Families and households
Functionalisms
Mudrock: there are 4 main functions of the family: sexual, reproduction, socialisation and economic.
He argues these are necessary in society.
Parsons: 2 basic functions of the family found in every society: primary socialisation of children and
stabilisation of human personality.
Fletcher: family has lost its functions- they now have fewer responsibilities. E.g., socialisation is
performed by school and economic by the welfare state.
Criticisms:
Downplaying conflict: both give rosy pictures of the family ignoring the darker side of it such as
violence against women and child abuse.
Out of date: Parsons's instrumental and expressive role of people is old fashioned. Nowadays both
partners tend to play both roles.
Ignoring exploitation of women: sexual division of labour leads to women suffrage as they have extra
responsibilities compared to male partners. Socially constructed.
New right
Murray and Marsland: welfare state has undermined personal responsibility and self-help and the
importance of support from families. And encourages women to have children they could not
otherwise afford. Leading to a dependency culture where underclass people live of benefits and have
not aspiration to work for a living.
Criticisms:
Exaggerate decline in nuclear family. Most adults still marry and have children.
Feminism- gender roles are socially determined rather than fixed by biology.
Most single parent families want to work but find it difficult to balance childcare.
Marxists:
Engels: monogamous nuclear family is ideal as it provided proof of paternity and so property could be
passed to the right people.
Althusser: family is an ideological state apparatus-justifies power of the dominant ruling class.
Through socialisation into this ideology of the family, ruling class maintains false class consciousness
by winning the mind and hearts of working class.
Zaretsky- family is an escape from oppression and exploitation at work. A private place where people
can enjoy their life and be valued as individuals.
Criticisms:
Deterministic; assumes that people are passively accepting socialisation and family life and that the
future is predetermined.
Ignored the diversity of capitalist society-nuclear family is no longer the main type of family.
Feminists-female oppression exists within all families regardless of social class background.
Ignores the benefits of nuclear family. Both parents providing support.
Foucault:
Foucault: surveillance. State can exercise social control over people through constantly
watching them.
, Henderson: applied Foucault's concept of surveillance to the family and motherhood.
Mothers exercise surveillance over one another for parenting.
Feminism:
Young and Wilmott-there is growing equality between partners in the family.
Equal pay act. Sex discrimination act and equal pay act.
Greer- many relationships are highly patriarchal. The main solution is to reject relationships
with men altogether.
Criticisms:
Hakim- different people have different aspirations, what might have been seen as ex
discrimination in the family may be due to someone's personal choice for example some
women may choose to become full time stay-at-home spouses because they enjoy it.
More women are working and have independent incomes which mean that they have more
power in the family than what feminist writers suggest.
Postmodernism:
Stacey-women have more freedom than ever to shape their family arrangements
Lyotard and Baudrillard- contemporary society is changing rapidly-individuals are no longer
constrained by social structures.
Gernsheim and Stacey: people are no longer bound by traditional views and expectations
people have more choices on how to live their lives.
Criticisms;
Giddens- although people have more freedom, there is still a structure shaping people’s
decisions.
Traditional gender roles disadvantaging women remain the norm.
Sociology of personal life, traditional life and changing life course:
Allan and Corw-people used to follow a standard life course up to the 1960’s.
Levin- life course was compulsory as there were strong social norms prescribing the
expectation of how someone should live their life.
May- personal relationships now take o diverse forms both within and beyond families –
more appropriate to study sociology of personal life rather than focusing on families
Individualisation thesis:
Chambers: individualisation has been the central explanation for changes in ideas about
commitment and family decline and for the development of new kinds of relationships.
Giddens and beck and gernsheim: individualisation are the process whereby traditional ideas
and views that used to control individuals' life have been losing their meaning and influence
Bauman: in this world of growing individualisation, uncertainty and constant change human
bonds are weak and people are constantly searching for security.
Gernsheim: underlying cause of growing individualisation is the development of medicine
such as contraception and growing insemination which enables sexuality and reproduction
to be separated from each other. And he suggested due to growth of individualisation it is
unclear who or what is part of what family.
Confluent love and pure relationships:
Functionalisms
Mudrock: there are 4 main functions of the family: sexual, reproduction, socialisation and economic.
He argues these are necessary in society.
Parsons: 2 basic functions of the family found in every society: primary socialisation of children and
stabilisation of human personality.
Fletcher: family has lost its functions- they now have fewer responsibilities. E.g., socialisation is
performed by school and economic by the welfare state.
Criticisms:
Downplaying conflict: both give rosy pictures of the family ignoring the darker side of it such as
violence against women and child abuse.
Out of date: Parsons's instrumental and expressive role of people is old fashioned. Nowadays both
partners tend to play both roles.
Ignoring exploitation of women: sexual division of labour leads to women suffrage as they have extra
responsibilities compared to male partners. Socially constructed.
New right
Murray and Marsland: welfare state has undermined personal responsibility and self-help and the
importance of support from families. And encourages women to have children they could not
otherwise afford. Leading to a dependency culture where underclass people live of benefits and have
not aspiration to work for a living.
Criticisms:
Exaggerate decline in nuclear family. Most adults still marry and have children.
Feminism- gender roles are socially determined rather than fixed by biology.
Most single parent families want to work but find it difficult to balance childcare.
Marxists:
Engels: monogamous nuclear family is ideal as it provided proof of paternity and so property could be
passed to the right people.
Althusser: family is an ideological state apparatus-justifies power of the dominant ruling class.
Through socialisation into this ideology of the family, ruling class maintains false class consciousness
by winning the mind and hearts of working class.
Zaretsky- family is an escape from oppression and exploitation at work. A private place where people
can enjoy their life and be valued as individuals.
Criticisms:
Deterministic; assumes that people are passively accepting socialisation and family life and that the
future is predetermined.
Ignored the diversity of capitalist society-nuclear family is no longer the main type of family.
Feminists-female oppression exists within all families regardless of social class background.
Ignores the benefits of nuclear family. Both parents providing support.
Foucault:
Foucault: surveillance. State can exercise social control over people through constantly
watching them.
, Henderson: applied Foucault's concept of surveillance to the family and motherhood.
Mothers exercise surveillance over one another for parenting.
Feminism:
Young and Wilmott-there is growing equality between partners in the family.
Equal pay act. Sex discrimination act and equal pay act.
Greer- many relationships are highly patriarchal. The main solution is to reject relationships
with men altogether.
Criticisms:
Hakim- different people have different aspirations, what might have been seen as ex
discrimination in the family may be due to someone's personal choice for example some
women may choose to become full time stay-at-home spouses because they enjoy it.
More women are working and have independent incomes which mean that they have more
power in the family than what feminist writers suggest.
Postmodernism:
Stacey-women have more freedom than ever to shape their family arrangements
Lyotard and Baudrillard- contemporary society is changing rapidly-individuals are no longer
constrained by social structures.
Gernsheim and Stacey: people are no longer bound by traditional views and expectations
people have more choices on how to live their lives.
Criticisms;
Giddens- although people have more freedom, there is still a structure shaping people’s
decisions.
Traditional gender roles disadvantaging women remain the norm.
Sociology of personal life, traditional life and changing life course:
Allan and Corw-people used to follow a standard life course up to the 1960’s.
Levin- life course was compulsory as there were strong social norms prescribing the
expectation of how someone should live their life.
May- personal relationships now take o diverse forms both within and beyond families –
more appropriate to study sociology of personal life rather than focusing on families
Individualisation thesis:
Chambers: individualisation has been the central explanation for changes in ideas about
commitment and family decline and for the development of new kinds of relationships.
Giddens and beck and gernsheim: individualisation are the process whereby traditional ideas
and views that used to control individuals' life have been losing their meaning and influence
Bauman: in this world of growing individualisation, uncertainty and constant change human
bonds are weak and people are constantly searching for security.
Gernsheim: underlying cause of growing individualisation is the development of medicine
such as contraception and growing insemination which enables sexuality and reproduction
to be separated from each other. And he suggested due to growth of individualisation it is
unclear who or what is part of what family.
Confluent love and pure relationships:
