Firstly, whether a family live in a symmetrical family or not will have an effect on the divisions of labour. March of Progress theorists (Liberal Feminists) such as Young and Willmott argue that family life is gradually improving for all its members, becoming more equal and democratic. For example, women now go out to work, just as men now help with housework and childcare. However Radical 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.
Linda N. (undated) provides a definition as men holding the position of power and the head of the family unit. They hold the view that women are kept in their place which is being at home looking after their children and being a mother is their main priority in life. This shows inequality between men and women. According to this inequality, the women act in manner of being seen as a good wife, looking after the home and children. This results in the man having more power over the woman as he is the individual working and bringing an income, enabling him to make the decisions whereas the woman would have no power for this to happen.
Feminists believe that marriage remains patriarchal and that men benefit from wives. Feminists reject the idea of ‘one best’ family type, they welcome freedom and diversity. There is more than one feminist perspective, two of which include Marxist feminists and Radical feminists. Marxist feminists emphasise how capitalism uses the family to oppress women, and the harmful consequences of the family to women’s lives. For example Margaret Benston (1972) argued that capitalism benefits from a large army of women – an unpaid workforce – who are compliant and willing to do as they’re told because women have been socialised to act this way and women rears future workers to think the same way.
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.
To what extent is there equal division of domestic labouring the family? 24 marks The DDOL refers to the roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work. Parsons Argues that in a traditional nuclear family the roles of husband and wife are segregated, in his view the husband plays an instrumental role geared towards achieving success at work so he can provide for the family financially. The woman has an expressive role geared towards primary socialisation of children and meeting the family’s emotional needs. Parsons argued this division of labour is based on biological differences between men and women as women are naturally suited towards nurturing role and men to a powerful role.
The home and workplace before the industrial revolution had been virtually the same; however, both had begun to separate. Male and female spheres had separated along with the separation of home and workplace as well. While the men were gaining their income from their jobs in the public sphere, women, still viewed as the primary care takers for the children, were primarily put into the private or “domestic” sphere. To explain why the separation of men and women in the work force was necessary, the ideology of separate spheres was created; it had defined innate characteristics of women. Women were deemed incapable to work and function in public because these traits were thought to make women less capable to do work that the men did.
Women a part of the high caste system are encouraged to take no part in labor activities and are especially restricted to partake in any work outside of the household for financial income. Instead, their sole responsibility is to tend to and care for the husband and children. Those women in the low caste are responsible for completing all house work and if times are tough (financially) they may be asked by their husbands to contribute financially by means of finding work outside of the home. As for those in the lowest caste, women are responsible for everything. Not only are they expected to bring in an income along with their husband, they have to assume all housework without the help of their husband.
The repression of women and the suspicions of a patriarchal society lead to rebellion and hysteria. Suppression prevents female character developing. Miller portrays women as weak, it seems that he uses his own view of women and presents it in the crucible. Hale shows authority over Abigail: ‘You can not evade me Abigail’ here he expresses his control and power, Hale puts pressure onto Abigail to tell the truth; is she lies he knows that she will be believe over him because of his male dominance. The use of ‘evade’ tells Abigail that he cannot be overcome and therefore she cannot overcome god like she has taken control of the Girls.
The way in which Creon and Antigone oppose each other adds fuel to the fire in the conflicts between the sexes. Antigone’s beliefs are the complete opposite of Creon’s in the sense that she believed in respect to the god’s and family over anything else. This upset Creon because Antigone did not respect his views and strongly opposed them. Creon was even more upset because Antigone is a female that is opposing him; if Antigone was a male, Creon would most likely let the opposing views go under the radar, but that is not the case. Creon denying the approval of
I also hink it’s our duty to be the nurturer in the house hold and the husband to be the “bread-winner.” Women wouldnt feel the need to go to work if the men didn’t put us down, or doubt our abilites. I think that women have the right to work just as much as men. I also disagree because we should give jobs to men because women have a job nuturing the family and taking care of the