Family and Households Revision:
Theories of Family:
Functionalism:
According to functionalists, the family is an essential institution which meets a
variety of society’s needs and keeps value consensus amongst the people.
Value consensus = society only works when everyone is socialised to accept the
dominant rules/norms/values.
Murdoch – The family performs four essential functions:
o Provide a stable satisfaction of the adult sexual drive = based upon
monogamy preventing social disruption
o Reproduces the next generation = without which society could not continue
o Socialisation of the young = into society’s norms and values
o Meets its member’s essential economic needs = food, shelter etc.
Murdoch = the nuclear family is a universal structure and is the most effective way of
fulfilling the necessary functions
Nuclear Family = a married, co-habiting, heterosexual couple with on average two
children
Evidence that the nuclear family is no longer universal:
o Single parents
o Same-sex couples can now marry
o Rising use of the care-system and adoption
o Increasing divorce rates
o Less overall societal pressure to conform to the nuclear family model
Parsons argues that the family can also meet other needs when necessary, such as
welfare and healthcare.
The functions that the family needs to perform will affect its shape/structure –
Parsons distinguishes between two types of family:
o The Nuclear Family
o The Extended Family
The functions that a family performs will be a ‘functional fit’ for the type of society in
which it is found.
The extended family is more suited to the needs of pre-industrial society:
o More children needed to work
o More family members means more workers
o Safety in numbers
o More income
o Higher death rate
o Transport less accessible so it is harder to move away
o Lots of children to continue the family business
Urbanisation = the movement of people towards cities as they expand
Parsons argues industrial society needs a geographically mobile workforce.
Nuclear families are more suited to being geographically mobile:
o Much cheap and more convenient to move
, o Houses in cities are generally smaller
o Moving elderly people can be very difficult
A socially mobile workforce is important in a more meritocratic society.
Nuclear families are more suited to be socially mobile:
o The reductions in family business and industrialisation led to competition for
jobs and positions of managerial power so there would be tension
o Jobs are no longer inherited, they are earned partly through skill
The mobile nuclear family is structurally isolated and has less obligations to help
extended family who may turn to other structures such as the NHS.
Parsons argues the family has lost many functions to specialised resulting in
structural differentiation:
o Children are now educated in schools
o Health is cared for by hospitals
o Jobs are provided by employment centres
However, Parsons argued there are two irreducible functions that can only be
provided by the family:
o Primary socialisation of children
o Stabilisation of adult personalities
The idea of the family unit reducing stress is known as ‘warm bath theory’.
Parsons argues the role of the man Is the ‘instrumental leader’ and the role of the
women is the ‘expressive leader’.
Evaluation of functionalist theories of the family:
o Functionalists tend to ignore the ‘dark side of the family’ which is the
negative interactions between family members (domestic abuse, child abuse
etc.).
o Feminists argue that the idealisation of the nuclear family limits the potential
of women and places them in an inferior position.
o Murdoch argues the nuclear family is universal – this ignores the extent of
family diversity in contemporary society.
o Marxists are critical of the ‘warm bath’ theory arguing the nuclear family
absorbs the tensions of exploited workers and prevents revolution.
o Laslett found that the most common form of pre-industrial household was
the nuclear family.
o Anderson looked at the Preston 1851 census and found an increase in the
number of extended families – this helped them economically but also
helped form internal communities in big cities.
o Parsons’s theory is logical but lacks evidence
o Marxists argue the nuclear family is a tool for the ideological conditioning of
children into accepting capitalism and inequality.
Feminism:
Feminists take a critical view of the family – they argue it exploits and oppresses
women.
Feminists believe that gender inequality is not natural, but is something created by
society – gender is different to your sex.
The key division in society is between men and women.
All societies have been founded on patriarchy – rule and domination by men.
, Radical feminists argue that:
o Men are the enemy – they are the source of women’s exploitation and
oppression.
o The nuclear family and marriage are the key institutions in patriarchal society
which enable men to retain their power and dominance by forcing women
into the housewife/mother role so that they cannot break free and become
equal.
o See the nuclear family as a cage created to suppress and control women.
o The family nuclear family must be abolished as this is the root of women’s
oppression.
o The only way to achieve this is through ‘separatism’ – women must organise
themselves to live independently of men.
o Greer (2002) argues in favour of political lesbianism and the creation of
matrilocal families.
Evaluation of radical feminism:
o Somerville argues radical feminists fail to recognise that women’s position in
society has improved considerably through laws and policies, better job and
educational opportunities, and control over their own fertility.
o Ignores domestic violence within lesbian relationships
o Straight women are attracted to men.
Liberal feminists argue that:
o Society is patriarchal – however they do not see the need for a political or
social revolution.
o Laws, policies, and cultural change can and has improved the position of
women.
o Socialisation into gender roles is part of why women are impressed.
o Legal changes:
Equal Pay Act 1970
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
1991 Crime for a husband to rape his wife
NHS Family Planning Act 1967 – contraception
o Social changes:
Less expectation for women to fulfil the domestic role
Women are freerer in what they wear
Women able to access the job market fully
o However, liberal feminists still believe in the triple shift (Duncombe and
Marsden).
o They argue that there is a ‘cultural lag’.
Evaluation of Liberal Feminism:
o Domestic violence and rape within marriage prevalent despite laws.
o Women still do the vast majority of household work (60% more).
o Women more likely to sacrifice career for childcare.
Marxist feminists argue that:
o The underlying cause of women’s exploitation within society and the family is
capitalism.
o Therefore it is society’s economic structure that needs to be changed in order
for women to gain equality, not just a change in family structure.
, o Women reproduce the labour force through their unpaid domestic labour, by
socialising the next generation of workers, and maintaining and serving the
next one.
o Eli Zaretsky argues that:
Mothers socialise the next generation of workers and ensure they are
fit and healthy.
Wives ensure the home is ready for their husbands and look after the
current workforce. Act as punchbags for their husband’s frustration.
Women act as a reserve army of labour if they are needed.
o Women absorb anger that would otherwise be directed at capitalism –
Ansley describes women as the ‘takers of shit’.
o Women are a reserve army of cheap labour.
Evaluation of Marxist feminism:
o Radical feminists argue women’s exploitation would continue under socialism
as the patriarchy would remain – they give examples of non-capitalist
societies.
o Liberal feminists argue this ignores advancements under capitalism and how
economic power has empowered women.
Poststructuralist feminism argues that:
o We cannot generalise the experience of women in the family, as not all
women live in the nuclear family, and the type of exploitation and
experiences that women face can be affected by their class, ethnicity, and
sexuality.
o However, other feminists argue that despite such differences, women as a
whole do share similar experiences in terms of facing a greater risk than men
of domestic violence and sexual assault, low pay, and being responsible for
domestic chores.
Marxism:
According to Marxists, the nuclear family performs several key functions which help
to maintain capitalist society.
Key functions of the family in terms of fulfilling the needs of capitalism:
o Reproducing labour power and reproducing next generation of workers
(Zaretsky).
o Inheritance of private property.
o Socialising people into accepting inequality.
o Creating a source of profit for the capitalists.
The key factor influencing the shape of the family is based on who owns the means
and mode of production – in modern society it is the bourgeoisie.
As the mode of production develops and evolves, so does the family.
Marx: the earliest classless society was a primitive communist society with no private
property and members shared the means of production.
At this time, there was no family as such.
Engels: instead of having a family structure, there was the promiscuous horde or
tribe, in which there were no restrictions on sexual relationships.
However, as the means of production developed, society’s wealth began to increase.
Along with the wealth came private property.
