1. AS Unit 1 Acquiring Culture;
Family and Culture Week 5:
Conjugal Roles
2. Objectives
Have viewed this slide show you should be aware of:
The changing roles perspective suggesting a growth of the
companionate conjugal couple.
The impact of employment and unemployment upon the
division of labour.
How women still undertake the bulk of domestic tasks.
How technology and living standards are impacting upon
roles.
How power and authority relations still operate in ways that
benefit men.
Ideas of the 'triple shift' Family and Culture Week 5
through recognition of emotion work. 2
3. Introduction
Housework and care-work are still predominantly fema
out of 10 women who work full-time undertake most household chore
However, this bleak picture is slowly improving
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4. ‘Changing Roles Perspective’
The changing rôles perspective assumes a gradual sharing of gend
famous advocates are Willmott and Young (1973) who talk of movem
Symmetry describes a ‘sense of balance’ between the duties of the
Men Couples
more Women as are
domes breadwinn compani
ers
tic Family and Culture Week 5 onate 4
5. Evidence for Changing Roles
n addition, in recent years there has been an acceptance of the interc
women of working age now have jobs, and half of mothers with child
rprising 36% of couples say that the man is the main carer (Equal Op
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6. Economically-Active Mothers
Paid employment would seem to empower women within
he more hours a woman is employed outside the home, the more do
ours (evenings or weekends), men are increasingly having to care for
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7. Technology and Living Standards
ntribution is limited, the burden of domestic tasks on women is being
elivery of shopping is time and labour microwaves, freezers and proc
Technologies such as saving especially to women.
ut and take-away food frees women from cooking and washing up.
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8. Other Factors That Promote
Changing Roles
ne and Ishii-Kuntz (1992) found delayed childbirth caused husbands
This may be linked to the fact that women who have careers often
es living standards meanmore equal than married couples.
g suggest that they are families may employ cleaners, nannies, au p
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10. Division of Work by Hours
Men W om en
Cooking m eals 2.5 13.3
Cleaning 2.0 13.15
Washing/ironing 0.55 9.05
Childcare 5.05 8.45
Shopping 2.5 5.5
Washing up 2.0 3.4
Gardening 3.0 2.0
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11. Dual-career Families
field (1992) found even in dual career families women had major resp
Rapoport (1970) found that career women were still viewed by partne
y, this does not mean that they doing things equally’ (Ann Oakley).
as men participating in domestic tasks are doing so to "help their wiv
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12. Women’s Lack of Leisure Time
Women have considerably less leisure and free-time because of d
This
David Morley (1992) says: ‘women see the home as a place of work
translates
into 15
fewer hours
nd full-time working women spent 3 hours a day doing housework whi
of leisure
per week.
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13. Housework
Housework is It is assumed that women are somehow naturally be
viewed traditionally as : “women’s work”.
even the assumption that women should enjoy it and be fulfilled by it
t Tesco’s magazine inviting women to throw themselves into spring c
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14. Ann Oakley
Oakley (1974) was the first feminist sociologist to seriously examine
ple of 40 housewives she found they were as alienated by their work
from encouraging a sense factory workers.
milar coping strategies as of sisterhood, women competed with each
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15. Social Factors on Housework
ollard (1989) studied newly-weds, and found limited evidence of symm
does not seem to be a noticeable difference in division of labour acc
Westwood in her study of hosiery workers felt Asian conjugal roles w
However, care must be made to avoid sweeping stereoty
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16. Emotion Work: ‘Triple Shift’
women are increasingly seeking a ‘haven in a heartless world’ throug
married wives were deeply disappointed with the lack of emotional rec
0 white couples who had been married 15 years and found women ty
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17. Economic Influences
ers have wondered if male unemployment influences male participatio
and Bell (1984), unemployed young men did even less domestic wo
ris (1985) found from her sample that roles were subject to 're-negoti
Jane Wheelock found that male unemployment did lead to positive
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18. Power and Authority
sion-making as unequal, with men making important decisions.
nd hers’ marriage to reflect the power imbalance that exists.
phrase ‘differential consumption’ to reflect the power of men: women
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19. Conclusions
There is evidence to support the 'changing roles' hypothesis.
It would appear that women’s economic work is a key factor in
promoting equality in the conjugal roles.
‘New man’ is more caring and supportive, but there is limited
evidence to support his existence.
However, women still undertake an unfair bulk of domestic
tasks.
Oakley argues that many sociological studies of ‘equality’ in
marriage start from the assumption that cooking, cleaning and
childcare are somehow ‘women’s work anyway’.
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20. Conclusions (continued)
Feminists see this gender inequality of domestic work as
stemming from a power imbalance.
In addition, while couples may do things ‘jointly’, this does not
necessarily mean that they do things ‘equally’.
There is a clear imbalance in the quality and amount of leisure
time female partners have.
Male power and authority is reflected in patriarchal elements of
the family.
These include decision-making, differential consumption and
financial management.
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