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A Level/AS sociology 20 mark essay on symmetrical families (A* graded)
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A* answer to the question "“Assess the view that the family is now less patriarchal than 50 years ago.” (20 marks)
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“Assess the view that the family is now less patriarchal than 50 years ago.” (20 marks)Patriarchy refers to the societal system in which men hold most of the power and women are largely
excluded from it. In the past 50 years, there has been evidence to prove that the family has become more
equal in its structure and decision making. The family has transitioned from instrumental roles (men
being the breadwinner) and expressive roles (women being the housewives), as viewed by functionalist
Parsons in the Warm Bath Theory, to declining gender roles and an increase in joint conjugal roles and
equal divisions of labour (who does what in the home). However, some sociologists, such as feminists
(Oakley), argue that this is not the case and the division of labour remains unequal.
(P) One way in which the family has become less patriarchal is through the increase in joint
conjugal roles in the home due to a generational shift. Bott (1957) found that there are two type of
conjugal roles in the family; joint and segregated. Joint conjugal roles in the family is where couples share
chores and spend leisure time together, unlike segregated roles where there are separate roles. In the
past 50 years, joint conjugal roles have increased and segregated conjugal roles have been in decline. (E)
For example, the men would traditionally be expected to do DIY, but now help the women with childcare
and house chores. This characteristic is especially significant in symmetrical families. Willmott and Young
have argued that there has been a “march of progression” towards the symmetrical family (time-use
study), in terms of gendered roles, whereby women’s positions are changing. (R) Man Yee Kan (2001)
and Future Foundations (2000) found that men were doing more than their fathers, and women were
doing less than their mothers as they are earning wages. This means that women are now able to go to
work and become a breadwinner, leading to matrifocal families and families that have higher standards
of living. As a result of this, women and men can now buy labour-saving technology, making house chores
easier for both the men and the women to complete. This in turn, explains the deconstruction of
patriarchal ideologies in the past 50 years, as women are not expected to stay home and men follow the
“new man” philosophy where they respect women and take on the chores that would traditionally be
labelled as ‘feminine’. (C) On the other hand, feminists reject Willmott and Young’s march of progression
as little has changed and women still do the majority of the work. Oakley conducted a time-use study in
which fathers said they only helped out once a week by taking out the children. This follows the principle
of “he gains, she loses” as men strengthen their bond with the children, and women are forced to clean
the house whilst they are with their fathers. So, whilst women are in full time paid work, they are still
responsible for the house and children. In sociological terms, this related to the dual burden (Allen and
Crow) and the triple shift (Dunscombe and Marsden). Women are now expected to go to work,
emotionally support the family through emotion work and do house chores. In addition to this, (Y)
Therefore, the claim that the family is less patriarchal than 50 years ago is true, to a certain extent, as
household chores are shared, however it is argued that women are still pressured to do the most in the
family and in the house via the dual burden and the triple shift.
(P) A second way in which the family has become less patriarchal is through financial decision
making. In recent years, Vogler and Pahl (1993) found that the allowance system is in decline, whereas
pooling has increased, in the home. As a result of this, the family and society has become less patriarchal
and more equal. (E) In the past, men would give women a fixed sum of money which they budgeted to
meet the family’s needs. The rest of the money would be given to the men for himself. In contemporary
society, pooling is used, where the couple has access to income and are responsible for expenditure (joint
bank accounts). It is evident that there is more equality when it comes to money management and
decision making as couples share their income, thus leading to shared decisions. In addition to this, they
retain some independence with their income due to personal bank accounts for personal use(s). (R)
Evidence of this comes from Vogler and Pahl (1993), in which they conducted an interview with 1200
British couples. The couples were asked about who makes the decisions about money. 58% of couples
distributed it equally, meaning that men do not hold all the control over decisions, and women are now
included in the decision making. Furthermore, there has been an increase in family diversity in the past
50 years, specifically with the full-time dual earning family. This is where both partners earn wages by
going to work full time. As a result of this, women are allowed to work and not stay bound in the home,
so pooling is more common, leading to more equality in the home. Laurie and Gershuny (2000) also
found that there is greater equality in financial decision making, in comparison to 1955. In 1955, 70% of
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