Ruth’s Sociology Resources Blog

Views of the roles of women and men within the family have changed a great deal since Parsons (1955) wrote that the chief function of education for girls was to equip them as mothers!  However, change is ongoing and there are still inequalities.

Conjugal Roles - the Symmetrical Family?

Young & Wilmott (1973) wrote about the Symmetrical Family - they believed that society had reached a point where men and women shared equally the taks of running a home.� The method and findings of their study have since been seriousy questioned and many studies have been carried out looking at the ways in which domestic tasks are divided and the roles taken by men and women in the family.

Dunscombe and Marsden (1993) believe that far from the modern family being symmetrical, women now work what they call a “triple shift” of paid work, housework & childwork and emotional, caring work.

Have a look at some more sociological viewpoints on Conjugal roles and at some of the research on women’s and men’s roles in terms of paid work and decision-making within the family.

Power and Control in the Family

Relationships with the family are based around who has power and control in the family.  There are many different views on this and on how equitable it is.

Some (particularly radical feminists) believe that the nuclear family is intrinsically bad for its members, not only oppressing women but also creating a high pressure atmosphere for all its members.

There is also the issue of domestic violence - darker side of the family

Childhood

Childhood has changed significantly over the past 100 years - children are no longer expected to be “seen and not heard”, instead it is argued by some that the family is now “child-centred” with children as the most important part.� This is due to a number of factors - reduced infant mortality, lower fertility rates, the lengthening of compulsory education and increased affluence to name a few.� The common consensus among sociologists is that childhood is socially constructed rather than being a biological fact - it differs from society to society and changes over time.
There are currently two competing viewpoints on childhood - one says that it is being lengthened as children are increasingly protected and spend longer in education and separated from society. The other viewpoint says that childhood is disappearing as children increasingly join in adult activities, have access to adult media, wear adult clothing, succumb earlier to traditionally adult or adolescent eating disorders ….

Click for more information on the history of childhood and childhood past and present.