...(e) Discuss the suggestion that the family has become more symmetrical (24 marks) AO1 Skill Knowledge and understanding = 8 marks AO2 Skill Identification, analysis, interpretation & evaluation = 16 marks According the recent media hype, the 1990’s have given birth to the phenomenon of the ‘new man’. This suggests that men are now doing more housework and childcare, while women are increasingly selling their labour in the labour market, and consequently contributing economically to family life. Willmott and Young predicted that the family, are becoming symmetrical. They claimed that the family has evolved from an institution based on patriarchy, to one characterised by equality and democracy. This essay will claim that, although relations in the family may have change the ‘new man’ and symmetrical family are nothing but an exaggerated myth. Willmot and Young argue that the family has changed from that of an industrial form, traditional Nuclear family to that of a modern form, symmetrical family. The Nuclear family is defined by specialised division of labour whereby the adult male sold his labour in the labour market in exchange for a wage, while his wife became primarily responsible for childcare and housework. In comparison the symmetrical family is an institution where partners play equal roles. This suggests that the family has evolved from having gender-segregated roles to joint-conjugal roles. Willmott and Young’s suggestions can be supported by the...
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...What is meant by the term Family? (2) Family is a group of people related by kinship ties such as blood, marriage/civil partnership or adoption. Explain how sociologists may understand childhood as a socially constructed concept (4) The social construction of childhood means that it is not natural as it is a concept with various meanings in different societies. An interactionist known as Aries (1962) suggested that childhood today is a new social invention as during industrialisation children were seen as ‘miniature adults’ as they performed the same work as their parents. Whereas since the 20th century an emergence of a child-centred society is now present. Parents view children as sentimental as they now occupy a central place in the emotional life of home. The state has also contributed to the child-centred society by introducing safe guarding policies as Wells (2009) notes the government of childhood is organised around saving children from internal and external threats. However, not all societies in the world have a concept of childhood which does show that childhood is socially constructed. Suggest three ways in which the form of the typical family has been affected by demographic factors (6) Due to changes in fertility rate the average age of woman giving birth over 30 years old has increased – The use of reliable birth control has enabled woman to have power over reproduction, as well as this the educational opportunities has increased for females which woman...
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...understanding of families and households. Functionalism is a macro approach to society. It is based on a consensus that society as whole is run by and for the benefit of all its members. Early Functionalists such as Durkheim believed that society is made up of many institutions which work together to function. Regarding families, Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is best for society. Functionalists look at what the functions the family performs and they therefore say that the nuclear family is best for society. For example functionalists believe that traditional domestic roles (for the male to play an instrumental role as the breadwinner and the female to do the dual-burden) are necessary to ensure that children are socialised correctly with both male and female role models. Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is perfect for bringing up a geographically mobile workforce which allows families to move about for work easily, for example Functionalists believe during the industrial revolution nuclear families became more common as it was easier for families to move to an urban area in search of work than if it was for example an extended family. Conflict theories such as Marxism and Feminism challenge the Functionalism and the consensus of society by taking a more critical view. Social historians such as Laslett and Anderson also criticize the functionalist view of a ‘Functional Fit’ in the family. The main supporters of Functionalism in the family are Murdock...
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...the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households. (29 marks) Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus into which society socialises its members. This enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. However, other sociologists argue that contemporary society is not harmonious but is ridden with conflicts. Functionalists regard society as a system made up of different sub-systems that depend on each other, such as the family, education, religion, law and the mass media. Family and other sub-systems are often compared to the human body where if one of the body parts doesn’t function properly the others won’t either. Social structures work for you and society as a whole so if one doesn’t work correctly society will break up. Functionalists are interested in the positive functions of the family and how it contributes to a healthy society. Conversely, functionalists don’t look at society negatively or the negative effects family could have on you or society as whole. Also, Marxists see societies institutions as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism therefore, the functions of the family are purely performed for the benefit of the capital system and do not help society function properly, they don’t work for you and society as a whole, they are only there for the bourgeoisie. Murdock (1949) argued that all families fulfil four vital functions and without this society wouldn’t...
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...functions of the family Assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households. (24) Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of family. They see it as a universal institution that performs essential functions for society as a whole and all members of the family. According to Murdock, it provides important sub-system that provides stable satisfaction for the sex drive and therefore avoids social disruption. As well as this, Murdock says the family reproduces the next generation and thus ensuring current society to continue. Parsons sees a functional fit with the nuclear family fitting modern society’s needs for a geographically and socially mobile labour force. However critics argue that he is wrong about the relationship between industrialisation and family structure. Moreover Marxists, Liberal, radical and Marxist feminist all view the functions of the family in different ways, this essay will assess the different perspectives in which all these groups view the functions of the family. Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus- as set of shared norms and values; into which society socialises its members. This enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. They regard society as system made up of different parts or sub-systems that depend on each other, such as the family, the education system and the economy. Factionalists also see the family as a particularly...
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...The Marxist view of the family is that the primary responsibility of its existence is to continue to develop the industrial society due to the fact that, in the eyes of Marxists, its main role is to perpetuate capitalism. The bourgeoisie, or higher class, remain rich whilst the proletariat, otherwise known as the lower class, remain poorer. The proletariat are socialised by the family to not question their role in society and to always remain hard working employees in order to keep society in the order that it is in now. The Marxist views of the nuclear family can be assessed in whether or not they are effective theories as they can be compared to other theorists’ views of the family. Functionalists and Feminists have varying theories on the existence of the family that both coincide with the Marxist view and also contrast with it. Marxists have concluded that one of the sole reasons the nuclear family exists is the inheritance of property. A theorist named Fredrich Engels believes the existence of monogamous marriage – being married to one person in one time – exists exclusively in society so that the inheritance of private property can be easily passed down throughout generations without confusion of which child it should go to. This aims to aid money staying within the family, which therefore means the bourgeoisie can pass down property to their heirs and the rich stay rich, while the poor who have nothing to pass onto their future generations stay poor. However, this theory...
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...New right ideology has always viewed state policy as the reason why the traditional family institution is in decline in Britain today. Whether this is an accurate reflection on state policy will be assessed in this essay. Functionalists have always had a traditional view on family ideology where there is a clear segregation of tasks between the man and the women which is seen as natural or God given. But through the introduction of government policies in order to cater for the changing image of the family, functionalists feel that this is causing the nuclear family as an institution to be in decline. They believe that the 1960s and the 1970’s was a big turning point for the decline in familiar ideology as the state introduced policies such as the legalisation of abortion which was seen as women lessening their commitment to the family and the availability of the contraceptive pill. This introduction had a significant effect on the family as it undermined the family as private institution where important decisions could be made. Other policies such as the role of social workers through the local government, as discussed in item B were “if social workers feel that the upbringing of children is not provided properly children could be temporarily or permanently taken into care”. This has an effect on the nuclear family in particular because it means that the family’s privacy is undermined. Functionalists such as Howard argue that the state and the media have made marriage have less...
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...According to a new Pew Research Center survey of American adults, “sharing household chores” now ranks third in importance on a list of nine items often associated with successful marriages – well ahead of such staples as adequate income, good housing, common interests and shared religious beliefs. Well ahead, even, of children (for more on attitudes about marriage and parenthood, see the Pew Research Center report “As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact“). Some 62% of adults say sharing household chores is very important to marital success. On this question, there’s virtually no difference of opinion between men and women; or between older adults and younger adults; or between married people and singles. Another three-in-ten adults says sharing household cores is “rather important” to a successful marriage. Just 7% say it is “not very important.” In the public’s ranking of keys to a successful marriage, “sharing household chores” still trails far behind the perennial leader — “faithfulness” –which is rated as very important by 93% of survey respondents. But household chores are now nipping at the heels of the second-place item – “happy sexual relationship,” which draws a very-important rating from 70% of survey respondents. It hasn’t always been this good for household chores. Back in 1990, fewer than half (47%) of adults said sharing household chores was very important to a successful marriage. In the 17 years since then...
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...5 paragraphs; paragraph 1 (introduction); paragraph 5 (conclusion); paragraphs 2, 3, 4 (body) 5. Unpleasant household chores 6. “The top three of these unpopular tasks often include ironing clothes, washing dishes, and cleaning the bathroom.” 7. Why people don’t like to iron clothes; “One of the most hated chores for many people is ironing clothes because it is not a task that can be completed quickly or thoughtlessly.” 8. Paragraph 3: “Another household chore that many people dislike is washing dishes.” Paragraph 4: “Although ironing clothes and washing dishes are not the most pleasant household chores, perhaps the most dreaded chore is cleaning the bathroom.” 9. Two possible supporting sentences: “Each piece of clothing must be handled individually, so ironing a basket of laundry can take hours!” “After ironing a piece of clothing meticulously, which entails smoothing out the fabric, following the seams, and getting the creases just right, it needs to be put on a hanger as soon as possible. 10. “Because the bathroom is full of germs, a quick wiping of the surfaces is often not enough.” 11. “Maintaining a house means doing a wide variety of unpleasant chores.” Activity 2, pages 9–12 Preview Answers will vary. Post-Reading 1. Then the doorbell rang, and my life changed forever. 2. Answers will vary. 3. (1) The writer’s family was napping. (2) The writer was bored. (3) The writer answered the door. (4) The writer sat down on the sofa...
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...★★★★ Saftiuc Paul-Alexandru B1 The name of the hotel is Heartbreak Hotel & Resort, and you can find the hotel in Brasov, a city situated on the central part of Romania. The hotel has 4 stars, and is regarded as one of the greatest hotels in the city, the type is one resort,because it is a seasonal hotel. The Hotel has 3 floors, with 150 rooms, and 5 elevators. This hotel is famous for its services that the hotel offers in the Housekeeping department. The following housekeeping areas in the hotel are: the front desk area, lobby area, game rooms, exercise area, management offices, and public restrooms.The duties in the hotel for the housekeeping department are room inspection,training for the entire staff, inventory control ( linens, cleaning supplies,furniture, ),housekeeping reports and in-house and out-house laundry. In each room, every maid has a 30 minutes for cleaning the room, and there are 3 shifts / day in which the maids has to clean the room. (every floor has at least 10 maids). The laundry in the hotel is one in-house, and one of the reasons why the hotel is dotated with a in-house laundry is that the GM provides greater control of where the inventory will be laundred. What housekeeping meaning? Housekeeping is the act of cleaning the rooms and furnishings of a home. It is one of the many chores included in the term housework. Housecleaning includes activities such as disposing of rubbish, cleaning dirty surfaces, dusting and vacuuming. It may also involve...
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...Currently, in the UK, the family is a fairly unregulated sphere of life, compared with different societies such as China. Laws and social policies in Britain today tend to encourage or discourage certain types of families, rather than actively enforcing them like China’s one child policy. Government agencies and institutions only seem to take an active role on policing areas of family life when things are perceived to have gone wrong, such as regulating the fair distribution of assets following the breakdown of a marriage. Most current social policies in the UK come from a New Labour perspective, as this party have been in power for almost 12 years. Therefore, many of these current social policies encourage the existence of the family, although not just in the nuclear form endorsed by the New Right. For instance new labour modified the law so that unmarried cohabiting couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, had the right to adopt on a basis equivalent to that of a married couple. This has made adopting easier for unmarried couples with fertility issues, but the biggest change to have resulted from it is that homosexual couples can now, fairly easily, adopt children, leading to a much more diverse range of families. This change has been heavily criticised by New Right thinkers, who claim that it further undermines the nuclear family, by removing the restriction on unmarried couples from adopting children. They also claim that, due to not being raised in the “natural”...
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...People have often debated whether technology is good or bad. Many people believe that technology can only cause harm to their lives and to the society, while many others strongly defend the technologies which have made their lives much more leisurely and enriching than it could have been with the absence of technology. In my opinion, both of these views are correct to an extent, but I also believe that what should be examined is not whether technology in its self is good or bad, but rather how we decide use it. Household appliances have greatly evolved in the last century. Refrigerators, gas and electric ovens, microwaves, vacuums, dishwashers....the list goes on and on. All these things have made housework much easier than it would have been about 100 years ago. This results with both positive and negative effects. It has given us easier ways to get jobs done, leaving more time for other things, but the bad part of this is what is chosen to do in this extra time. In many cases, this extra time is spent doing leisurely things, which might make us happier, but also has an effect on our health. Lately we have become aware of the dangers of heart disease and the health benefits of exercise. We would have gotten most of this necessary exercise 100 years ago just from doing our daily chores but now aren t getting enough because we don t have to work as hard to do those same chores. This can be blamed on technology, but again, in fact it is our own fault because we chose to use the...
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...of functionalism to our understanding of families and households (24 marks) According to functionalist sociologists, the family is a key institution of society. It performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefit of all its individual members. For example, according to George Peter Murdock, it provides for the stable satisfaction of the sex drive and thus avoids the social disruption and conflict that could be caused by a sexual ‘free for all’. Similarly, the family reproduces the next generation and thereby ensures the continuation of society over time. Functionalists tend to see the nuclear family as the ideal family type for modern society. For example, Talcott Parsons argues that it is the family structure best equipped to meet the need of industrial society for a mobile labour force. Similarly, the nuclear family performs two essential functions for its members and for society as a whole. However, not everyone accepts the functionalist view of the family and its role. Marxists and feminists reject its consensus assumptions about who benefits from the family. Similarly, historians and sociologists have put forward evidence to challenge Parsons’ view that there is a ‘functional fit’ between the type of society and the type of family structure found within it. When considering the question, we need to understand that functionalism has contributed towards our understanding of the family. However other perspectives like Marxism...
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...Marxism to our understanding of families and households. (24 marks)Marxists see all society’s institutions as helping to maintain class inequality and Capitalism. Therefore, the main contribution of Marxism to the sociology of families and households has been to explain how the family functions to maintain the interests of the bourgeoisie, and maintain the Capitalist system. Marxists’ contributions have drawn much criticism from Feminist and Functionalist sociologists, who question whether Marxism can help us to understand the family in contemporary society. Marxists argue that the key factor determining the shape of all social institutions, including the family, is the mode of production. Engels (1891) argues that the Capitalist mode of production has shaped the family in many ways. He argues that Capitalism depends on the patriarchal monogamous nuclear family. In Engel’s view this family structure is essential to Capitalist society because of the inheritance of private property- men have be certain of the paternity of their children in order to ensure that their legitimate heirs inherit from them. For Engels, it is the nature of Capitalism which dictates the structure of the nuclear family, and in turn the nuclear family maintains class inequality as inheritance of private property ensures that class divisions between the proletariat and bourgeoisie are maintained. However, Engel’s view can be criticized as it assumes that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society...
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...as a set of nutriments representing the overlapping work of ecological, biological and cultural systems in human societies’ (Khare, quoting in Lupton, 1996: 9). The preparation, consumption and presentation of food are intricately connected to our social life. This paper will explore more details on the second approach; which is the relationship between food, family and community. It will examine how food consumption habits are fundamental to outline the boundary of a family and the causes and consequences of the decline in number of family meal. Family is always presented in positive qualities. It always encourages love, trust and intimacy. Home is seen as a place where warmth, tenderness, protection and understanding would be expected from parents; family relationship is divined to provide enduring and continuing emotional support; family is important in our aspect of life because ‘for the child, an introduction to life in the wider society and for the adult, a basis for life in the wider society’ (Fletch, 1966:228). Most importantly, family provides a secure refuge for us from the outside world; the family as a whole would work together to contribute their own continuity thus promotes stability of society. In today’s rough and tumbled industrial world, ‘people need company to share burdens and pleasures,...
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