The Marxist Perspective
Marxists believe that the family creates
inequality as they keep capitalism going.
The man works to get money and women
is submissive. This creates financial
inequality; women do a lot to keep the
family going with no recognition. They do
not believe in the nuclear family but a
family where both parents work equally.
Marxist Feminists:
- Main cause of women’s
oppression in the family is not
because of men but because of
capitalism as their oppression
performs several functions for
capitalism:
1. Reproducing the labour force
through unpaid labour and
socialising the next gen of
workers whilst maintaining
the current one
2. Marxist Feminists see
women’s oppression in the
family linked to the
exploitation of the working
class.
3 functions of the family according
to Marxists:
1. Inheritance of Property
2. Ideological Functions – belief
in a hierarchy since birth
prepares us to take orders in
adult life.
3. Consumerism – families are
the main market for
consumption.
Liberal Feminists:
They campaign against discrimination and
fight for equal rights between the sexes.
They believe:
-
Equality has not fully been achieved
but is getting better.
-
More men are now doing domestic
labour.
Radical Feminists:
Radical feminists believe:
The Feminist Perspective
-
Men are the enemy as they are
source of women’s oppression.
-
The family and marriage are the
key institutions in the patriarchy.
Men benefit from unpaid work
and sexual services.
-
The patriarchy needs to be
overturned
The family promotes the
patriarchy.
Kinship – how individuals
are related to each other
Nuclear family – breadwinner man and
housewife women married with children
Beanpole – multi-generational
family with few aunts/uncles and
grandparents
Same sex family –
Parents are same sex
Choses family – a family or
non-biological kinship bond
chosen for mutual love and
support.
Reconstituted – a family made up
of parents with children from
previous relationships
Extended family – a family that
extends beyond the nuclear including a
lot of relatives who all live nearby or in
the household.
George Murdock:
He believed the nuclear family was
universal.
The 4 functions:
1. Sexual – being with the same
partner for sexual purposes.
2. Reproduction
3. Educational – society educates
children about norms and
values through socialisation.
4. Economic – meeting its
members economic needs such
as food or shelter.
His view is rose-tinted. Sociologists
argue non-nuclear families have these
functions
Criticisms:
-
It is out of date, a very oldfashioned view.
Feminists argue it ignores the
exploitation of women.
Ignores the diversity of family
life in industrial society.
Fails to show the dark side that
prevents it from fulfilling the
functions Murdock and Parsons
talk about.
Different types of
families
Empty nest – household
where children have moved
out but not reached old age
themselves.
Empty Shell – where one or
none of the individuals are
contributing to the
relationship.
Single parent family
– where there is only
one parent
Theories Of the Family
Parsons – the family may meet other needs too,
depends what type of society they are in.
It has 2 essential needs:
1. Geographical Mobile Workforce – families
can move to where the work is
2. Social mobile workforce – modern
industrial society is based on constantly
evolving science and technology, so it
requires a technically competent workforce
He talks about the pre-industrial family, where the
extended family work together on a farm in a
subsistence farming way.
Most pre-industrial families were not extended
families like parson claims.