COUPLES

COUPLES

1. DIVISION OF LABOUR

   • Functionalism: Parsons (1955) instrumental and expressive role, biologically base, functional for the family, its members and wider society
   • March of progress: Bott (1957) - segregated and joint conjugal roles
   • Young & Willmott (1950s) WC, extended families in Bethnal Green, (1973) trend towards symmetrical family
   • Feminism: Oakley (1974) housewife role is 'socially construct'

2. IMPACT OF PAID WORK

   • Dual burden - housework and paid work Duncombe and Marsden (1995): triple shift - emotion work also.
   • Commercialisation of housework - schor (1993) - death of the housewife role
   • Gershuny: lagged adaptation Sullivan (2000)
   • Gender scripts: Dunne (1999) 37 lesbian couples - more equal. Heterosexuals: socialised into gender scripts. Homosexuals: did not link household tasks to gender

3. RESOURCES AND DECISION MAKING

   • Kempson (1994) women in low income families denied own needs to make ends meet. Resources shared unequally
   • Pahl & Vogler (1993): allowance system, pooling. Volger (1994): increase in pooling.
   • Edgell (1980): important decisions made by men because they earn more

4. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

   • sociologists: DV too widespread to be the behaviour of only a disturbed few.
   • 6.6 million assault per year - mainly men against women. 1 in 4 women are assaulted at some time (BCS)
   • Problems with statistics: Under-reporting and Under-recording. Yearnshire (1997) - women on average suffer 35 assaults before reporting to the police
   • Russell & Dobash (1979) violence was triggered when men felt that their authority was being challenged.
   • Radical feminists: men oppress women through family. Men also dominate the state = why courts & police fail to take DV seriously
   • Mirrlees-Black - other groups at risk of DV: Young people, WC, rented accommodation, high alcohol + drug consumption
   • Elliot (1996) - not all men are aggressive