The body is a system of different parts that function together to meet its needs & maintain it.
Society is a system made up of institutions that contribute to maintaining the social system as a whole.
See the family as performing beneficial functions for wider society & individual members.
Murdock - Four Functions of the Family to Maintain Social Stability:
Stable satisfaction of the sex drive.
Reproduction of the next generation.
Socialisation of the young.
Satisfaction of members' economic needs.
Parsons' 'Functional Fit' Theory:
Extended family, found in pre-industrial society, was multi-functional as it was a unit of production & consumption.
The nuclear family, found in modern industrial society, was geographically & socially mobile, and performs the functions of primary socialisation & stabilisation of adult personalities.
He sees the gender dividion of labour as biologically based - women are better suited to the nurturing role as they gave birth.
1 of 5
The New Right Perspective
Political perspective that influences the government policies in Britain - a conservative view based on the following assumptions:
A biologically based division of labour - they believe that a nuclear family with segregated conjugal roles is the best place and way of socialising children.
Families should be self-reliant - reliance on the state welfare leads to a dependency culture, undermines traditional gender roles & produces more lone parent families. This results in a lack of male role model for boys so causes social problems & delinquency.
2 of 5
The Marxist Perspective
See all institutions in capitalist society as contributing to the maintenance of exploitation.
The family is an oppressive institution that performs several functions for capitalism:
Engels - monogamous marriage began in order to ensure men could pass on their wealth to their biological sons & women became the private property of her husband.
Zaretsky - there is a belief that we can only gain fulfillment from family life ('cult of private life') which distracts attention from exploitation.
Capitalism needs onsumers to buy itsproducts so the family is an important market for consumer goods, thus enabling capitalists to make profit.
3 of 5
Feminist Perspective
Liberal - gender inequality is gradually being overcome through legal reforms & policy changes, challenging stereotypes & changing attitudes & socialisation.
Marxist - capitalism is the main cause of women's oppression in the family as it:
reproduces the labour force.
they absorb men's anger.
are a reserve army of cheap labour.
Radical - patriarchy is the main cause of women's oppression & the family is a key institution of patriarchy:
men dominated women's unpaid domestic labour & sexual services.
men dominate women through the threat of violence.
Difference - not all women share the same experiences of oppression e.g. different ethnicities, classes etc.
4 of 5
The Personal Life Perspective
To understand families, we must look at the meanings individual family members give to their relationships.
Other types of relationships that individuals see as significant:
Friends.
Pets.
Dead relatives.
Nordqvist & Smart - parents of donpr-conceived children emphasise the importance of social relationships over genetic ones.
Comments
No comments have yet been made