This is an in-depth essay plan for a families and households question from sociology paper 2 written in 2023. supporting information can be found in the red textbook you should have. i always did my 20 markers as a brief 4 paragraph structure with counter argument woven throughout to create a strea...
Item A
March of progress sociologists argue that the family is becoming more equal. Increasingly today,
both partners are likely to have jobs outside the home and they both carry out household chores
and provide childcare. However, feminist sociologists reject this claim. They argue that the family is
still patriarchal and that women today carry a dual burden.
Applying material from Item A and your own knowledge, evaluate the view that the division of
labour in couples is now equal [20 marks]
Intro: discussing whether specifically, has the DDOL become more equal
- Initial theories-based on stereotypes of what women should do pertained to domestic work and
that divisions of labour are what is biologically correct for the function of the family
o Seen as too outdates outdated and restricts both men and women into roles that only
represent a nuclear family (Parsosn Parsons sex role theory has previously outlined the
DDOL in heterosexual couples)
o Assuming any other family type would be deviant
- Aside from functionalists and their surface level view of the family
o Compare the march of progress to the feminist view which focus more on today’s modern
family and the prospect that some families are becoming more symmetrical or less
influenced by stereotypical roles
- Remember that your introductions are just meant to decode the question and present the main
arguments that will be discussed so be careful to not spend too much time discussing functionalist
theory.
P1: the family is becoming more equal
March of progress view: ‘the new man’
Sullivan: states that the family is not becoming more equal
- Women are not declining in the domestic field, but men are taking on this role too
- Increase of joint conjugal roles in the family
o Breakdown of gender roles over time may explain why some men are deciding to take on
the domestic role in the house and women doing paid work (ItemA)
- The geographical mobility of families to raise children and start lives elsewhere from their
hometown has contributed to less influence of traditional norms and values
o as described in parsons’ sex role theory which now may not be so useful to us
- division of labour is changing and emulating some symmetry as the dissipation of traditional norms
allows men to take on a responsibility for the domestic tasks show a more equal DDOL
P2: Feminists argue against this equality
The amount of unpaid labour a woman does amount to around £40k and this includes more than just
washing dishes
- childcare, quality time and housework are still all expected of form from women
o if anything, they carry a ‘dual burden’ by 2013 67% of women are employed (itme A)
- Duncombe and Marsden (1995): women are experiencing a 'triple shift' whereby they are
responsible for paid work, domestic work and emotional labour
o Happiness, wellbeing and resolving arguments in the family at the expense of their own
wellbeing
o Especially if the man is unemployed
- Shows that instead of achieving equality of labour we are still conforming to traditional norms and
values even with working women
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