Couples and Power relationships The domestic division of labour

Which job am I talking about? To Start: Think about… DO YOU WANT A JOB? 50 – 100 hours a week Few holidays Less job satisfaction than assembly line work Job security threatened by divorce Unpaid Involves sharing a bed with your employer Which job am I talking about?

The value of domestic labour In 2004, a report called ‘the value of a mum’(The Legal and General insurance firm) estimated a domestic labour figure. £21,840 per year £407.39 per week

Couples: This topic includes… The domestic division of labour Are couples coming more equal? Resources and decision-making in households Domestic violence The roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work

In the traditional nuclear family… The husband has an instrumental role! The women has an expressive role! Talcott Parsons (1955) Understand: What might these mean? Apply: Can you give an example of the roles that each one might take on? Analyse: Why does Parson think this is how roles are separated in families? Evaluate: How far is this an accurate viewpoint?

Why is this a functionalist view point? Parson’s functionalist theory on the domestic division of labour….. Instrumental role To achieve success at work. To provide financial support for family. ‘Breadwinner’ Expressive role Primary socialisation of the children. Meeting the family’s emotional needs. ‘Home-maker’ Why is this a functionalist view point?

The domestic division of labour Sociologists Key Concepts Parsons Expressive role Instrumental role Bott Segregated conjugal role Joint conjugal role Young and Wilmott March of Progress Symmetrical family Oakley The rise of the housewife role Key sociologists Understand: Summarise the key views of each of the sociologists on the domestic division of labour. Analyse: Label each view as either supporting separate roles or supporting equality within the home. Evaluate: Can any of their viewpoints be evaluated? Think about examples from roles within the home today? What about the evidence that they base their viewpoints on?

How far are men and women becoming more equal? Think about Society today…. How far are men and women becoming more equal? We need to consider a variety of areas….

Two other areas we need to consider: Taking Responsibility for Children Taking Responsibility for Quality Time Complete the questions on how these two areas may or may not be leading to equality in the domestic division of labour. A/A* Extension: Once you’ve completed the questions, can you think of any evaluation/counter arguments of these sociological views?

But why….? 1) Cultural Explanation – division of labour is determined by patriarchal norms and values in our culture. Society expects women to perform domestic labour. They are socialised into this norm form a young age. Apply: Examples of this in real life? 2) Material Explanation - women earn less money than men which means it is more economically beneficial for them to do the childcare and housework while the man as the ‘breadwinner’ brings in the larger proportion of money. Analyse: Complete the comparison sheet of arguments for each explanation. Evaluate: Which explanation do you agree the most with and why?

Resources & Decision Making

Resources & Decision Making = Patriarchal! Inequality similarly exists in terms of decision making and resources. Barrett & McIntosh (1991) Men gain far more from women’s domestic work than they give back in financial support. Financial support from men often comes with strings attached. Men usually make the decisions about spending on important items. In many households women have no entitlement to a share of household resources. The money that she does have she will see as it should be spent on the children. Therefore most women are in poverty, even in houses with adequate incomes!

Are any of these most relevant to households today? Why? Resources & Decision Making = Patriarchal! Pahl & Vogler (Feminist Sociologists) Two main types of control over family income: Allowance System – Men give wives an allowance out of which they have to budget and meet the family’s needs with the man retaining surplus income. Pooling – Both partners have access to income and have joint responsibility for it’s expenditure – e.g. joint bank account. Are any of these most relevant to households today? Why?

Domestic Violence

Methods Link: How might these statistics be evaluated? What do the statistics say? According to official statistics…domestic violence does not occur randomly but follows particular social patterns. 99% of all incidences against women are committed by men Nearly one in 4 women have been assaulted by a partner at some time in their life, and one in 8 repeatedly so The British Crime Survey for England & Wales (2013) found that two million people reported being victims of domestic abuse in the previous year. Methods Link: How might these statistics be evaluated?

Official statistics and domestic violence Understate the true extent of the problem for two main reasons; Victims may be unwilling to report it to the police Police and prosecutors may be reluctant to record, investigate or prosecute cases. The Women’s Aid Federation (2014): domestic violence accounts for between a sixth and a quarter of all recorded violent crime. But could there be more that goes unrecorded? Yearshire found that on average a woman suffers 35 assaults before making a report. Cheal found that state agencies (like police) are reluctant to get involved in the family because they assume that the family is private, good and individuals are free to leave if they wish.

Researching Domestic Violence 1.What problems might there be in defining domestic violence? How would you define it? How might different definitions affect the results of research? 2.Suggest reasons why domestic violence may be under-reported to the police 3.Suggest reasons why the police may not record fully all complaints of domestic violence 4.Suggest some examples of the ways in which interviews might produce invalid results 5.Why might a victim of domestic violence respond differently to questions asked by male and female researchers? 6.Explain what is meant by ‘validity’. How may all these difficulties reduce the validity of a study of domestic violence?

The radical feminist explanation Dobash and Dobash (interviews with women in women’s refuges) – domestic violence is evidence of patriarchy. Men dominate women through domestic violence Domestic violence is part of a patriarchal system and helps to maintain men’s power Evaluation Not all men are aggressive How about female violence against men and children? Lesbian domestic violence? Interviews? A reliable source Women are not all equally at risk of domestic violence, some vulnerable groups are at greater risk. Why? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWQrxVFJ7M&feature=player_embedded

Materialist Explanation Focuses on economic and material factors such as inequality. Some groups (low income) are more at risk than others. Domestic violence results from stress of family members caused by inequality and poverty. Lack of resources, money and time. Wilkinson & Pickett (2010) Evaluation Helps to explain violence in lower classes. Does not explain why women rather than men are the main victims. Marxist feminists: Fran Ansley – ‘wives are the takers of shit’ – agree with this explanation. Capitalism = domestic violence. - But why do all male workers not commit violent acts against their partners?