Family revision
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FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
George Murdock and Talcott Parsons
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George Murdock - year and key points
1949 - universal nuclear family and 4 functions of the family
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What did Murdock argue about the nuclear family?
It was a universal concept that existed in all societies
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What are the 4 functions of the nuclear family?
Stable satisfaction of the sex drive, socialisation of the young, meetings its members economic needs and reproduction of the next generation
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Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
Ensuring there is no sexual free-for-all as each person has a partner
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Socialisation of the young
Teaching kids society's norms and values to prevent anomies
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Meeting economic needs
Ensuring each family member has the basic necessities of food, water, shelter etc.
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Reproducing next generation
Making sure society continues by having more kids
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General criticisms of Murdock
Ignores that other institutions could perform these functions and nuclear family isnt present in every society
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Feminist criticisms of Murdock
Family benefits men and oppresses women
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Marxist criticisms of Murdock
Meets the needs of capitalism, not family or society as a whole
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Parsons - year and key points
1955 - functional fit theory, two irreducible factors of the family, roles and warm bath theory
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What is the functional fit theory?
The idea that the family progresses with society to ensure that it fits the times
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What is the geographically mobile workforce?
As globalisation increases it is easier to transport a nuclear family than an extended family
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What is the socially mobile workforce?
Status is no longer ascribed as it is easy to achieve a higher status in modern times
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What are the two irreducible factors of the family?
Stabilisation of adult persoanlities and socialisation of children
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Primary socialisation of children
to equip them with basic skills and society's values, to enable them to cooperate with others and begin to intergate them into society
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Stablisation of adult personalities
family is a place where adults can relax and ease their tensions, enabling them to return to the workplace refreshed and ready to meet its demands
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What is the Warm Bath theory?
Men come home from the workplace tired and stressed and the family soak up all the anger to ensure the husband will go back to work the next day with ease
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Instrumental role
Men are the breadwinners
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Expressive role
Women stay at home to do domestic labour and take care of the family
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Criticisms of Parsons
Wilmott and Young found nuclear family has always been dominant type and ignores the dark side of the family as women are 'takers of ****'
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THE NEW RIGHT THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
Charles Murray and David Marsland
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Charles Murray - year and key points
1984 - perverse incentives and the underclass
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What are perverse incentives?
Rewarding irresponsible or anti-social behaviour
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Give 3 examples of peverse incentives
Fathers abandoning children as state will maintain them, giving council housing to single teenage mothers encourages teenage pregnancy and boys grow up without a male role model due to benefits for lone-parent families
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What is the underclass?
The lowest of the social class who should be ignored as they can't get out of their situation
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David Marsland - year and key point
1989 - dependency culture
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What is dependency culture?
Individuals become dependent on the state to support them and their children rather than being self-reliant which affects the socialisationof the young and men's work ethics
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Feminist criticisms of the New Right
Attempt to justify a return to patriarchal nuclear family that oppressed women
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General criticisms of the New Right
Wrongly assumes patriarchal nuclear family is natural and ignores many policies that support and maintain the nuclear family rather than undermine it
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MARXIST THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
Freidrich Engels, Herbert Marcuse and Eli Zaretsky
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Freidrich Engels - year and key points
1884 - primitive communism, promiscuous hordes, bourgeois value sand loss of human species essence
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What was primitive communism?
No private property, all members of society owned the means of production communally
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What were the promiscuous hordes?
No restrictions on sexual relationships
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What was the loss of the human species essence?
Men has to be certain of the paternity of their children to ensure that their legitimate heirs inherited from them. Rise in monogamous nuclear family as women became objects for men to sleep with and reproduce families.
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Herbert Marcuse - year and key point
1964 - family as a unit of consumption
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How are the family a unit of consumption?
Sell for more than made for. Families encouraged to 'keep up with the Joneses'' by consuming latest products, 'pester power' as media target chuldren and children mocked if they don't have latest styles
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Eli Zaretsky - year and key points
1976 - illusion of security
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How does the family create an illusion of security?
Offers a 'haven' from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism, in which workers can be themselves and have a private life. Largely an illusion - family cannot actually meet its members needs
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General crticisms of Marxists
Assume that the nuclear family is dominant in society and ignores family diversity in post modernity
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Feminist criticisms of Marxists
Emphasis on class and capitalism underestimates the importance of gender inequalities within the family. Family primarily serves interest of men, not capitalism
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Functionalist crticisms of Marxists
Marxists ignore the very real benefits that the family provides for its members
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LIBERAL FEMINIST THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
Jenny Somerville
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Jenny Somerville - year and key points
2000 - female progress and equal rights
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What is her argument about the female progress?
Women's oppression is being gradually overcome through changes in attitudes and the law such as the Sex Discrimination Act
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What is her opinion on equality amongst genders and the needs to improve?
Moving towards greater equality, but full equality will depend on further reforms and changes in attitudes and socialisations of both sexes
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MARXIST FEMINIST THEORIES OF THE FAMILY
Margaret Benston and Fran Ansley
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Margaret Benston - year and key points
1972 - women as unpaid labour and reserve army of labour
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
George Murdock - year and key points
Back
1949 - universal nuclear family and 4 functions of the family
Card 3
Front
What did Murdock argue about the nuclear family?
Back
Card 4
Front
What are the 4 functions of the nuclear family?
Back
Card 5
Front
Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
Back
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