Feminist Perspective of the Conventional Family (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Key thinker: Ann Oakley (1982) on the conventional family

• Oakley, a feminist sociologist, reviewed the work of other researchers who had studied family life

• She used this secondary data to provide a critical analysis of the conventional nuclear family, supporting her arguments with official statistics.

• According to Oakley, a nuclear family is a conventional family that reinforces patriarchal relationships

  • In this structure, women are expected to do unpaid domestic work, while men are expected to earn money through paid employment

  • The man’s economic power comes from his income, while the woman’s dependence on his wages creates gender inequality — particularly when children are young and women become stay-at-home mothers

Women's work and economic dependence

• When women do enter paid work, it is often part-time and low-paid, with their earnings usually spent on household bills rather than for independence or savings

• This reinforces women’s economic dependence on men and maintains unequal power dynamics within the family

The idealisation of the conventional family

• Oakley argued that although the conventional family is outdated, it is still idealised in society

• This is especially true among middle-class families, even though many are beginning to consider alternative lifestyles that move away from traditional gender roles

  • Dual-worker and lone-parent families are increasing

  • Some are choosing to live without families

• Despite being portrayed as stable and happy, the traditional family can actually be stressful and emotionally draining

• Mothers may suffer from depression due to domestic and emotional labour, while fathers may face health problems from the stress of being the main provider

Power and decision-making in families

• One area of interest for sociologists is the distribution of power in conjugal relationships between partners

• Within symmetrical families, Willmott and Young (1973) noted a rise in shared decision-making, including financial decisions

• Alternatively, feminists Delphy & Leonard (1992) contend that because male dominance and the subjugation of women form the foundation of family life, the family is hierarchical and patriarchal

• Feminist Jan Pahl (1989) interviewed 102 married couples with dependent children and found that:

  • men have more power than women in relationships, as they dominate decision-making

  • although more couples make shared decisions about spending the household income, in many marriages, husbands control the finances

  • women and children sometimes live in poverty even though the man they live with has a good income

Power and domestic violence within families

• Domestic violence (DV) is a form of power and control within families in which one partner is violent towards the other

• It also covers abuse of older people, violence between siblings, and physical, psychological, or sexual abuse of children

• Victim surveys, like the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), are used to gauge the extent of domestic violence, and they show that DV is often not reported to the police because:

  • men might be reluctant to disclose physical abuse they have received from a female partner

  • according to the victims, it is best handled in the privacy of the home

  • victims are afraid of the repercussions if reported to the police

  • victims believe the police can do nothing about it

• Because of this 'dark' figure of crime, victim surveys may not show the true extent of DV occurring in families

Feminist view

• Feminists challenge the functionalist view of the family, arguing that the seeming rise in domestic violence demonstrates that families are not always safe havens and that family life does not always improve members' well-being

• Walby argued that the statistics grossly understate the extent of violent crime by men against women in the home

• Although there are male victims of domestic abuse:

  • figures are much lower

  • men tend to experience less severe violence

  • men are less likely to be seriously injured or killed by a

    current or former partner