1. Topic 3: Gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society
Different sociological arguments and evidence on this, including an understanding of the extent of changes and also diversity of experiences.
Dunscombe and Marsden, Pahl, Dunne
Different aspects of relationships, eg domestic labour, childcare, domestic violence, finance, dual burden triple shift etc.
Pahl and Vogler, Dobash and Dobash, Gershuny

2. Domestic division of labour
Key Words
Domestic division of labour
Segregated family
Symmetrical family
Egalitarian
March of progress
Dual burden
Triple shift
New Man

3. In Pairs … Key Questions
Do men and women share housework and childcare equally?
Do men and women have equal say in family decisions and do they get equal shares of the household’s income?
Why does domestic violence occur and who commits it?
Start – Discuss Men and women share domestic labour and childcare equally. 1 – Not at all 10- all the time

5. Start. – Say What You See?

6. Roles in the family

7. Watch the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9v2hcsL5i0
Would you say this couple are part of a symmetrical family?

8. What do we already know?
Functionalists
New Right
Feminists
Marxists
What do you think the following have to say about male/female roles within the family.

9. Theoretical Perspectives on Division of Labour
Functionalist
Liberal Feminist
Marxist-Feminist
Radical Feminist

10. Theoretical Perspectives on Division of Labour
Functionalist – sexual division of labour is natural and innevitable – women are naturally suited to the expressive role.
Liberal Feminist – women have made real progress in terms of equality. If we address attitudes and behaviour future will bring more equality.
Marxist-Feminist – housewife role serves the needs of capitalism (2 for 1) maintains the present workforce and reproduces future labour power.
Radical Feminist – Women are the exploited group – the housewife role is created by patriarchy and serves the needs of men.

13. 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
Egalitarian
Oakley
The rise of the housewife role
The roles that men and women play in relation to housework, childcare and paid work

14. Young and Wilmott (1973) The Symmetrical Family
Segregated Conjugal roles
Joint Conjugal roles
The Symmetrical Family
Eventually – all families will be symmetrical - EGALITARIAN
March of Progress

15. 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
£ per week

16. It appears that housework is a relatively modern invention
It appears that housework is a relatively modern invention. In pre-industrial times, household tasks were not clearly distinguished from more general economic tasks, such as working on the farm, tending to the animals, baking
and the various
activities of cottage
industries
(Pahl, 1948).

17. During the Industrial Revolution, men became increasingly identified with the public world of production and wage labour, while women were confined to the private sphere of consumption and the home.

18. The husband has an instrumental role!
In the traditional nuclear family…
The husband has an instrumental role!
The women has an expressive role!
Talcott Parsons (1955)

19. ‘Home-maker’ ‘Breadwinner’ 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’

20. Parsons argues that this division of labour is based on biological differences, with women ‘naturally’ suited to the nurturing role. He claims that the division of labour is beneficial to both men and women.
What benefits do you think Parsons imagines with this view?
Can you think of any criticisms of this approach?

21. Thinking allowed?
Is it natural that women take responsibility for children?
This is still a popular view of the New Right.
Or does this set-up benefit certain groups of people?

22. Joint Conjugal Roles – Bott (1957)
Two ways which household jobs can be shared.
Segregated Roles
Husband and wives lead separate lives and have distinct roles (Homemaker/Breadwinner) Leisure activities are separate.
Joint Roles
Husband and wife are more flexible in that they share tasks and spend their leisure time together.

23. Young and Wilmott (1973) The Symmetrical Family
Segregated Conjugal roles
Joint Conjugal roles
The Symmetrical Family
Eventually – all families will be symmetrical - EGALITARIAN
March of Progress

25. The Symmetrical Family
Roles of husbands and wives – are not identical are now much more similar.
Women go out to work
Men help with housework / childcare
Couples spend time together – home-centred (privatised)
Longitudinal study – Bethnal Green.
Symmetrical families were more likely in:
younger couples
who were geographically and socially isolated
more affluent.

26. So why/how has the symmetrical family evolved?
Changes in women’s position
Geographical mobility
Higher standards of living
New technology and labour saving devices

27. The rise of the New Man
“A man who has modern ideas about the relations between men and women, and believes that men should share the work of looking after the home and caring for the children.”

28. How do you measure domestic labour?
Attitude surveys
Time use studies
Observation
Analysis and
Evaluation A03

29. Attitudes to Domestic Tasks 2001

30. Time Spent on Chores 2001

31. Time Spent on Leisure Activities 2001

33. Did you know that on average, men have half an hour extra free time each day?

34. Oakley: 'The Sociology of Housework' (1974)
Oakley studied 40 London housewives. 20 were middle class, 20 working class. Her findings are very different to Willmott & Young.
She found they were as alienated by their work as factory workers were by their work.

35. She found... Women spent, on average, 77 hours on housework per week!
70% of women were dissatisfied with being a housewife.
Many women felt lonely – trapped at home
The husbands saw housework as their wives ‘job’ – they were the helpers.
Women also believed housework was their job – men who did housework were ‘not real men’ and they wanted their men ‘to be men’.

36. Oakley (1974)
Oakley argues that men only have to do a few tasks around the house to qualify as having joint roles.
Oakley’s research found that it was rare for men to do a lot of housework. She also saw how 10 minutes washing up for a man was the equivalent to an hour of hoovering for a woman.
All of the above was a critique of Willmott and Young's study!

37. The feminist view - Oakley
Rejects ‘March of Progress view’.
Men and women remain unequal within the family and women do most of the housework.
The fact that men are seen as ‘helping’ women more does not prove symmetry. It shows that the responsibility of housework is still the woman’s.
Even though more women work, the housewife role is still the women’s primary role
Research findings
15% of husbands had a high level of participation in housework
25% high level in childcare (but only in the more pleasurable aspects)
Men take on the more pleasurable household tasks

38. Other research to support Oakley’s findings
Warde – sex-typing of domestic tasks is still strong. Women are 30 times more likely to do the washing and men 4 times more likely to wash the car.
Office for National statistics – women spend on average 2.5 hours a day on housework. Men spend 1 hour.
Boulton – only 20% of husbands have a major role in childcare

39. Are couples becoming more equal?
Symmetrical Families?
Are couples becoming more equal?

40. Are relationships more equal?
March of progress
Feminist perspective

41. Jonathon Gershuny: the trend towards equality
Wives who work full time do less housework
Couples whose parents had more equal relationships were more likely to share housework
The longer a women has been in paid work, the more housework her husband is likely to do.
Research Method: Time studies. Pps fill in a time-record of how long they spend on each task.

42. March of Progress?
Sullivan (2000) = trend towards women doing a smaller share of domestic work and men doing more ‘women’s’ tasks.
British Social Attitudes (2013)
Fewer people believe it is the man’s job to earn the money and woman’s role to stay at home.

43. The feminist view 1. New Man is a myth. 2. How much do men really do?
2012 – Men do 8 hours housework per week = women do 13 hours. Men spend 10 hours on caring whilst women spend 23 hours.
3. Who does what? Still gender divide in tasks.

44. Ferri and Smith (1996) The Dual Burden
Working women acquire the dual burden of full-time work alongside unpaid housework. A sample of 1, year old mothers and fathers – only 4% took main responsibility for childcare
Dex & Ward (2007) Fathers had high levels of involvement with their three year olds – only 1% took responsibility when they were sick.
Background Fathers

45. Duncombe and Marsden (1995) Emotion Work – Triple Shift
Emotion work – management of one’s own and other peoples emotions. Care of a sick child. Women are expected to do this on top of paid work, housework and emotion work.

46. Dunscombe and Marsden (1995)
The Triple Shift

47. Mini-plenary Looking at the evidence. Do you want to change?
Men and women share domestic labour and childcare equally.
1 – Not at all all the time

48. Why are relationships unequal?
Cultural Explanation
Material Explanation
DDOL determined by patriarchal norms, values and expectations.
Women earn less than men, so it is economically rational for women to do more housework and childcare and for men to earn money.

49. Evidence? Cultural explanation Material explanation
Gershuny – importance of parental role models.
Man Yee Kan – younger men do more than older men.
Dunne – lesbian couples have more symmetrical relationships – different norms.
Man Yee Kan – every 10K a women earns she does 2 hours less housework.
Ginn – middle class women buy in help to reduce their time.
Sullivan – women who work part-time do more housework.

50. Dunne (1999) Lesbian couples and gender scripts
In a study of 37 Lesbian couples with children – lesbians are more likely to:
Describe their relationship as equal.
Share housework and childcare.
Give equal importance to both careers.
View childcare positively.
Heterosexuals are under pressure to conform to gender scripts by performing different domestic tasks that suit their gender identity.

51. Activity: Evidence of Equal Roles?
Evidence For
Evidence against

52. Summary
There is some evidence that a woman being in paid work leads to more equality, however many feminist argue that the effect of this is limited: women still continue to shoulder a duel or triple burden.

53. Resources and Decision-Making
Is there inequality in how the families resources are shared out?
Who controls the family income?
Who has the power to make decisions about how it is spent?

54. Pairs Activity: Who decides what?
Possibility of Moving
The Types of house to move to
Finance decisions about whether to take out a loan
Who chooses the Make and Type of Car
Who chooses decoration in the house
The child’s school
Where to go on holiday
What to do at the weekend
Other leisure activities
Furniture
Food and Domestic shopping
What the children wear

55. Resources and Decision-Making
Barrett & McIntosh (1991)
Men gain far more from women’s domestic work than they give back.
Men’s financial support comes with ‘strings’.
Men usually make the decisions about spending on important items.

56. Pahl and Vogler (1993) Two Types of Financial Control
Pooling: Both parents have equal access to income and ‘pool’ their earnings (eg, joint bank account)
Allowance system: Father gives Mother an allowance out of which the Mother budgets to meet the family needs. (Father keeps the rest)

57. Pahl & Vogler (1993) Comparing a sample of 1,211 couples with their parents. Pooling is on the increase 19% to 50% of couples. Pooling more common if both partners work full-time but men still make the major financial decisions.
Hardill (1997) 30 dual career couples. Important decisions taken either jointly or by man alone. Man’s career is more important took priority when deciding to move house.

58. Edgell’s (1980) Professional Couples
Finance, Moving House – taken by husband alone or jointly (but husband had final say)
Very Important Decisions
Children’s education, holiday – taken jointly (seldom by wife alone)
Important Decisions
Paint colours, shopping – Usually made by wife alone.
Less Important Decisions

59. Decision-making Cultural explanations Material explanation
Result of patriarchal assumptions about who is best at decision-making.
Gender role socialisation.
Men earn more money, therefore have more say in decision-making.

60. The meaning of money Does pooling resources mean equal relationships?
Once pooled, men could still be the ones to decide on how to spend it.
Personal life perspective.
Gay and Lesbian relationships do not give the same importance to who controls the purse strings. They do not have same baggage around power and money.
Sociologists need to consider the meanings attached to these behaviours and not assume they mean equality.

61. Activity
Where would you add these studies in terms of the Move Towards Equality continuum.

62. Summary
Inequalities in decision-making reflect a patriarchal society where men are the decision makers, a role ingrained at birth and reproduced through socialisation.

63. Starter: Review Gender Roles
Joint Conjugal Roles
Separate Conjugal Roles
Symmetrical Family
Egalitarianism
Domestic Division of Labour
Dual Burden
Triple Shift
New Man
Decision-making
Pooling Vs Allowance
Gershuny
Hardil
Oakley
Edgell

64. Dark side of family life
Domestic violence
Dark side of family life

65. Lesson Objectives:
To understand the nature and extent of domestic violence
To analyse and evaluate how often and why domestic violence may occur within the family

66. The ‘dark side’ of the family
Abuse, domestic violence and power struggles in the family are often called the ‘dark side’ of family life.
This area of sociology is concerned with:
- Violence (domestic/child abuse)
- Control (by partners and the state)
- Inequality (unequal roles/rights etc)
- Psychological harm

67. Activity: define domestic violence
What type of acts does it include?
What is the difference between child abuse and domestic violence?
Who are the victims?
Who are the perpetrators?
How common is it?
Complete Dominoes activity on statistics.

68. ‘physical, psychological, sexual or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. It may involve partners, ex-partners, household members or other relatives.’

69. 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence over their lifetimes

70. 570,000 incidents per year

71. 1,300 calls a day made to the Police about Domestic Violence (about 1 call every minute)

72. 17% of women that were raped by strangers in 2001

73. 45% of women raped by current partners in the UK

74. 40% of female deaths that are at the hands of partners or ex-partners

75. What is domestic violence?
Hard to define.
The power of men to control female partners by physical force.
But is it always physical?
Sclater (2000) says that kicking and punching is easily recognisable as violent – but what about other behaviours?
Threats / verbal abuse / psychological manipulation / sexual intimidation. These are harder to categorise and may not be viewed by some as domestic violence

76. Sociologists challenge the view that acts of Domestic Violence are carried out by a few ‘disturbed’ individuals
Too common and widespread 1/6 of all crime is domestic violence.
Domestic Violence is not random – follows patterns
Most victims are women
1 in 4 women have been assaulted – 1 in 8 repeatedly so.

77. Official Statistics: Underestimate the true extent of domestic violence.
Women may be unwilling to report it.
Police may be reluctant to record.
A woman suffers 35 assaults before she goes to the police. Crime least likely to be reported.
Cheal (1991)
The family is a private sphere
Family is a good thing – so agencies do not see the ‘darker’ side of family life.
Women are free to leave if they are unhappy.

78. Clips -
- NHS - Kiera - Teens - children

79. Key Study 1 Dobash and Dobash (1979)
Brought domestic violence to peoples attention in the 1970’s by interviewing female victims of domestic violence.
They initially found in the 1970’s, that the police did not tend to record reports of violence against females by their husbands.
When women are the victims of rape, assault and murder – it is usually at the hands of a family member, and most likely, a partner.

80. Key Study 2 Stanko (2000)
Statistics on domestic violence -remember her name.
A woman is killed by her current or ex partner every 3 days (2 per week)
570,000 cases reported every year in UK
A incident of domestic violence happens every 6-20 seconds in the UK

81. Key Study 3 Cheal (1991)
Argues that police and agencies are often reluctant to become involved in domestic violence issue because they assume:
That the family is a private sphere
That the family is a good thing, and so they fail to see the ‘dark side’ of the family
That people are free agents – if a woman experience DV, she should leave

82. Mirrlees-Black has suggested that in addition to male-female violence , there are other social groups at greater risk of domestic violence (either commiting it, or being the victim of it) See if you can unscramble them…
RICHLEND (8) CLASSICAL WOOLS (3-6-5) STERNER (7) MICE OWL ON (3, 6) RED RUGS US (4, 5) COCOA HILLS (10)

83. Mirrlees-Black has suggested that in addition to male-female violence , there are other social groups at greater risk of domestic violence (either commiting it, or being the victim of it) See if you can unscramble them…
Children (8) Low Social Class (3-6-5) Renters (7) Low Incomes (3, 6) Drug Users (4, 5) Alcoholics (10)

84. ‘All men are rapists’ Memorable quote:
Brownmiller (1976) Radical Feminist
Men are biologically different
Heterosexual sex is an act of violation and domination of men over women.

85. Rad Feminist View
All societies founded on Patriarchy Men are the enemy – oppressors of women. Family is the key of oppression. Within family, men dominate women with violence or the threat of it. Widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of a patriarchal society – preserves male power. Male-dominated institutions (Police and Courts) are reluctant to challenge this.

86. Critique of Rad Fem
Not all men are aggressive – most opposed to violence.
Rad Fem – fails to explain female violence (child abuse and violence against men).
1 in 7 men have been assaulted, 1 in 20 repeatedly so (Mirlees-Black)

87. Wilkinson: Domestic Violence, Inequality and Stress
Domestic Violence is the result of stress on family members caused by social inequality.
Stress caused by worries about money, jobs, housing may cause domestic conflict.
Not all people are in danger of suffering domestic violence – certain social groups more likely.
Critique – Does not explain why women rather than men are the main victims.

88. Fran Ansley: Marxist Feminist
Wives are ‘takers of shit’.
Domestic violence is the product of capitalism.
Male workers are exploited, alienated and take out frustration at home.

89. New Right – Dysfunctional Families
Domestic violence is more likely to take place in dysfucntional families – unstable families – caused by increase in cohabitation and divorce. Little evidence to support this.

90. Functionalists are criticised (most commonly by Feminists) for ignoring these aspects of family life.
They idealise the family, and ignore the fact that for many individuals, the family can be a place of violence, abuse and torment.

91. 1991 Marital rape law Before 1991, marital rape was not illegal

92. What point is being made here?

93. Reasons why women don’t come forward…
They love their partners, and think they can change them.
They blame themselves in some way (‘I deserved it’).
They feel they might not be taken seriously.
They are afraid of the repercussions (more violence: repeat victimisation)

94. Campaigns against Domestic Violence
- Amnesty International Campaign

95. DDOL - 2 markers Define ‘dual burden’ (2 marks)
Explain what is meant by ‘triple shift’ (2 marks)
Explain why the pooling system of managing household finances may not always show equality (2)
Explain what is meant by ‘symmetrical family’ (2)
Define ‘conjugal roles’ (2)
Explain the difference between expressive and instrumental roles. (2)

96. DDOL – 6 markers
Outline 3 characteristics of the symmetrical family. (6)
Explain three reasons why domestic violence may not be reported. (6)
Outline three reasons why some people argue that family life is more egalitarian. (6)
Explain three reasons why feminist writers object to the conclusion that we live in symmetrical relationships (6)
Suggest three ways in which women’s domestic roles have changed over the last 50 years. (6)
Suggest three ways in which men’s role as parents may have changed in recent years. (6 marks)

97. DDOL – 10 markers
Analyse two reasons for the patterns of domestic violence. (10)
Outline the arguments that decision-making is now equal in couples. (10)
Examine the evidence that men and women share the housework equally. (10)

98. DDOL – 20 markers
Evaluate the view that the division of labour in couples is now equal. (20 marks)
Assess the view that over time, conjugal roles within the family have become more equal. (20 marks)
Examine the patterns of, and reasons for, domestic violence in society. (20 marks)
Evaluate sociological explanations for inequalities between husbands and wives. (24 marks)

100. Explain what is meant by ‘conjugal roles’
(2 marks)
Conjugal roles refer to the roles in the family played by husbands and wives, or by partners if the couple are not married. Usually it means how couples divide up domestic tasks and childcare, and also whether they spend their leisure time together or apart. Bott identified joint and segregated conjugal roles.

101. (b) Identify two criticisms that have been made of the ideas of Willmott and Young on the ‘symmetrical family’ (4 marks)
Feminists argue that roles have not become more symmetrical and that women still do much more than men in the home, even when the women are in paid employment.
Other sociologists argue that Willmott and Young did not take account of family diversity, and that there are many different ways of organising family life, i.e. they seemed to assume that all families would be more or less the same.

102. (c) Suggest three ways in which women’s domestic roles have changed over the last 50 years (6 marks)
Three ways in which women’s domestic roles have changed are:
Women spend a smaller part of their lives looking after children as families have become much smaller;
Women now have lots of labour-saving devices to make housework easier, such as washing machines and dishwashers;
Women are now usually a breadwinner as well as housewife / mother.