On the other hand, another group of sociologists believes that families are not symmetrical. This group are known as feminists. A non-symmetrical family is a family where the chores are not shared between couples and that women have to do more work compared to men. The feminists reject the “March of view progress.” Oakley, a sociologist, gives view as to what happens
People are also expecting more from marriage, and women especially are choosing to live alone due to feminist views. One reason for the growth in single hood could be the change in the law for divorce. In 1969 the Divorce Reform Act allowed people to divorce easier, as it meant they could put in place a no fault act. This meant that people didn't feel forced to stay in a marriage that made them unhappy. Furthermore, this would lead to a lot of people expecting more from relationships after getting divorced, as they wouldn't want to fall victim to what cause their last marriage to end again.
Secondly, feminism is another reason that some people believe that nuclear families are no longer the norm. Within the 1940’s women were seen simple as housewives and mother, and education within their life wasn’t even thought about. Essentially they were expected to conform to the nuclear family model. Now women are just as likely to be in paid employment like men and therefore this gives them much more status and independence, which makes the nuclear family less likely. Yet others would argue that even the media still supports nuclear families and is socializing the next generation into thinking that it is right for example ‘The Simpsons’, so despite the increase in divorce and feminism the nuclear family will remain popular in British society.
For example, women now go out to work and become wage earners, just as men now help with housework and childcare. However Feminists reject this theory, and argue that women remain unequal within the family. Anne Oakley argues that we still live in a patriarchal (male dominated) society, and that children are being taught from an early age that the traditional roles are the norm. She also rejects Parsons Theory of saying that it is controlled by biology she believes it is controlled by society. Overall it could therefore be
For example, women now go out to work, just as men now help with housework and childcare. However Feminists reject the ‘March of Progress’ theory, and argue that women remain unequal within the family. Anne Oakley argues that we still live in a patriarchal (male dominated) society, and therefore women occupy a subordinate and dependant role within the family and wider society. In addition in Mary Boulton’s research backed this, she found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a majority role in childcare. Overall it could therefore be argued that rather than partners becoming more equal, women now have to carry a ‘dual burden’, whereby she is responsible for two jobs of unpaid or paid labour.
Moving Forward Michelle Oliveira HIS 204 George Aleman 10/19/2012 For centuries in America women were thought to be inadequate to that of men. Women were in charge of the cooking, the cleaning, raising children among other less than appealing tasks. Still today, many of these views have not completely changed from our society, but in the United States during the twentieth century, many of the roles that Americans had become familiar with began to change radically. Women wanted equality and fought for it not only at home but in the work place, in education and the military and in other areas as well. During the nineteenth century, when the Women’s Movement was beginning, many schools were established
Using material from item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that gender roles and relationships have become more equal in modern life (24 marks) There are a variety of sociologists that have different views about whether they think gender roles and relationships have become more equal in modern family life. A few are mentioned in item 2B, for example Gershuny. Jonathan Gershuny discovered that even women in part time work performed more housework over all, and couples whose parents had a more equal relationship were more likely to share housework more equally between themselves. He acknowledges the fact that women are now working full-time and argues that social values are gradually adapting to this. He also mentions that even though men are now performing more housework, they still tend to take responsibility for different tasks, for example pet care, gardening and DIY work.
New right thinkers however; believe that these laws undermine the traditional male dominance in families, but many believe these new policies for women and children strengthen the family rather than weaken it. Sociologists such as new right thinkers argue that the Labour party has constructed a ‘nanny state’ which over-intervenes in personal living arrangements. The Labour party have constructed many laws beneficial for women in families as they have realised most families now rely of two
Another sociologist, Michael Anderson found evidence that extended families developed more during industrialisation because while parents were away at work, grandparents or uncles and aunts were there to look after the children so in return the extended kin get looked after too. Peter Laslett, an English historian disagreed and found that after industrialisation, nuclear families was more dominated than the extended family and single parent families became popular
However, some women joined the work force and would do jobs that men previously had held. Some were not forced to, but they had to work as hard as they could to support their families during this difficult time. In contrast, the writer Norman Cousins commented that there was a negative opinion on the women’s presence in the workforce despite women willing to acquire a living wage. He also stated in his book that the federal government proscribed holding government jobs by both members of a married couple, and many localities stopped hiring women whose husbands with a minimum wage (Cousins 1939). Another aspect of the Depression affecting life of women was the moral argument against working-women.