year one sociology - family key terms

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beanpole family
vertically extended family e.g. grandparents, parents and children but not aunts, uncles and cousins
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bourgeoisie
marxist term for capitalist class, the owners of the means of production (factories, machinery, raw materials, land etc). marx argues bourgeoisie's ownership of means of productions gives them political and ideological power
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childhood
socially defined age status. western society define children as vulnerable and segregate them from adult world but in the past, children were part of adult society - shows childhood is a social construction
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civil partnership
2004 civil partnership act gave same-sex couples similar rights to married couples (pensions, inheritance, tenancies and property)
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conjugal roles
roles played by husband and wife. segregated conjugal roles = husband is breadwinner and wife is homemaker. joint conjugal roles = husband and wife perform both roles
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domestic labour
work performed in the home
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dual burden
person is responsible for two jobs usually applied to women who are in paid work but also responsible for domestic labour
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emotion work
work involved in meeting the emotional needs of other people e.g. looking after a sick child involves responding to emotional as well as physical needs.
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empty shell marriage
a marriage in name only - couple continues to live under same roof but as separate individuals. may occur where divorce is difficult for legal, religious or financial reasons or for the children's sake.
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exchange theory
idea that people create, maintain or break off relationships depending on costs and benefits of doing so e.g. person may provide accommodation in return for help with childcare
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exploitation
paying workers less than the value of their labour. marxists - process whereby bourgeoisie extract surplus value / profit from labour of proletariat. feminists - men exploit domestic labour of women
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expressive role
caring, nurturing, 'homemaker' role in the family. functionalists argue women are biologically suiting to performing this role but feminists reject this.
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extended family
any group of kin extended beyond the nuclear family - may be horizontally or vertically extended or both
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family diversity
range of different family types rather than a single dominant one (i.e. nuclear family). associated with post modernist idea that in today's society, increasing choice about relationships is creating greater family diversity
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family practices
routine actions through which we create our sense of 'being a family member' such as doing the shopping or the diy. morgan - families are not 'things' but what their members actually do
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family structure
composition of a group or people who live together as a family unit. structures include : nuclear, extended, reconstituted, lone-parent and same sex families
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families of choice (aka chosen families)
people who are not necessarily related by blood or marriage but who feel a sense of belonging together and who choose to define themselves as a family e.g. support networks of friends
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function
contribution that a part of society makes to the stability or well-being of society as a whole. durkheim - one function of religion is to give individuals a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves so integrate them into society
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functional fit
parson's theory that with industrialisation, the structure of the family becomes nuclear to fit the needs of industrial society for a geographically and socially mobile work force
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gender domains
tasks and activities that boys and girls see as the 'territory' of their respective genders e.g. boys - mending a car. these are shaped by children's early experiences and adults' expectations
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household
group of people who live together and share things such as meals, bills, facilities and chores. or one person living alone
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industrialisation
shift from an agricultural economy to one based on factory production. britain - late 18th - mid 19th century
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instrumental role
breadwinner or provider role in the family. functionalists see this as a man's role
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living apart together (lat)
couples who are in a significant relationship but not married or cohabiting
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nuclear family
two generation family of a man and woman and their dependent children, own or adopted
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patriarchy
'rule by the father' - feminists use the term to describe society based on male domination
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proletariat
working class in capitalist society - own no means of production and are 'wage slaves' forced to sell their labour-power to the bourgeoisie in order to survive
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pure relationship
relationship which exists solely to meet each partner's needs. couples stay together for love, happiness or sexual attraction rather than because of tradition, duty or sake of children. giddens - only acceptable basis for relationship
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reconstituted family
stepfamily in which one or both partners have children from previous relationship
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reproduction
recreation or continuation or something into future generations
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reserve army of labour
marxist concept describing groups who can be brought into the workforce when there is labour shortage as capitalist economy expands during a boom, and discarded when it contracts. e.g. women used as reserve army of labour during two world wars
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secularisation
decline of religion; process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose their importance or influence e.g. fewer couples now marry in church and many people disregard religious teachings on issues such as divorce, homosexuality etc.
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separatism
radical feminist idea that women should live independently of men as the only way to free themselves from patriarchal oppression of heterosexual family
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sexism
prejudice and discrimination on the grounds of sex
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social construction
where something is created by social processes rather than occurring naturally
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stabilisation of adult personalities
parsons - one of two functions of nuclear family along with primary socialisation, place where adults can relax and release tensions enabling them to return to the workplace ready to meet its demands. functional for the efficiency of the economy
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stigma
negative label or mark of disapproval, discredit or shame attached to a person, group or characteristic. stigma is used to justify exclusion of the individual from normal social interaction e.g. divorcees were stigmatised in the past
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symmetrical family
nuclear family with more equal and joint conjugal roles in which husbands participate in domestic labour as well as being breadwinners and wives go out to work as well as being homemakers. couple spends leisure time together & are more home-centred
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underclass
lowest level of class - below working class with separate, deviant subculture and lifestyle, including high rate of lone-parent families, male unemployment and criminality
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unit of consumption
modern family no longer works together but still consumes together e.g. housing, food and leisure activities
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unit of production
where family members work together as economic producers - more common in pre-industrial society e.g. family working together on a farm
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value consensus
agreement among society's members about what values are important, a shared culture. functionalists - integrates individuals into society by giving them sense of solidarity (fellow feeling) with others and enables them to co-operate harmoniously
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

marxist term for capitalist class, the owners of the means of production (factories, machinery, raw materials, land etc). marx argues bourgeoisie's ownership of means of productions gives them political and ideological power

Back

bourgeoisie

Card 3

Front

socially defined age status. western society define children as vulnerable and segregate them from adult world but in the past, children were part of adult society - shows childhood is a social construction

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

2004 civil partnership act gave same-sex couples similar rights to married couples (pensions, inheritance, tenancies and property)

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

roles played by husband and wife. segregated conjugal roles = husband is breadwinner and wife is homemaker. joint conjugal roles = husband and wife perform both roles

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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