Argues that family has 4 main functions to meet the needs of society and its members
• Stable satisfaction of sex drive – with the dame partner preventing social disruption
• Reproduction of the next generation – without this society will not continue. Families are
responsible for producing and raising children. This function is essential for the continuity of
society and for ensuring that there is a new generation to take on various roles and
responsibilities
• Primary socialization – that children learn the norms, values, customs, and language of their
culture or society. This process of socialization is crucial for preparing individuals to participate
effectively in society.
• Economic function - The family is also responsible for providing economic support to its
members. This includes the provision of food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities
Parsons “functional fit” theory
Talcott Parsons (1955) developed a ‘fit theory’ of the family.
This theory claims that the structure of the family changes over time to suit (‘fit’) the type of society that
exists at that time. He argues that the extended family was normal in pre-industrialization times, as it
ideally suited this type of society, whereas the nuclear family is more suited to industrial society.
The family in pre-industrial society
In pre-industrial society, the extended family was the norm and was a multi-functional unit: it
carried out many functions, such as caring for elderly grandparents, educating children and farming
the land to provide food for its members.
The family in industrial society
The demands of industrial society brought about changes to the family structure, with the extended
family becoming a smaller nuclear family. This was ideally suited to an industrial society because:
A nuclear family is geographically mobile. Industrialization emerged in many different places
and brought new opportunities for work. It was easier for the nuclear family to move for work
than for the whole of the extended family to be uprooted (ego, think how difficult moving elderly
, grandparents would be). A nuclear family allows for social mobility. Industrial society allowed social
mobility – an opportunity for a person’s social status to rise through their merit (ability and hard work) -
institutions such as schools and health services) and now performs two essential functions which
Parsons refers to two basic and irreducible functions. They are:
Primary socialization of children – the process that takes place during the early years of
childhood when children are taught society’s values and norms.
Stabilization of adult personalities – the pressures of living and working in a modern industrial
society to achieve success (wealth and social status) can threaten to destabilize the personalities
of both husband and wife (mental health). Parsons suggests the family helps to stabilize them
personalities when there is a sexual division of labor in the family.
2 criticisms
Feminist criticisms of the functionalist view of family in sociology highlight its limitations in addressing
gender inequalities and reinforcing traditional gender roles. Functionalists, such as Talcott Parsons,
argue that the family serves essential functions, including socializing children and providing emotional
support, contributing to the stability of society. However, feminists contend that this perspective often
neglects the unequal distribution of roles and power within the family. Functionalism tends to reinforce
a patriarchal structure, relegating women to nurturing and caregiving roles while men are assigned the
provider role. Feminist scholars argue that this view obscures the experiences of women who may face
oppression within the family due to restrictive gender norms. Moreover, functionalism tends to uphold
the nuclear family model as the ideal, marginalizing alternative family structures and failing to recognize
diverse familial arrangements
Marxism
3 functions – Engels - viewed the family as an institution that emerged with private property, serving to
perpetuate class distinctions and the oppression of women, with the monogamous bourgeois family
being a key element in maintaining capitalist social relations.
, Althusser, - argued that the family serves as an ideological state apparatus, reinforcing and reproducing
capitalist values and social structures by transmitting them from one generation to the next.
Hochschild - Arlie Hochschild's perspective on Marxism in the family contends that traditional Marxist
theories inadequately address the emotional and caregiving aspects of domestic labor, emphasizing the
need to integrate a feminist lens to fully understand the complexities of gendered roles within the
family.
2 criticisms
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