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Conjugal roles and the Symmetrical family

Do you want a job?•50 – 100 hours a week

•Few holidays•Less job satisfaction than assembly line

work•Job security threatened by divorce

•Unpaid•Involves sharing a bed with your employer

The value of domestic labour

• In 2004, report called ‘the value of a mum’(The Legal and General insurance firm) estimated a domestic labour figure.

• £21,840 per year• £407.39 per week

The nature and extent of changes within the family

1.The creation of the housewife

2.Changing nature of housework

3.Conjugal roles

4.The domestic division of labour / the new man and different masculinities

5.Consequences of unequal power: ‘the dark side’

Predict what you think the role of women was

During industrialisation And

After industrialisation

The creation of the housewife

• Oakley (1974)Before industrialisation• Women played important and

complementary role to men

During industrialisation• Women and children often

worked together in factories• Individual wage earners rather

than families

1841 – 1914• Excluded from paid work• Factory and education acts• Womens place in the home

• Catherine Hall (1980)

• Mainly m/c • w/c often had to

work for financial reasons +

domestic duties.

The creation of the housewife

• Hilary Land (1976)

* Family wage brought acceptance to idea that a mans wage sufficient to support family

• Parsons

• Functionalist

• Division of responsibility = functional assuring family economically and emotionally supported

Young and Willmott: the symmetrical family (1973)

• By the 70’s roles between husbands and wives had become more symmetrical.

• 72% of men did housework other than washing up during the week.

• Husbands and wives increasingly shared both leisure and decision making.

Criticisms

• Ann Oakley (Radical Feminist)

• Inadequate methodology• ‘help for at least once a week with

any household jobs?’• “a man who helps with the children

once a week would be included in this %, so would (presumably) a man who ironed his own trousers on a Saturday afternoon.”

• In pairs, one partner to sit behind the other. 4 questions are read out. If the person sitting in front thinks their partner behind them knows the answer, they mark Y on the paper. If not, they mark N. swop over for next 4 questions. If you guess N and your partner does know the answer, you lose a mark and vise versa. Read out questions again and individuals must answer. Compare answers with estimates. One mark for each correct estimate.

• What caused the creation of the housewife according to Oakley?

• Which Feminist said it was mainly m/c who could afford the luxury of being a housewife?

• According to Parsons why was it functional to have a division of responsibility in the home?

• What is meant by the term symmetrical family?• Which sociologists came up with the concept of a

symmetrical family?• What % of men helped with the housework?• Who criticised Y and W methodology?• Why were they criticised?

Lets test your understanding!!!!!!!!!!

Practice exam question

(C) Suggest 3 ways the housewife role is a social construction (6

marks)

Social construction

"invented" or "constructed" by participants in a particular culture or society that exists because people agree to behave as if it exists or follow certain conventional rules.

Changing nature of housework: the impact of paid work

• Today about ¾ of women are in paid employment.

• Does this mean that men are doing more housework today?

The impact of paid work

• Read (p83 Nelson Thornes)

• Lydia Morris (90)• Jonathon Gershunny (94)• Man-Yee Kan (01)

• Summarise the studies into no more than 20 words each. Come up with a way to remember the study…….

Must Know Key terms

• Double shift: women having paid work and also doing most of the housework

• Triple shift: paid work, housework and emotional work.

What are conjugal roles?• Conjugal roles are the roles of the man and

woman [husband and wife] in the home.

Elizabeth Bott• There are two different types of conjugal roles that

people can have: When husbands and wives share housework and

childcare, decisions and leisure time they have joint conjugal roles.

• When husbands and wives do not share housework and childcare, decisions and leisure time they have

segregated conjugal roles.

What factors have influenced the

Gender roles within a family past and present?

You have

3Minutes left

You have

2Minutes left

You have

1Minute left

Times up!!!!

What factors have influenced the Gender roles within a

family past and present?

industrialisationFemale dependencyOn men

Life expectancy

Female employmentFamily size1860’s: 6 – 7 children1870’s: mc ltd – stratified diffusion to wc1990’s – below 2marriage Role models through

The media

Contraceptive revolutionHakim

Resources and decision making in households

Who makes the decisions inYour family?

Gillian Dunne (1999)

•Examined 37 co-habiting couples

•Equality within lesbian households

•No stereotypical role to conform to

•Often both partners would spend equal time with the children

What would happen in a lesbian household?

Read A3 sheet and make summary notes

Plenary: Anagrams

A Altar Chirp

Patriachal

Grey Shun

Gershuny

Grannies earnings

Durnbe Dalu Dual burden

Wonkier Moot Emotion work

lesbian

AbleIns

Practice (c) question

(c) Suggest 3 reasons why feminists would disagree with the claim that the family is symmetrical.

Domestic division of labour and the ‘New Man’

Parsons: Instrumental and expressive roles

• In traditional nuclear family the roles of husbands and wives are segregated.

• Positive (Like NR thinkers)• Based on biological differences

• Husband has an instrumental role, geared towards achieving success at work so that he can provide for his family financially.

• The wife has an expressive role, geared towards primary socialisation of the children, and meeting the families

• emotional needs

What is the new man?

Connell (1995) Masculinities• Until recently, most British men socialised into HEGEMONIC

MASCULINITY. (financial providers; authority figures; disciplinarian; risk takers; ambitious)

• Masculinity today experiencing change

• COMPLICIT MASCULINITY = men who believe that men and women should share roles within familes, but in these homes women still do the majority of the chores.

• NEW MAN = more in touch with his feminine and emotional feelings. (creation of advertising industry????)

• SUBORDIANATE MASCULINITY = Homosexual men

• MARGINALISED MASCULINITY = ‘crisis of masculinity’; older men feel threatened by the change; Younger men see bleak futur

Watch the clip where Rachel and Ross hire a male nanny.Sociologically analyse the stereotypes……

New Man: Fact or fiction?

Chavs and metrosexuals

Back to the future?The domestic division of

labour

Homework: Using the above

resources, design a leaflet answering the

above question Domestic violence

Consequences of unequal power

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/violence/index.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7542250.stm

Two women are killed every week in England and Wales through domestic violence

Dobash and Dobash (1980)

•Radical feminists

•Interviewed female victims who had left their abusive partners

•Many do not report most incidents because of fear

•Patriarchal power

Radical psychiatry

How would you link this perspective into the topic of power relationships?

Summary

• Complete a glossary highlighting key concepts and main sociologists for this topic.

• Exam practice questions

• mindmap