AQA Sociology AS level

1. Disappearance

   Nota:

   • Postman: "childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed", trend towards giving children the same rights as adults, disappearance of unsupervised games, similarity of adult and child clothing, children committing adult crimes eg murder.
   • Due to rise and fall of print culture and replacement by television, in Middle Ages, people were illiterate, only speech needed to participate in adult world so children could from an early age, no division, childhood emerged as separate status along with mass literacy, have to read and write to participate in adult world, information hierarchy, television blurs line by destroying information hierarchy, information available to children and adults.
   • Criticism: over emphasises single cause at the expense of other factors eg rising living standards or changes in the law.
2. Separate Culture

   Nota:

   • Opie: childhood is not disappearing,researched children's games, rhymes and songs, strong evidence of continued existence of separate children's culture, children can create own independent culture.
3. Globalisation of Western childhood

   Nota:

   • Child liberationists argue that western notions of childhood are being globalised, international humanitarian and welfare agencies have exported and imposed western norms of childhood.
4. Reconstruction?

   Nota:

   • Palmer: toxic childhood, rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children's physical, emotional and intellectual development.
   • Margo and Dixon: UK youth are near or at the top of international league tables for obesity, self harm, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, early sexual experience and teenage pregnancies, anxiety that modern notion of childhood as innocent stage is under threat.
   • Childhood is not under threat: not all children are affected by negative trends, Womack - "there are clusters of young people... who live desperate lives, while other do not", depends at which aspect of childhood we look at, children have more rights but not equal rights, growing similarities between children and adults, extension of compulsory education means children are economically dependent for longer, children's movements are restricted, children have greater access to means of communication.
   • Qvortrup: as the number of people who are parents with dependent children falls, there will be fewer voices calling for resources to go to children, childhood will be more isolated due to smaller family sizes and fewer children in the neighbourhood, however children will become more values.

1. Modern Western notion

   Nota:

   • Pilcher: most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness, childhood is a clear distinct life stage, children have separate status, emphasised by laws, differences in dress, products, childhood is golden age of innocence, children are vulnerable, must be separated from adult world.
   • Wagg: "childhood is socially constructed... there is no single universal childhood experienced by all", different cultures define childhood differently.
2. Cross cultural differences

   Nota:

   • Benedict: children in simpler, non industrial societies are treated differently in three ways - take responsibility at an early age, less value is placed on children showing obedience to adults and children's sexual behaviour is viewed differently, less of a dividing line between behaviour expected from children and adults.
3. Historical Differences

   Nota:

   • Aries: in the Middle Ages the idea of childhood did not exist, childhood as a separate age stage was short, soon after being weaned children entered adult world, children were mini adults, modern childhood began to emerge from 13th century onwards due to schools, distinctions in adult and children's clothing and handbooks on child rearing, culminate in the modern cult of childhood.
   • Shorter: high death rates encourages indifference towards infants.
   • Pollock: it is more correct to say that the Middle Age society had a different notion of childhood.
4. Reasons for changes

   Nota:

   • Laws restricting child labour, compulsory schooling, child protection and welfare legislation, growth of idea of children's rights, declining family size, lower infant mortality rates, children's health and development became the subject of medical knowledge, laws that apply specifically to children, industrialisation.
   • Donzelot: theories of child development that began to appear from the 19th century stressed that children need supervision and protection.

1. March of Progress

   Nota:

   • Over the past few centuries, the position of children in western societies has been steadily improving.
   • De Mause: "the history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awaken".
   • Children are protected from harm by laws againt child abuse, higer standards of living mean that babies have a better chance of survival, smaller family sizes mean parents can afford to provide for their children, family and society have become child centres.
2. Conflict

   Nota:

   • Society is based on conflict, relationship between groups is one of domination and subordination, where the dominant group are oppressors, march of progress view is based on a false and idealised image that ignores inequalities.
   1. Inequalities among children

      Nota:

      • Not all children have the same experience of childhood, children of different nationalities, gender, ethnicities and class have a different childhood.
      • Gender: Hillman - boys are more likely to be allowed to cycle on roads, use buses and go out after dark unaccompanied, Bonke - girls do more domestic labour.
      • Ethnicity: Brannen - study of 15-16yo found that Asian parents are more likely to be strict towards their daughters, Bhatti - ideas of izzat (family honour) could be a restriction.
      • Class: poor mothers are more likely to have low weight babies which leads to delayed physical and intellectual development, Woodroffe - children of unskilled manual workers are 3 times more likely to suffer from hyperactivity, Howard - children born into poverty are more likely to die in infancy or childhood, suffer long standing illness, be shorter, fall behind at school and be placed on the child protection register.
   2. Inequalities between adults and children

      Nota:

      • Firestone and Holt: care and protection are new forms of control and oppression, child liberationists - see the need to free children from adult control which takes a number of forms.
      • Neglect and abuse: Childline receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying they have been abused, suggests a dark side to family life where children are the victims.
      • Control over space: movements are highly regulated, fears about stranger danger have led to children being driven to school rather than walking, contrasts with third world countries, Katz - rural Sudanese children roam freely withing the village and for several kilometres outside it.
      • Control over time: adults control children's routines and the speed at which children grow up, they define if a child to too young or old to so an activity, contrasts to third world countries, Holmes - among Samoans, too young is never given as a reason for a child not to do something.
      • Control over bodies: adults control how a child sits, what they wear, their hair, it is taken for granted that children can be touched, adults restrict the ways children touch their own bodies.
      • Control over access to resources: children are economically dependent, not allowed paid work, child benefit goes to parent, pocket money depends on good behaviour.
   3. Age Patriarchy

      Nota:

      • Gittins: age patriarchy describes inequalities between adults and children, the term family used to refer to the power of the male head over all other members of the household, evidence that childhood is oppressive comes from strategies children use to resist it.
      • Resisting strategies: Hockey and James - acting up, children acting like adults by doing things they are not supposed to do eg drinking and exaggerating their age, acting down is behaving in ways expected of younger children eg baby talk.
      • Criticisms: adult control is justified as children cannot make rational decisions themselves, children are not as powerless as child liberationists claim.

Nota:

• All assume nuclear family is dominant - ignore diversity, all structural theories - assume family members are puppets manipulated by structure of society, postmodernists would reject this as they believe we have choice in family relationships.

Nota:

• Society is based on value consensus into which society socialises its members, society is a system made up of parts eg family that depend on each other, like human body

1. Murdock

   Nota:

   • Family has four essential functions - stable satisfaction of the sex drive, reproduction of next generation, socialisation of younf, meeting members' economic needs, nuclear family is most practical to perform these functions so it is universal.
   • Criticisms: other institutions could perform functions, rose tinted approach, feminists - family serves men and oppresses women, Marxists - meets needs of capitalism not society as a whole.
2. Parsons

   Nota:

   • The functions the family will perform depends on the type of society it is in, extended family fits pre industrial society, nuclear family fits industrial society.
   • Industrial society has two needs: geographically mobile workforce - workers can move to where work is, easier with only two generations, socially mobile workforce - workers can move above their ascribed status through hard work, nuclear family better as less tension when son rises above father, resulted in structurally isolated nuclear family which has no obligations to its extended relatives 
3. Loss of functions

   Nota:

   • Parsons: due to industrialisation, family has lost functions, specialises in two - primary socialisation of children, stabilisation of adult personalities.

Nota:

• Society is based on conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, all institutions help maintain inequality and capitalism.

1. Inheritance of property

   Nota:

   • Bourgeoisie owns means of production due to private property, led to patriarchal monogamous nuclear family, property is passed down to an heir and kept in the highest class.
   • Engels: monogamy is essential to inheritance of property, men have to know father of their children is him, led to oppression of women, brought women's sexuality under control, turned her into "a mere instrument for the production of children".
2. Ideological functions

   Nota:

   • Children are socialised into the idea that hierarchy and inequality is inevitable, parental power accustoms them to the idea that someone always has to be in charge, prepares them for working life.
   • Zaretsky: family offers and apparent haven from capitalism where workers can be themselves, this is illusion, family cannot meet members needs, simply refreshes workers and allows them to work at the same rate the next day so the bourgeoisie can get the same amount of money.
3. Unit of consumption

   Nota:

   • Family generates profits as it is important market for sale of consumer goods, advertisers urge families to consume latest products, media targets children who persuade parents to spend more, children who don't have latest items are mocked by peers.
4. Criticisms

   Nota:

   • Assumes the nuclear family is dominant, ignores diversity, Feminists - underestimates importance of gender inequalities, Functionalists - ignore benefits family provides for its members.

Nota:

• Family oppresses women, gender inequality is socially constructed.

1. Liberal

   Nota:

   • Women's oppression is being gradually overcome through changing attitudes and laws, moving towards greater equality but full equality will depend on changes in attitudes and socialisation patterns of both sexes.
   • Somerville: women's position has improved considerably, better access to divorce, better job opportunities, control over fertility, women do not have full equality yet, need for family friendly policies eg more flexible working.
   • Criticisms: fail to challenge underlying causes of oppression, naive to believe that changes in the law and attitudes will be enough, changes to social structures are needed.
2. Marxist

   Nota:

   • Capitalism is main cause of women's oppression, serves functions for capitalism - women reproduce labour force, absorb anger, are a reserve armey of cheap labour, family must be abolished as a socialist revolution replaces capitalism with a classless society.
   • Ansley: women are takers of shit who soak up husband's frustration due to alienation and exploitation.
3. Radical

   Nota:

   • All societies are founded on patriarchy, men are the enemy, family and marriage are key institutions, patriarchal system needs to be overturned, family must be abolished, this is achieved through separatism - women must lice independently of men, argue for political lesbianism - heterosexual relationships are oppressive and are sleeping with the enemy.
   • Greer: argues for creation of all female, matrilocal households as alternative to heterosexual families.
   • Criticisms: fail to recognise women's improved position, separatism is unlikely to work, heterosexual attraction makes it unlikely that conventional nuclear family will disappear.
4. Difference

   Nota:

   • Cannot generalise about women's experiences, different women will have different experiences, eg black women see family as support against racism instead of only a source of oppression.
   • Criticism: neglects the fact that women do share much of the same experiences, face greater risk of domestic violence and low pay.

1. Trends

   Nota:

   • There has been a long term decline in the birth rate since 1900, however there have been fluctuations with three baby booms, two after the world wars and the third in the 1960s, the rate fell sharply in the 70s, rose in the 80s and fell again in the 90s.
   • Factors affecting birth rate are the proportion of women who are of childbearing age and how fertile they are - how many children the will have, total fertility rate - average number of children women will have during their fertile years, TRF has risen since 2001 but is much lower than in the past, reflects the fact that more women are remaining childless and women are postponing having children.
   • Increase in births since 2001 due to increase in immigration, mothers outside UK have higher fertility rate.
2. Reasons

   Nota:

   • Changes in the position of women: legal equality with men, increased educational opportunities, more women in paid employment, changes in attitude, access to abortion and contraception, women now see other possibilities instead of just a mother.
   • Decline in infant mortality rate: number of infants who die before their first birthday per thousand babies born per year, fall in IMR leads to fall in birth rate, if children survive, parents will have fewer, it fell due to - improved housing and sanitation, better nutrition, better knowledge of hygiene, improved services for mothers, Brass and Kabir argue that the trend to smaller families begun in urban areas when the IMR was higher for longer.
   • Children are economic liability: can't be sent out to work due to laws and changing norms, parents are less able to afford a bigger family.
   • Child centredness: the family and society are centred on the child, childhood is socially constructed as important stage, parents have fewer children and give more attention and resources to these few.
3. Effects

   Nota:

   • Family: smaller families mean women are free to go out and work, creates dual earner couple, however family size only one factor, wealth plays part.
   • Dependency ratio: relationship between size of working and non-working part of the population, children are dependent, fall in birth rate reduces burden of dependency, however in long run fewer babies will mean fewer adults in working population so burden of dependency may increase.
   • Public services and policies: fewer schools and maternity and child health services may be needed, implications for cost of maternity leave and types of houses that need to be built.

1. Trends

   Nota:

   • Number of deaths has remained stable since 1900s, fluctuations during world wars and influenza epidemic, death rate has decreased, begun falling in 1870, rose in 30s and 40s, declined slightly since 50s.
2. Reasons

   Nota:

   • Tranter: over three quarters of decline in death rate was due to fall in number of deaths from infectious diseases eg smallpox, population has become naturally resistant, some diseases have become less virulent (powerful).
   • Improved nutrition: McKeown argues that improved nutrition accounted for half of reduction in death rates, better nutrition increased resistance to infection and increased survival chances of infected, however doesn't explain why females who receive smaller share of food lived longer than males or why deaths from infectious diseases eg measles rose at time of improving nutrition.
   • Medical improvements: after the 50s, improved medical techniques, knowledge and organisation led helped to reduce death rates, includes antibiotics, immunisation and NHS.
   • Public health measures and environmental improvements: more effective central and local government had the power to pass and enforce laws which led to improvements, include housing, purer drinking water, clean air acts reduce air pollution.
   • Other social changes: decline of dangerous occupations eg mining, smaller families reduced rate of transmission of infection, greater public knowledge of causes of illness, higher incomes led to healthier lifestyle.
3. Life expectancy

   Nota:

   • How long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live, death rate decrease has led to life expectancy increase, increased by two years per decade in the last two centuries, one of reasons is lower infant mortality rate.
   • Differences: gender - women live longer than men although gap has decreased due to women working and smoking, regional - those in the North and Scotland have lower life expectancy than those in south, class - working class men are three times more likely to die before they are 65 than men in professional jobs.
4. Ageing population

   Nota:

   • Average age is increasing, fewer younger people, more older people, Hirsh - traditional age pyramids are disappearing and being replaced by blocks, result of increasing life expectancy, declining infant mortality rate and declining fertility.
   • Effects: public health services - older people consume larger proportion of health care, lead to changes in policies and provision of housing, transport etc, one person pensioner households - pensioners living alone has increased, mostly female, dependency ratio - increases dependency ratio and burden on working, however old asre not necessarily economically dependent and is offset by birth rate decline.
   • More effects: social construct of ageing as a problem - discourse about old age is negative, ageism - negative stereotyping of people based on age, portrays old as vulnerable, contrasts with traditional societies where old are seen as wise, Townsend - reason for negative attitudes is old age is socially constructed as time of dependency by retirement age, Policy implications - Hirsh argues that number of policies have to change to tackle problems of ageing population, increased taxes, older retirement, get older people back into work, encourage old people to trade down houses, policy changes need change in attitude to old age.

1. Trends

   Nota:

   • For most of 20th century growth of UK population was result of natural increase because until 1980s more people emigrated than immigrated, from 1900 - 1945 largest immigrant group were Irish, during 1950s black immigrants from Caribbean arrived, consequence of this was a more ethnically diverse society, however more people left than entered UK, despite this immigration and nationality acts placed severe restrictions on non white immigration.
2. Emigration

   Nota:

   • Since 1900s majority of emigrants have gone to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, reasons have been economic - recession and unemployment at home, higher wage and better opportunities abroad, contrast with other groups who migrate due to religious, political or racial persecution.
3. Migration patterns

   Nota:

   • Recent years show increases immigration, emigration and net migration, reason was expansion of EU to include ten new states giving them right to live and work in UK, immigrants and emigrants generally young males, reason was to work or study, some emigrants are older, moving to retire, due to low fertility rate, without net migration UK's population would be decreasing.
   • Dependency ratio: migrants are mainly of working age so decrease the dependency ration, however immigrant women have higher fertility rate so increases dependency ratio by adding more children, however in time will create more workers and lower the dependency ratio.
   • Internal migration: during industrial revolution of 19th century there was population shift from agricultural south to industrial north, corresponding shift from rural to urban living, during 20th century newer industries eg cars developed in the south so there was a population shift in the opposite direction, more recently London has exerted a pull because of growth of finance and service industries, corresponding trend is suburbanisation with growth of residential areas surrounding cities.

1. Marriage

   Nota:

   • Trends: fewer people marrying, more remarriages, people are marrying later, couples are less likely to marry in a church.
   • Reasons for decrease: changing attitudes to marriage - less pressure, more freedom, quality is more important, secularisation - people feel freer not to marry, declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage - cohabitation, staying single, children outside of marriage, less shotgun weddings, changes in position of women - less economically dependent on men, marriage is oppressive, fear of divorce - put off marrying
   • Reasons: for remarriage - rise in number of divorces, rise in age - postponing marriage to spend longer in education, establish a career first, cohabiting before they marry, less church weddings - secularisation, churches refuse to marry divorcees.
2. Cohabitation

   Nota:

   • Increasing, fastest growing family type in UK, over two million cohabiting couples in Britain.
   • Reasons: decline in stigma to sex outside of marriage, young are more likely to accept cohabitation, women have less need for financial security of marriage, secularisation.
   • Relationship between marriage and cohabitation: Chester - cohabitation is part of the process of getting married, trial marriage, temporary phrase, Bejin - cohabitation is a conscious attempt to create more equal relationship than patriarchal marriage, Macklin - term covers diverse range of partnerships, relationship is complex.
3. Same sex relationships

   Nota:

   • Cannot judge whether there has been an increase due to stigma and illegality, relationships were hidden.
   • Increased social acceptance: age of consent equalised, policy treating couples equally, Weeks - increased social acceptance led to trend in same sex cohabitation and stable relationships that mirror heterosexual couples, Weston - quasi-marriage, contrasts gay lifestyle of 70s, Cheal - some may fear same sex marriage will limit the flexibility of their relationships.
4. One person households

   Nota:

   • Trends: increase in people living alone, half of them are pensioners.
   • Reasons: increase in divorce and separation especially in men under 65, decline in people marrying, Stein - more people opt for creative singlehood, deliberate choice to live alone, however some are alone because of a lack of partners in their age group.
   • Living apart together: Duncan and Phillips - one in ten adults are LATs, in a significant relationship but not married or cohabiting, trend towards less formalised relationships and families of choice, constraint and choice play a part, some couples can't afford to live together, may have wanted to keep own home, public attitudes are favourable, doesn't show a rejection of traditional relationships.  

1. Trends

   Nota:

   • Since the 60s there has been a great increase, doubled between 61 and 69, peaked in 93, 40% of all marriages end in divorce, 7 out of 10 petitions come from women, couples who marry young, have a child before they marry or have been married before are more likely to divorce.
2. Explanations

   Nota:

   • Changes in the law: equalising grounds between sexes, widening grounds, making divorce cheaper, other options: desertion - one partner leaves but couple stay married, legal separation - court separates finance but couple stay married, empty shell marriage - couple continue to live under same roof but only married in name, changes in law doesn't explain why more people get divorced.
   • Declining stigma and changing attitudes: stigma - negative label attached to something, Mitchell and Goody - important change since 60s is rapid decline in stigma towards divorce, makes it more socially acceptable, normalises it, not seen as shameful, simply a misfortune.
   • Secularisation: decline in influence of religion in society, traditional opposition to divorce by church carries less weight in society, churches have softened views on divorce, fear losing credibility with public.
   • Rising expectations of marriage: Fletcher - higher expectations people place on marriage are major cause of rising divorce rates, couples are less willing to tolerate unhappy marriage, linked to ideology of romantic love which has become more dominant, in the past people had little choice and marriage was for economic reasons so they wouldn't have high expectations, Allan and Crow - "love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction are now seen as the cornerstones of marriage".
   • Changes in position of women: women are more likely to be in paid work, pay gap narrowed, greater success in education lead to better jobs, welfare benefits, women are not financially dependent on husbands anymore, Allan and Crow - marriage is less embedded in the economic system, family is not unit of production, do not have to tolerate conflict, feminists - women as wage earners has created new source of conflict which leads to more divorce, Bernard - women feel growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage, rejecting it.
3. Meanings

   Nota:

   • The New Right: high divorce rate is undesirable, undermines traditional nuclear family, creates under class of welfare dependent female lone parents, leaves boys without adult male role model.
   • Feminists: high divorce rate is desirable, women are breaking free from oppression of patriarchal nuclear family.
   • Postmodernists: high divorce rate gives individuals freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer satisfies their needs, greater cause of diversity.
   • Functionalists: high divorce rate doesn't prove marriage as institution is under risk, result of higher expectations, high rate of remarriage shows commitment ot idea.
   • Interactionists: Morgan - cannot generalise about meaning of divorce, everyone's experience is different.

1. Childbearing

   Nota:

   • Trends: four in ten children are born outside of marriage, women are having children later, women are having fewer children, more women are remaining childless.
   • Reasons: increase in birth outside of marriage - decline in stigma, increase in cohabitation, later age, less children, childless - women have more options than just parenthood, establish a career before or instead.
2. Lone-parent families

   Nota:

   • Trends: 24% of all families, 90% headed by woman, never married women biggest group of single mothers, child living with lone parent twice as likely to be in poverty.
   • Reasons: increase -  increase in divorce and separation, increase in never-married women having children, decline in stigma, female headed - belief that woman are more suited to expressive role, divorce courts give custody to mothers, men are less willing to give up work to care for children, mothers are single by choice, Renvoize - professional women can support their child without father's involvement, Cashmore - working class mother choose to live on benefits because of abuse.
   • Welfare state: Murray - New Right, growth of lone parents due to ever generous welfare state, creates perverse incentive, rewards irresponsible behaviour eg having children without being able to support them, creates dependency culture, solution is to abolish welfare benefits, criticism - lone parents are more likely to be in poverty, reasons - lack of affordable childcare prevent lone parents working, inadequate benefits, women earn less than men, father fail to pay maintenance.
3. Stepfamilies

   Nota:

   • Trends: 10% of families with dependent children, Ferri and Smith - stepfamilies are similar to first families, involvement in step parents is positive, however at greater risk of poverty, Allan and Crow - stepfamilies face problems of divided loyalties and issues with contacting other parent causes tensions.
   • Reasons: increase in divorce, lone parents, greater risk of poverty because more children to support and may have to support children from previous marriage, tensions are result of lack of clear social norms about how individuals should behave.

Nota:

• Black families: higher proportion of lone parents, high rate of female headed lone families, seen as evidence of family disorganisation traced back to slavery or black male unemployment, less able to provide, leads to desertion, Mirza - reflects high value black women place on independence, Reynolds - statistic are misleading, lone parents are in stable but non cohabiting relationships.
• Asian families: larger households, sometimes contain three generations but most are nuclear families, result of younger age profile, reflects value placed on extended families in Asian cultures, practical eg need for assistance when migrating, Ballard - extended family ties were important source of support among Asian migrants in 50s and 60s, houses shared, now most nuclear but relatives live nearby.

Nota:

• Charles: study of Swansea, three generations under one roof all but extinct, contact remains high between mothers and daughters, decline is support and contact between brothers and sisters, friends may become family.
• Willmott: extended family exists as dispersed extended family, relatives are geographically separated but maintain contact.
• Chamberlain: study of Caribbean families in Britain, despite being geographically dispersed they continue to provide suppoty, multiple nuclear families with close contact between siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, make contribution to childrearing.
• Bell: working and middle class families had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for supports, middle class - financial help, working class - domestic help.
• Finch and Mason: more is expected of female relatives, people feel obligations to extended family, principle of reciprocity - help should be given to avoid feelings of indebtedness.

1. Life course analysis

   Nota:

   • Hareven: uses life course analysis approach, starts from idea that there is flexibility in people's family lives, focuses on meanings people give to life choices and event, favours use of unstructures in depth interviews with family members, strengths - focuses on what family members consider important not just the sociologist, suitable for studying families in today's society where there is more choice.
2. Family practices

   Nota:

   • Morgan: uses family practices to describe routine actions through which we create sense of being a family eg feeding children, influences by beliefs about rights and obligations in family, allows to see why conflict may exist, families are not concrete things, simply what people do, gets us closer to realities of everyday experience.
3. Family diversity

   Nota:

   • Cheal: we have entered a postmodern stage of life which is chaotic, family structures are fragmented, individuals have more choice, family life is more diverse, on one dominant family type, gives individauls greater freedom but has greater risk of instability.
4. Giddens

   Nota:

   • Family and marriage have been transformed by greater choice and more equal relationships, occurred because - contraception has allowed sex to become reason for relationship, women have gained independence, basis of marriage has changes into one which the couple are free to define rather than acting out a role, pure relationship - exists solely to meet each partner's needs.
5. Beck

   Nota:

   • Risk society, tradition has less influence, people have more choice, we are more aware of risks as making choice involves calculating rewards and risks, contrasts with time when roles were fixed and people had less choice, although traditional patriarchal marriage was unequal it provided stability and a predictable basis by defining roles, was undermined by greater gender equality and individualism, led to negotiated family which varies according to wished and expectations of members, less stable.
6. Stacey

   Nota:

   • Greater choice has benefited women, enabled them to free themselves from patriarchal oppression, shape family arrangements to own needs, used life history interviews, case studies of postmodern families in Silicon Valley, CAlifornia, women have been main agents of change, rejected traditional housewife role, divorce extended family - members connected by divorce, former in laws, families are diverse, shape depends on active choices about how to live lives.
7. Weeks

   Nota:

   • Long term shift in attitudes since 50s, sexual morality is matter of choice, church and state lost power to influence individual morality, growing acceptance of diversity, however family patterns continue to be traditional, sexual and family diversity are undeniable, accepted as fact.
8. Two views

   Nota:

   • Against diversity: functionalists, New Right, there is only one best family type, traditional patriarchal nuclear family, division of labour, natural, best equipped to needs of society, other types are unnatural, dysfunctional.
   • In favour of diversity: postmodernists, feminists, family is whatever arrangements those involved choose, family is socially constructed, diversity is desirable, brings freedom, ways to live to meet needs, enables women to liberate themselves.

Nota:

• Modern society has a fairly fixed, clear cut, predictable structure, nuclear family is the best family type, helps to maintain structure by performing functions.

1. New Right

   Nota:

   • Conservative, anti-feminist perspective, opposed to diversity, there is only one normal family type, traditional nuclear family with clear division of labour, natural, based on biological differences, family is conrnerstone of society, place of refuge, decline of traditional nuclear family and growth of diversity is cause of many social problems.
   • Lone parent families are unnatural and harmful, especially to children, lone mothers cannot discipline properly, are burden on welfare state, leave boys without role model which results in higher rates of delinquency, disapprove of mothers going out to work, caring for family should be first priority, marriage is basis for creating stable environment in which to bring up kids, cohabitation and divorce create family instability by making it easier for adults to avoid commitment.
   • Amato: children in these families face greater risks of poverty, educational failure, crime and health problems and an increased chance of future family breakdowns, conservative politicians have used evidence to support view that family and society are broken, argue a return to traditional values is necessary to prevent social disintegration.
   • Oppose high levels of taxation and government spending, increase of lone parent families has led to more spending on welfare benefits which has created a bigger tax burden on working population, act as perverse incentives, undermine traditional family by discouraging men to work, encourage dependency culture, favours cutting or abolishing benefits.
   • Criticisms: Oakley - wrongly assume that roles are fixed by biology, cross cultural studies show variation in roles, New Right view is negative reaction againt feminist campaign for equality, traditional nuclear family based on patriarchal oppression of women and fundamental cause of inequality, little evidence that lone parent families are part of a dependency culture.
2. Chesther

   Nota:

   • There has been some increased family diversity, does not regard this as significant or negative, only important change is move from conventional nuclear family to neo conventional family, conventional - division of labour, neo conventional - both spouses work.
   • Most people are not choosing to live in alternatives to the nuclear family, people aspire to the nuclear family, if not part of nuclear family due to life cycle, either have been or will be part of one, statistics are misleading as snapshot of one time,
   • Patterns: most people live in household headed by married couple, most adults marry and have kids, most children reared by two parents, most marriages continue until death, cohabitation has increased but it is temporary phrase, most births outside marriage are jointly registered.
3. Rapoports

   Nota:

   • Diversity is of central importance in understanding family life today, moved to range of family types, diversity represents greater freedom and widespread acceptance of different cultures.
   • 5 types of diversity: organisational - differences in ways family roles are organised, cultural - different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures, social class - differences in family structure are result of income differences, life stage - structures differ according to stage reached in life cycle, generational - older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences.

1. Parsons

   Nota:

   • Instrumental and Expressive roles, functionalist model, husband has instrumental role, is the breadwinner, Wife has expressive role, housewife, based on biological differences, beneficial to men and women.
   • Criticisms: Young and Willmott - men are doing domestic tasks and women are wage earners. Feminists - division is not natural, only benefits men.
2. Conjugal Roles

   Nota:

   • Bott: segregated conjugal roles - couple have separate roles and spend leisure time apart, joint conjugal roles - couple share tasks and spend leisure time together.
   • Young and Willmott: pattern of segregated conjugal roles in traditional working-class extended families in Bethnal Green.
3. Symmetrical Family

   Nota:

   • Young and Willmott: march of progress view, family life gradually becoming more equal, long term trend towards symmetrical family - roles are more similar, women work, men help with housework, couples spend leisure time together, more common in younger families.
   • Reasons: changes in women's position, geographical mobility, new technology, higher standards of living.
4. Feminist View

   Nota:

   • Reject march of progress view, men and women are unequal due to patriarchy.
   • Oakley: criticises Young and Willmott, claims are exaggerated, researched housework, some evidence of husbands helping but no symmetry.
   • Boulton: fewer than 20% of husbands had major role in childcare.
   • Warde and Hetherington: sex typing of domestic tasks is still strong, men would only carry out 'female' tasks when women weren't around, slight evidence of change in attitude in young men.
5. Oakley

   Nota:

   • Rise of housewife role as dominant role for women, industrialisation separated paid work from the home so women were excluded from the workplace and confined to the home, enforced women's subordination, housewife role is socially constructed.

1. Gershuny

   Nota:

   • Wives who worked full time did less domestic work, trend towards equality due to gradual changes in values and parental role models
   • Sullivan: analysed nationally representative data collected in 1975, 1987 and 1997, found trend towards greater equality as men did more domestic labour.
   • Crompton accepts Gershuny's evidence but explains it in terms of economic factors, women's earning power increases relative to men's, they do more work in the home, however earnings are unequal, as long as earnings are unequal the division of labour will be.
2. Commercialisation of housework

   Nota:

   • Silver and Schor: housework has become commercialised - goods are mass produced and supplied, reduces amout of domestic labour, women working - can afford to buy goods, burden of housework has decreased.
   • Criticisms: poorer women cannot buy goods, does not prove couples are sharing chores equally.
3. Dual Burden

   Nota:

   • Women have dual burden of paid work and unpaid housework, Ferri and Smith - evidence of dual burden, increased employment of women has little impact on division of labour, sample of 1589 33yo couples, father took responsibility for childcare in 4% of families.
   • Morris: men who suffered loss of masculine role by being unemployed saw domestic work as female and avoided it. However, Ramos found that in families where man is unemployed, male dometic labour is equal to his partners.
   • Arber and Ginn: working class women cannot afford full day childcare so are trapped in circle of childcare responsibilities and low paid unemployment.
   • Gregson and Lowe: study of employment of domestic help by dual earner middle class families, more economical to employ working class women than for wife to stay at home, working class cannot afford this so carry the dual burden.
4. Emotion Work

   Nota:

   • Hochschild: emotion work is work where the main feature is the management of emotions, done mainly by women in the family.
   • Morgan: applied idea to family, example of caring for a sick child which involves "physical care and monitoring, handling fears... handling adjustments on behalf of other members of the family... and exercising emotional control while doing all of this." 
   • Duncombe and Marsden: women have to do a triple shift of housework, paid work and emotion work.
5. Lesbian Couples

   Nota:

   • Dunne: division of labour continues because of gender scripts - norms that set out different gender roles in heterosexual couples, contrasts with lesbian couples, studied 37 cohabiting lesbian couples, evidence of symmetry, interact in different ways, tasks are not linked to gender scripts, lesbian couples can create more equal relationships.
   • Weeks: same sex relationships offer greater possibilities of equality because division of labour is open to negotiation, not based on patriarchal tradition.

1. Resources

   Nota:

   • Barrett and McIntosh: men gain more from women's domestic work than they give back in financial support, financial support is unpredictable and has strings, men make decisions about spending on important items.
   • Kempson: among low income families, women denied own needs in order to make ends meet.
   • Graham: over half women on benefits after separating from husbands say they are better off, benefits are more reliable source of income.
2. Decision making

   Nota:

   • Pahl and Vogler: two main types of control over income, pooling - both partners have access, allowance system - men give wives allowance for family need and man keeps surplus income, pooling on increase, more common where both partners work full time but men make major financial decisions.
   • Edgell: study of professional couples, very important decisions, eg change of job, made by husband, important decisions, eg children's education, made by both, less important decisions, eg food purchases, made by wife, main reason is men earn more.

1. Official Statistics

   Nota:

   • Yearnshire: women suffer 35 assaults before making a reports, domestic violence is least likely crime to be reported.
   • Cheal: police are reluctant to recond cases as they are not prepared to get involved in the family, they believe family is a private sphere, ignore the darker side to it and believe that a woman could leave but they are usually financially dependent so can't leave.
2. Radical Feminism

   Nota:

   • Dobash and Dobash: marriage legitimates violence against women by conferring power onto men.
   • Millett and Firestone: all societies founded on patriarchy, family is key institution and main source of women's oppression, violence is inevitable feature, serves to maintain men's power.
   • Criticisms: Elliot - rejects claim that all men benefit from domestic violence, not all men are violent and most oppose domestic violence, radical feminism fails to explain female violence, one in seven men have been assaulted by their female partner.
3. Wilkinson

   Nota:

   • Domestic violence is result of stress caused by social inequality, those on low incomes have higher levels of stress, reduces chances of maintaining stable relationships, increases risk of violence