Focused on how family helps capitalist economy

  • Argued family is one few places where Proletariat have control & power
  • eg- Breadwinning man gets home, feels like king of his own castle.
    • Relieves frustration towards low status in the workplace
    • Helps them accept oppression & exploitation as workers

3) Capitalist society, women's role is housewife

  • Workers fed, cared for and washed
  • Healthier, more productive workers
  • Better workers are a perk that Capitalist class (employers) get free

4) The family is a unit of consumption

  • Family household unit has a desire to buy goods produced by Capitalist industry
  • eg- washing machines, cars, fridges
  • Family buys goods for more than production cost = Bourgeoisie profit
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How Functionalists see Family

Positive nature of the family is a two way:

Equally as useful & beneficial to individuals & society

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Differences between household & family

Household:

  • Group of people living together, may not have kinship ties
  • 2010 25.3 million recorded households in UK
  • eg- student accomodation, friends, living alone

Family:

  • Group of people living together with kinship ties (blood, birth)
  • Main household type in UK
  • Social institution

Kinship relationships:

  • Related by blood or birth
  • eg- parents, kids, grandparents, cousins

Non-Kinship relationships:

  • Not related by blood, still family
  • eg- foster kids, guardians, step kids, mother-in-law
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Post Modernist Criticism

Sociological critiicsm: Is the idea of moving through family types typical of a majority?

O'Brien & Jones 1996:

  • UK research
  • Concluded there were less variety of family types than Stacey reported
  • Most people only experienced 1/2 types of family in a lifetime
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Functionalist Criticism

1) Criticised for idealising the family (focusing on good, blanking bad)

Functionalists: Morgan (1975)

  • "Murdock makes no reference to alternative households, disharmony & problems in family relationship"
  • Ignores darkside of family (neglect, addiction, debt)

Feminists:

  • Murdock & Parsons overlook issue of exploitation of women

2) Functionalist view dominant in 1960s

  • Widespread criticism neither Murdock or Parsons looked at conflict, class or violence in relation to the family
  • Outdated

3) Functionalists overlook negative aspects of family life- Makes their argument weak

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