TOPIC D – THE FAMILY

WEEK 16 – INDEX
- Ways role conflict affects different family members
- Key concepts around the family

*READ CHAPTER 18 for Monday 22, August

GROUP LEARNING
What is a family?
- A socially recognized group of two or more individuals joined by kinship (affinity, blood), but
into practice it is a lot more
- A social institution, the/a central social institution
- There is family choice (no by blood)
- Kinship through affinity is the relationship between two or more that emerges due to the
marriage of two individuals
- The key functions for individuals (family has an impact in individuals and societies) and in the
economic system (capital)
-
Still or now are other players?

*Review other social institutions beside the family

- government, economy, education and religion, community, media, environment, politics,
health, law and work, marriage

*Social institution: serves a basic need of society, system that helps to organize society, provides
structure, systems of social norms and social roles, to shape the individual behaviour
Social institutions are necessarily to keep society organised and allow society to function.
Each social institution has a specific goal to control society
Without social institutions we die, and the purpose of society is to survive
Social institutions are designs by members of the society to stablish norms, rules to shape our
behaviour and we can live together and survive.
Create stable patterns of interaction based on mutual expectation and contribute to stability.
Social institutions are an interrelated system of social norms and social roles that are organised and
provide patterns of behaviour to meet social needs of society.
Social institutions change over time and they shape our behaviour
One thing is a social institution and other one is the building
Social institution Building
religion church
education School, university
*State is the structure (institutions will remain) and government (who manages the state) -governments
can come and go, but state will remain-
Image of ideal family
Traditional family: mother, father, kids
There is consensus about it because we had tacitly designed and agreed that this is the best option in
other to survive as society.
Other constructions: single parent, homosexual couple, adoption,
In Peru the majority are the single parent households (mother)
Design an advertisement
DISCUSSION
- What is normal? Tacit consensus/agreement
- How is normal defined?
- How is normal measured?
- How does normal apply to the family?
- Is the family a social construct?
LECTURE
- Key concepts: family, culture, norms, values, primary & secondary socialization, consensus,
roles, role conflict. Examples
Values: ideas and beliefs about what are right & wrong. Standards that society believes are worth
maintaining and achieving. Values provide general guidelines for behaviour. Values are backed
up by norms and sometimes laws.
Ex: in Japan the values of respect and honour are important.
In Switzerland the punctuality is an essential value.

Norms: Much more specific than values. Norms put values into practice in specific situations. Norms
are social and cultural rules that define what is correct & acceptable behaviour expected from
people. Informally enforced by the rest of society. When you do not comply with these, society
disapproves.
Ex:
Values and norms are part of the culture in any society. The v&n are learned & passed through
socialization, gen by gen. These v&n differ from society to society and change in time.
Asia, take your shoes off before entering a house
Asia
Covering your mouth while coughing

primary & Socialization is the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society
secondary Identities are formed through socialization processes
socialization Within the socialization process there are a number of factors that influence our identities and
how others see us.
Socialization takes place through processes of interaction within which individuals are actively
engaged.
Primary socialization from the pov of family: the moment of most intense cultural learning,
happens at childhood. Takes place within the family and our near community. We learn basic
values and norms; we get a sense of who we are as individuals and get elements of our social
identity. elements of our social identity in the primary socialization hardly change. We learn
basic behavioural patterns. In developed countries it normally takes place in small, scaled
families. In underdeveloped countries…
In Latin America is a “community work” how to raise a children, everyone have an opinion.
People beyond the nuclear family interacts in the socialisation process.
Secondary socialization: beyond the family and the community (friends, work, media, social
media, school, religion, etc.) We have free will to create our own identity and influence how
others see us. (Usually, it is thought that we are influenced by others, but it is not the case, we
are not victims of society or others in the process of socialization. We are active actors in such
a process.) We design our own identity and we can influence how others see us.

Roles: Role is a pattern of behaviour that describes what is expected from people in different positions
 in society. Roles are central or key to learn for socialization, they are a central part of the
socialization process.
Ex:
Role when some of your roles overlap each other and one needs to remain and eliminate the other.
conflict: Ex. women that is a mother and worker, being a mother full time mother gets into conflict with
being a full-time worker
CEO of a company that is a friend of an employer, the CEO need to maintain the professional
way. Both role of friend and employer.
Man that is a ballet dancer: issue what means to be a man, being male
A friend and a property owner

Consensus: acceptance or agreement

The concept of family is created by human beings which means it changes through time and
through society to society meaning it is a social construct.
Role: a pattern of behaviour that describes what is expected from
Social concept of family is a social construct
construct: To be a social construction there must be a certain level of acceptance or consensus from most
of a society.

Role: a pattern of behaviour that describes what is expected from people in different positions in
society (motherhood, students, politicians, presidents of association)

- Family as a social construct

- Social constructions of family. Examples
- Different types of families. Include the normal one
 Normal one: mother, father, children
 Other constructions: single parent, homosexual couple, adoption,
- Family types – statistics 2 countries
In Peru the majority are the single parent households (mother)
What type to family is your target, create a publicity, product/service

BUILDING THINKING SKILLS

- Do concepts enable the understanding of family?
INDEPENDENT STUDY
- Explain two concepts’ sociologists use in their analysis of the family
- Describe the ideal family and justify your decisions
- Explain two impacts of role conflict on: fathers, male children

My ideal family:
Mother, father, siblings (at least 2 more  1 sister and 1 brooder) and a strong relation with
grandparents and the other members of a family, trust, strong relationships, support, love, empathy
Parents: heterosexual,
Family
Family is a group of people that have a relationship and a connection between them, it is not
necessarily to be joined by blood, but affinity. One have a family that is designated by blood, but they
can create a new family

WEEK 17 – INDEX
- Ways agencies of socialization reinforce social stability
- Ways individuals and families are affected by processes of social control
- Differences in family types

LECTURE
- What makes us what we are?
Our ideals, ways of thinking, values, personalities, relationships the way we interact with other
1. Biological one: genetics, abilities
2. Environmental one: personalities, ideals, the way we think and relate to others
- Nature vs nurture / Biology or environment
1. Nature: biology, stuff set before birth, cannot naturally change
- Nurture:
2. the relationships and the environment surround me is responsible for a specific aspect for
who I am
Sociologists biggest concern is the nurture side of the debate: the effect that society have
on our behaviour
*Theories about society:
- Structural functionalism: socialisation as essential to society because it perpetuates
culture by transmitting it to new generations
- Feminism theory: socialisation reproduces inequality from one generation to the next
one
- Marxist conflict theory: socialisation reproduces class inequality from one generation to
the next one
- Feminist conflict theory: socialisation reproduces gender inequality from one generation
to the next one
- Interactionist theory: concern with face-to-face interaction and symbolic communication
among these interaction
- Feral Children: Oxana Malaya www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkX47t2QaRs
LECTURE
- Role of agencies of socialization
 Socialisation is critical to individuals and to society and provide the tools through which
we can gradually see our selves
 Societies depend on socialisation to ensure survival
Agencies of socialisation: groups or social contexts in which significant socialisation takes
place. They provide sides/structure for socialisation processes but do not determine the
outcome. Are not an imposition, because we can interpret thee socialisation processes in our
way, we are not passive actors but active ones
 FAMILY: Social group of two or more people related who usually live together. The
most influential setting of socialisation, ideally the parents will teach their children to be
well integrated and contributing members of society. Family socialisation continues
through life cycle.
 PEER GROUPS:
 MASS MEDIA: average person spends 4 hours in front of the TV. Have a great
influence. People learn about technology, transportation. Non material culture: what is
true, what is important and what is true
 WORK
It prepares individual for particular social roles
Cultivates sources of meanings and values to ensure consensus
To teach impose control to prevent/ minimise deviance
Constrain individuals with force or cohesion when necessarily
 Why are wealthy parents more likely than poor parents to socialise their children towards to
creativity and problem solving?
a. Wealthy parents never engage in repetitive tasks.
b. Wealthy parents are socialising their children towards the skills of white-collar
employment.
c. Wealthy parents are more concern with money than a good education
d. Wealthy parents are not concerned about their children rebelling against their rules
Which one of the following is not a way people are socialised by religion?
a. An individual’s personal, internal experience of a divine leads to their faith
b. Places of worship provide a space for share group experiences
c. People learn the material culture of their religion.

- List agencies of socialization. Organize by importance. Justify

1. Family
2. Education place
3. Peers
4. Media
The order can change over the years and in societies
There are other factors: age, own temperament

- Primary & secondary socialization

- Social stability. How is achieved. Why is important

Social stability: The range of life structure and reliable routine that is protective against further
situational hazards and helps maintain connections with social resources and societal
expectations.
Why is important
Purpose: maintain order to survival
How is achieved? / characteristics
Quality of life: mientras major calidad de vida tengan, mas van a querer apoyar para que se
achievee
Public services: government provide services help individual to stay alive. Can maintain
people so they don’t need to act in survival mode.
Education: contributes your life chances. Education gives better income and better income give
stability.
Employment rate
Crime rate
Immigration/Emigration rates
Political conflicts
https://simplicable.com/en/social-stability
DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE: corruption
*in conservatives countries marriage could be related to stability.
Some factors that demonstrate that a country has achieved social stability.
Welfare state: public social policies within a capitalist economic system. They give
opportunities to citizens.
Some factors that demonstrate that a country has not achieved social stability/
dysfunctional of the social stability.
1. A decrease of heterosexual marriage/ increase of homosexuals: In super conservative
culture countries, the Islamic ones: an increase in the number of homosexuals (for them it is
 crime), homosexuals aren’t part/ don’t fit of the “normal people and the pattern of behavior
this society determine”
2. Weak central government
3. High rates of hunger
4. Rush in medical technology: could lead to a lot of risks
5. Don’t respect confidentiality
6. High rates of homelessness
7. A society where matriarchy arises
8. Emerging of more family diversity
9. Absence of religion
10. Not having kids / low rate of childbirth
11. High rate of divorce
12. Having most women with high income

REFLECTION
- Social stability as a social construct. What aspects are not needed? What phenomena
indicates the lack of it?

Why social stability is a social construct?

Because every country can give their own meaning to social stability and the factors that
determine it can change in different countries and through the years. For example, in more
conservative countries marriage is an indicator of social stability and for others it has nothing to do
with it. In some countries they could give more importance to some indicators such as religion in
Islamic culture countries and the respect the people have to it and other with more freedom not.
Ancient Rome: stability  being in war because it means they would gain more territory and
now is a characteristic of social disorder.
It is related to patterns, structure, social control (can be achieved without social control?)

LECTURE
- Do Agencies of socialization as agencies of social control
Social control: we need predictability, organization, and control to survive
Order and predictability to get structure what avoids chaos and disruption Conformity and
compliance: sociologists believe there are two ways of performing social control: the formal
and informal way
Formal control is the process of ensuring that we adhere to formal social rules that are usually
presented in laws/ regulations. There are punishments if somebody deviates those norms.
Informal control is the process of ensuring individuals to perform social standards but are
unofficial and are enforce by our peers/friends/family/ community rather than
government/police. The punishments are based on the reaction of society around them but are
not clearly pointed out, are unwritten.

GROUP LEARNING
- What happens when individuals resist the processes of social control?
Rewards/sanction that are used by different agencies of socialisation in order to ensure social
control

LECTURE
- Define family types. Examples
INDEPENDENT STUDY
- Explain nature vs nurture
- Define the term agency of socialization
- Describe one process of social control
- Explain why social stability is important
- Explain one way the family reinforces social stability
- C0mpare ways the education system and religion reinforce social stability (300 words)
- Compare two ways mass/social media cause social stability to breakdown
- Justify what you consider to be the least important purpose of social control (200 words)
- Explain evidence from two countries which shows how the family reinforces social stability
(500 words)

WEEK 18 – INDEX
- Differences in family types
- Trends in family structures
- Impact of changing roles and relationships within the family
- Comparison of sociological explanations of family diversity

GROUP LEARNING
- Investigate trends in family structures (statistics in structures/types from different countries &
match to own country)1

REFLECTION
- What are the benefits and limitations of family diversity?
- For what reasons would you encourage or discourage family diversity? Justify

LECTURE
- Sociologists on family diversity
 The Rise of the Neo-Conventional Family – Robert Chester (1985)
The nuclear family is still the most important institution.
Most people will still get married, have children, and these children will be raised by their
parents.
Despite the rise in rates of divorce, most people that get married, remain married.
Most households are led by a married couple.
 Affluent Workers Revisited – Fiona Devine (1992)
Research about the kinship patterns of a group of manual workers in the UK.
Even though most of the workers lived in nuclear family households, all the rest of the family
maintained strong and regular contact as well as emotional ties.
 Is Marriage a Patriarchal Institution? – Delphy & Leonard (1992)
Studies of workers during 3 decades.
Men benefit disproportionately from the institution of family.
Reflects inequality.
 The Emerging British Underclass – Charles Murray (1992)
Argues that the recent trends in family life, particularly lone parents are illegitimate.
Playing a key role in the emergence in the large and growing underclass (population that has
undesirable behaviours).
1
Definition of monogamous and polygamous family
 Related to the New Right sociological perspective.
 Growing Up with a Single Parent – McLanahan & Sandefur (1994)
The negative impact on children of living in a single parent family.
Children from these families have poor outcomes such as higher rates of school drop out,
delinquency, lower educational levels, unemployment, etc.
The fact that the parents break up, leads to a significant reduction in the children’s life chances
(their access to economic, cultural and community resources).

- Ways family membership can affect mental health

- Causes of domestic and sexual violence
- Ways poverty affects family members
- Impacts of problems which can occur in families
- Key features of sociological theories of the family

LECTURE
- Problems connected with/affecting the family
 Poverty - child poverty
 Domestic violence and sexual abuse
 Mental health
 Access to life chances

 What problems would you identify?

 Extent of them. How would this be evidenced?
 Lone parents are more likely to poverty
 Lone mothers are more likely to be poor
 Lone parenting is likely to have mental problems
 Lone parents experience 2x more psychological stress
 Children (2-15) from lone parenting twice as likely to have mental health problems
than the ones raised
 More trouble in school
 15% problems with their teachers
 More likely to run away (40% vs. 7% in couple families)
 Have these problems existed for a long time or are they recent?
 What major issue would you identify as an outcome of some of these problems?
 Do these problems occur outside family life?
 Are certain family types more prone to these problems?
 In what position would you list the family as a socialization agent?

LECTURE
- Sociological theories of the family
 Functionalism. Parsons & Murdock. Functionalist views till current?
Society: they see everything, make an analogy of sociology with the human body. The members
of society and institution are the organs we have within our body. All of them are
interdependent and interconnected. They have all one goal: the survival. Institutions, systems 
to achieve functional goals.
Family: one of these organs that tries to guarantee the survival of society, has a role in society.
Society creates norms and values (VALUE CONSENSUS). To facilitate the collaboration and
harmony in order to meet social needs and shared goals of the society.
 Murdock:
Family place 4 main functions:
1. Stables satisfaction of the sex drive within society: family helps to satisfy the sexual
impulse of society. Family is the first stage of socialization: teach us the norms and what is
expected. Sexual freedom would create chaos, disruption of society. Having sex with the
same partners/ monogamy oppresses social disruption.
(This avoids the kind of sexual freedom which would be a threat to the stability of society
and cause disruption (so its for the good of society).)
2. Reproduction: family guarantees with reproduction next generations that are needed to
survive as society.
3. Socialization of the young into shared norms and values (primary socialization):
4. Meeting its members economic needs: as family we are able to meet economic needs
(food, shelter)
Most efficient and effective in achieving these four goals.
Religion could also meet these goals.
Parsons: functional fit theory
Family roles is adapting to feet the needs of the type of society it is in.
Depending on the society where the particular family is in, that family is adapting to feed
into the needs that this society request.
Constantly adapting, not fixed, as Murdock says.
Two type of society and two types of family
Type of societies Type of families
Modern industrial  Nuclear families: single basic family unit in modern societies (parents +
children under one household where the father is the breadwinner, top of the
hierarchy and the mother is the child raiser in charge of the household and the
role of the children changes according to their age and their gender).
Feeded better two provide two needs of the industrial revolution:
1. Workforce that was geographically mobile: move from the countryside
to the urban areas. Easier to relocate. Production in factories
2. Workforce that was socially mobile: they could change of status
throughout generations.
Loses one of the functions of the extended families: the ability of being
multifunctional. They were more, multitask in the same household. In the
nuclear family is not possible. Instead of being production it function is
consumption. From producing to consuming. Lose other function of health
and education (extended: education in household).
Specialises today in two basic functions:
1. Primary socialisation of norms and values
2. Stabilisation of adults’ personalities: adults can relax and have a space
of comfort and support
Traditional  Extended families: more than one/ many nuclear families living under one
preindustrial household. Under one household having grandparents, cousins, uncles,
aunties. Is very common in indigenous society (most common basic unit of
socialization. Includes people that is related to one another and have different
kinships. and ages. Get away to the nuclear family in the late 18 th century.
Roles aren’t clear as in nuclear families. Usually, the head of the family is the
oldest and the role can be more important than the breadwinner one. Not
socially mobile, new generations are prepared to follow the family business.
Feeded better two provide two needs of the preindustrial revolution:
 1. Form of production was agriculture and farming: easier in an extended
family, was self-sufficient don’t need other persons to fulfil their need,
because it has enough members to complete all the facts
Is it possible that the extended family would have been a good fit for industrialised
societies?  how relevant/util are extended families for society today? Que tan bien se
manejan en la Sociedad today?

 Why functionalism is a value consensus? society agrees tacitly about what are the norms
and values that we are to prioritize and maintain because we think these are the ones that
facilitate harmony to survive and living organised.
 It should be a consensus theory or not?
- Conflict theories views: Marxism, feminism, new right views, post-modern views.
New right view
combines neoliberal economics and traditional conservative views
Neoliberal: minimal government intervention, free-market capitalism
Conservative views: traditional nuclear family, law, order, discipline
Nuclear family: (1) is the normal, correct family, (2) the natural one (fundamental biological
differences between men and women that define their roles)  men-breadwinner because
have pines and women-child carer because they have vagina, (3) family is the corner stone
of society: family is the place of refuge, harmony, support (there is no other place in society
where this can be fulfilled.

This theory has a great impact in modern conservatism during the 70’s – 80’s century in politic
figures as Margaret Thatcher. Instead of an actual sociologist theory maybe it is more a political
movement, because they don’t focus on the consensus it needs to exist, but

Difference between functionalism and new right view: according to new right in the late 20 th
century societies became dysfunctional, that the needed tacit consensus was broken in modern
societies. In modern societies government policies linked to welfare states have undermined the
key institutions that create the value consensus and undermined traditional nuclear families and
have increased lone parent families and this leas to many social problems, leading to the
declining to moral/value standards, to deviance  product of inadequate socialization
processes. They are encouraging people to have a lone parent family and single mother. Contra
argument: this is a reality, but we are giving attention to it. (left politicians / welfare policies =
lone family parents = inadequate socialization = deviance, social problems = emerging of an
underclass)  Boys will grow up with no father figure
If you give women hospital to perform safe abortion you are encouraging abortions (new right
view) – abortions are happening, and they are dying because they don’t have the resources.
Because this reality is happening the government is giving you security (functionalist).
Policies that can be related to welfare policies applied in welfare states.
Functionalism: focus on consensus / new right: assume by many as a consensus theory,
they focus on the dysfunction (non consensus, broken consensus)  emerging of this
underclass (more keen to drugs, crime because inadequate socialisation because they grew
up in lone parent families because the welfare policies encourage by government).

Feminism
Reject the fact that family can meet/provide the needs from the family itself and from society
 Consensus theories disregard many aspects that takes place in family and society  conflicts
and exploitations (also in society)
 Role conflict
 Gender violence
Family has become into a space of violence where everything can take place but since is the
private sphere nobody talks about it. Physical, phycological, emotional violence.
Supports the needs of men while oppressing women.
Men have benefits from this traditional family system, where they are the head of the family,
they allocate resources.
Women are in charge of the household, many situations in which even children work.
EXTENDED LEARNING
- Table showing causes and consequences of changing patterns of family life
Change Cause Consequence Statistic Source

WEEK 19 – INDEX
- Key features of sociological theories of the family
- Ways sociological theories of the family have changed and whether they remain relevant

LECTURE
Marxist explanations of the family
 Marxism is a conflict theory
 Emphasises the impact of the nuclear family as the agent that is responsible for transmitting
certain capitalist norms and values to the new members of family through primary socialization
 Marxists agree with functionalist about that the family is the centrally institution in society
 Marxism is opposed to the value-consensus-based society that functionalist adder
 Marxist see capitalist society based in an unequal conflict between two main classes: proletariat
(working class) and bourgeoisie (capitalist class)
o Capitalist class/ bourgeoisie: controls the means of productions MOPs  land -
factories, capital, seeds/resources, machinery
o Working class: exploited for profit by the capitalist class
 Central idea of society: society institutions work to maintain class inequality through capitalism
(social institutions beside family  media, state, education)
 The history of the development of society is the history of different class conflicts/struggles.
Before proletariat and bourgeoisie: between monarchy and slaves and common people.
 Historical materialism vs idealism:
o Marxism explains the development of societies through historical materialism 
explains that the values, norms, dominant ideas, ideals are a reflection of the dominant
way of life, specifically of the modes of production that exist in society (determine the
values, norms, ideas, ideals that a society has). Material things determine subjective
things. /
o Idealism: explains that the historical development of the world is driven by abstract
ideas, values, norms. Immaterial world determine the material world. Ideas are the ones
who drive the world.
 Engels mentions that all the changes/development that happens in society is not because men’s
brain, they are because the mode of production – historical materialism.
 Weber – idealism: however, ideas and values (immaterial world) also have a role in social
change.
o Religious values were fundamentals for the emergence of capitalism (The Protestants
Ethic & The Spirit of K) he questions himself why started in Western societies  China
was a lot ahead in technology for example. How Europe economy became so dynamic
with capitalism: he mentions that the key elements is the attitude towards the
accumulation of wealth. He mentions that there are a number of sets of believes and
values that were held by the first merchants and industrialists. Transition between
Middle Ages and monarchies to modern societies and governments: with the emergence
of the industrial revolution there were this group of people that given this situation in
which don’t work the land to feed themselves, they start to consume things. First
merchants and industrialist have different ideas, they thought that in opposition to
catholic religion (being poor): the sign of having wealth is done that God has given to
get to heaven. If I keep accumulating, I can keep my spot in heaven  Protestant. They
need to be a correct and moral person and should not spend the money and live in a
sober way, don’t show off. They drive capitalism.
o This is how Weber explains this religion, believes and ideas had an impact on driving
capitalism forward. They reinvest in capital.  cycle of profit that capitalism is about.
Motivating force that impacts in maintaining on capitalism.
 Family fulfils functions that support the capitalist system, and it does it through:
1. Inheritance of property: production or whoever controls this production is the main force
that shapes all social institutions including the family. As the means of production
developed and the wealth increased, private property and a social class was needed to secure
and controls the MOPs that have emerged. This leads to a patriarchal monogamous nuclear
family. Monogamy was key to guarantee inheritance of private property. Men had to be sure
of the paternity of their children in order to guarantee the legitimacy of men’s inheritance.
Women became an instrument of childbirth and child raising.
Marxism proposes to remove patriarchal control and to remove the private ownership of
production. No need for inheritance of property (Marxism proposes the collective ownership
of production and a classless society – money less society – state less society)
2. Ideology: supports and justifies the inequality in society by persuading the individuals to
accept and maintain capitalism as something fair, natural, and unchanged. In the same
family the father exercise control over their children. Children learn that:
o Somebody is always in control
o To follow orders

Eli Zaretsky is a sociologist who pointed out that a family cannot meet its members' needs
because there is domestic inequality. He also mentions that feminists only blame patrairchy
for the things that happen to women forgeting capitalism. Zaretsky thinks that more radical
changes are needed in society (more than pay equality for women), but that these changes
do not need to be as drastically done.
Sareski  feminist (career and pay equality) this will fail at liberating women and
improving their status, more radical changes are needed. ?
3. As a unit of consumption: family plays a key role in making the bourgeoise more profits,
become a very important consumer of goods. The whole capitalist system is induced to tell
people that they need to buy the goods.
Criticisms
1. Engels (Max and Weber)  based on unreliable historical evidence. Just ideas, what they
saw and they assumed, there were no studies.
2. Marxism only and criticises the nuclear family, don’t take into account family diversity

What reasons would Marxists give to suggest that the family is a source of problems for its
members? Is it dysfunctional?
Because the institution of family does not satisfy the needs of the members of their family.
LECTURE
Feminist explanations of the family
Liberal feminists:
There is progress towards gender equality at home and in society  has been made through the reform
of existing laws. Social policies are the ones which have improved women’s life: direct and indirect
impacts. Use the existing laws structure and improve it.
 The Equality Act: has had an indirect impact in the life of women and in the family as well. It
encourages employment for women, and this means delaying marriage and delaying children.
Women chose to have education and a job instead of getting married and having children.
 The Family Planning Act: has a direct impact on women. Through it women are in control
over their reproductive rights, they can decide when to have children, have increased the age in
which women decide to have their first child.
 Exclusion of Marital rape Clause/divorce reforce: 2/3 of the petitions of divorce are done by
women, before only men can do it. Has a direct impact. Sexual intercourse when they were
done within a couple, they were never a crime, doesn’t matter the consent.
 Sex discrimination Act

Marxist feminists:
These unequal relationships are a result of the capitalist system. They focus on issues unpaid work,
fixed expectations that society have on women (housework, childcare, emotional support). Women are
being exploited by the patriarchal and the capitalist system.
Marxist feminist talked about.
Women worked at home and were not paid. They worked for free  slavery. Men have benefit of this
unpaid work. Women because of housework, childcare, and emotional support  women absorbed the
pressure of men and capitalism.
Women are the reserved army of labour  on time on crises women become the new force of labour
(war  men are sent overseas, and women supplied the worked that is needed and when the crises is
over the soldiers come back and women need to get again to the household work)

Radical feminists:
The focus is on marriage for women (impact of marriage on women) and how the family is an unequal
and patriarchal institution in nature/organically where men use their financial and physical power to
control women. Men use a coercive power over women: they hold all the power of decision making,
when to have sex, what to buy, what to use/wear, etc, mental abuse.
Socialisation of little girls is made in a way in which girls are raced to have passive and submissive
roles.

Postmodern feminist:
Their focus is to analyse the different experiences of women within the family and the kinship
networks that they develop, especially the ones that are a result of divorce or becoming a widow.
Jj: Silicon Valley study: she founds that after a woman is divorce or loses her husband, she develops
kinship network with the extended family and friend. This extended one can fulfil many of the
functions of the nuclear family. This new type of family that has emerged has been named: the
divorced-extended family, where the members are connected even by divorce or death rather than by
marriage.
 educated women, liberal in mind, with enough resources – very reduced population -> not make
generalisation about it

Neoliberal feminist:
Neoliberal: there is no neoliberal school of thought (more rigid) / liberalism is a school of thought
Focus on empowerment and the expectations for women to have it all.
Society have it actually
Focus of the lifestyle build upon consumption.
There is an increase expectation about work, the perfect family, appearance, example of an empowered
women.  unrealistic, unachievable  frustration (a way of controlling women)
Position of power  able to control people

Criticism
- All feminist perspective undermined/neglect the decision of some women to adopt traditional
values.
- Another thing that is neglected is intersectionality.

Compare feminist views with functionalist and Marxist views. Which view is most convincing?
Justify reasons

*Ideology: how do I understand, and I interpret and read the world and what are the expectations for
the future, set of ideas and beliefs/ analysis of the present / a way to explain reality and society /
depending on what ideology they would be things that I remain and other that shouldn’t be in that way /
ideal of a better world

LECTURE
New Right & Post-Modern explanations of the family

New Right:
1. Lone parents are the reason for the emerging under class
2. Nuclear family is in decline
*Nuclear is in decline, growth of lone parents is a concern
Would you live in a sort of society proposed by new right thinkers?
Charles Murray: focus on the underclass that existed in the deprived areas of the inner-city. He founds
single parents and marital instability as the most convincing explanation of the increase of social
problems. Absent father figures result in no discipline and therefore young mothers lose control of male
children. This kids are wrongly socialised  underachievement in school, poor health, rebellion, crime

Criticism
Only in developed countries, only low-under class (he assumed that there were a direct relation – bias?)

Opposed to:
- The right to easily divorce
- The rights of lone parents, especially mothers who want to work to be supported by the state
 - The right to pursued sexual satisfaction in any way apart from heterosexual / not monogamous
relations
- Opposed to the right of women that don want to be mothers
- Opposed to the right of family members not to care about family elderly
- Opposition to abortion, feminism,

Find evidence/examples to support the views of the family set out by the New Right

Post-Modernism: 1950 (from the baby boomer time – other said 70’s)
Modern era: 1850-1950
- Globalisation
- Media
- Fragmented world
- Very rapid social changes
- Consumer society
- Cultural diversity and hybridity
Argue that recent social changes have made the institution of family more of a personal choice matter
and as a result, families have become more unstable and diverse. Does not live under predictable
structures anymore. Chaotic dynamic. Individuals have more freedom of choice.
Antony Giddens – critics: now have more freedom, however there is still structure and predictability

Two key social changes on postmodernism related to the effect on the family:
1. Diversity and fragmentation: society is becoming increasingly fragmented, high diversity of
subcultures in opposition to one culture.
2. Rapid social change: new technology has transformed us and it has dissolve barriers of time and
space, work, leisure, accelerated our pace of life and because all of this everything has become
less predictable.

EXTENDED LEARNING
In groups design a society where Marxist, rather than capitalist ideas are in place
Include information about the family, education system, workplace.
Present and justify reasons why the society you have designed is better or worse than your own
Why Marxist view of society is better or worse than Capitalism

INDEPENDENT STUDY
- Compare functionalist and feminist explanations of the family
- Explain the ways the family can be seen as dysfunctional
- Explain the ways feminist sociologists suggest the family is dysfunctional
- Explain the ways Marxist sociologists suggest the family is dysfunctional
- Discuss new right views of the family
- Explain the reasons feminist sociologists reject new right views of the family
- Discuss whether sociological theories which explain the family are still relevant