Here is a potential essay plan: Introduction (3 marks) - Outline the question and key issues to be discussed (inequalities between husbands and wives) Functionalism - Parsons (4 marks) - Explain Parsons' theory of instrumental and expressive roles - Argue roles are becoming more equal as women take on more roles Marxism - Oakley (4 marks) - Explain Oakley's criticism that women still shoulder the 'double burden' of paid work and housework - Argue roles are not truly equal as women still do majority of domestic labour Feminism - Dobash and Dobash (5 marks) - Explain radical

1. Couples and Power
relationships
The domestic division of labour

2. This topic includes…
• The domestic division of labour
• The impact of paid work on domestic roles
• Resources and decision-making in households
• Domestic violence

3. 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

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

5. The domestic division of
labour
• The roles that men Sociologists Key Concepts
Parsons Expressive role
and women play in Instrumental role
relation to Bott Segregated conjugal
housework, childcare role
Joint conjugal role
and paid work Young and Wilmott March of Progress
Symmetrical family
Egalitarian
Oakley The rise of the
housewife role

6. 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

7. 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).

8. 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.

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

10. • Instrumental role • Expressive role
• To achieve success • Primary socialisation of
at work. the children.
• To provide financial • Meeting the family’s
support for family. emotional needs.
• ‘Breadwinner’ • ‘Home-maker’

11. 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?

12. Elizabeth Bott (1957)
Segregated conjugal roles – where the couple
have separate roles: a male breadwinner and
a female homemaker/carer (as in Parsons’
roles). Their leisure activities also tend to be
separate.
Joint conjugal roles – where the couple share
tasks such as housework and childcare and
spend their leisure time together.

13. Wilmott and Young
• See family life as gradually Reasons for the rise in the
improving for all its members – symmetrical family;
March of Progress View • Changes in woman’s position in
• Symmetrical family – the roles of society
husbands and wives, are now • More women working
much more similar (women • Geographical mobility (living
work, men help with away from communities you
housework, couples spend grow up in)
leisure time together).
• Studied families in London and • New technology and labour
found the symmetrical family was saving devices
more common amongst younger • Higher standards of living
couples, those who are
geographically or socially
isolated, and the more affluent. Evaluation – their research methods
were criticized. Vague questions
and unrepresentative sample.

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

15. 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
• http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=nTjk98hrPzU

16. The impact of paid
work on domestic
roles

17. Sociologist Concept
Now that many
Gershuny
women work, has this
Silver and Schor Commercialisatio
had an impact on the n of housework
domestic division of Ferri and Smith Duel Burden
labour? Marsden Emotion
work/Triple shift

18. Women working = more
equality in the home
Gershuny found the Silver and Schor argue
following; that the burden of
• wives who work full time housework on women has
do less housework decreased. This is because
• Couples who's parents housework has become
had more equal ‘commercialised’ and
relationships were more women now have the
likely to share money to spend on goods
housework that help with housework.
• The longer a women has
been in paid work, the What things can you think
more housework her of that reduce the amount
husband is likely to do. of domestic labour needed
to be done.

19. Women working = less equality
in the home
• Ferri and Smith – • Marsden – women
women have a duel are expected not
burden, responsible only to do a double
for paid work and shift of both
unpaid housework. housework and paid
work, but also to
work a triple shift
that includes
emotion work. -

20. 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.

21. Resources and decision-
making in households
• Who makes most of the decisions in your household?
• Who controls the finances and decides how it is spent?
• Task – read the pages from the textbook. Highlight the key
studies and findings and answer the 3 questions.

22. Domestic Violence

23. Activity
• What do you think are common ‘triggers’ to domestic
violence?
• Suggest reasons why many battered wives or husbands
remain with their violent partner.
• In what ways other than physical violence may someone be
able to dominate their partner?

24. Domestic violence does not occur randomly but follows particular
social patterns.
• Most victims are women
• 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

25. Official statistics and domestic
violence
Understate the true Yearshire found that on
extent of the problem for average a woman suffers
two main reasons; 35 assaults before
1. Victims may be making a report.
unwilling to report it
to the police Cheal found that state
2. Police and agencies (like police) are
prosecutors may be reluctant to get involved
reluctant to record, in the family because
investigate or they assume that the
prosecute cases. family is private, good
and individuals are free
to leave if they wish.

26. The radical feminist
explanation
• Dobash and Dobash – Evaluation
domestic violence is • Not all men are
evidence of patriarchy. aggressive
Men dominate women • How about female
through domestic violence against men
violence and children?
• Domestic violence is • http://www.youtube.c
part of a patriarchal om/watch?v=ZlWQrxV
system and helps to FJ7M&feature=player_
maintain men’s power embedded

27. Activity
• Read back through all the information in this topic and
separate the different sociologists, their concepts and studies
into two arguments
Roles in the family Roles are not
are becoming or equal
are more equal

28. Task
Asses sociological explanations for inequalities between
husbands and wives. (24)
Create and essay plan for the above question.
Things to look at;
Resources and decision-making in households
Domestic violence
Domestic division of labour