Feminist Views on Family (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Feminist views of the family

• As a conflict approach, feminists are critical of the family as an institution and its role in society

  • They see families as having a negative impact on the lives of women

• Feminists believe that families contribute to the social construction of gender roles through primary socialisation and canalisation

  • For example, dressing girls in pink and boys in blue or giving girls dolls and boys toy cars to play with

• Within families, children learn the norms and values expected of males and females

  • Children that see their mother cleaning and cooking may assume that domestic tasks are part of a woman's role

• Families therefore prepare children for their gender roles in a patriarchal society and they reproduce gender inequalities over time

Key thinkers: Delphy and Leonard (1992)

• Delphy & Leonard are radical feminists who used qualitative research methods to investigate the idea of the symmetrical family

  • They used unstructured or in-depth interviews

  • They observed how individuals interacted with one another in their homes using non-participant observations

  • They used information from existing research on families

• They view the family as a patriarchal institution that men benefit from, as women are expected to do unpaid work inside the home

  • Unpaid work includes cooking, cleaning, shopping and less obvious tasks (such as booking medical appointments and sending birthday cards)

  • Wives are exploited as their work is undervalued, their husbands profit from their labour, and they remain financially dependent on them

• The family is based on a hierarchy:

  • Other family members occupy lower positions, with the husband at the top

  • The husband provides for his wife's upkeep and controls her labour for his own use

  • She has no money of her own

  • Even when women have well-paid, full-time employment, they still have the dual burden of doing most of the domestic work and childcare

  • Time at home for men is leisure time, whereas for women, it is also work time

• The patriarchal family upholds men's dominance over women and children, which in turn upholds society's patriarchal structure

Evaluation of Delphy and Leonard and the feminist perspective

Strengths

• Research support

  • The feminist view of the family is supported by Ann Oakley, who found that the nuclear family remains a conventional and patriarchal institution

  • Women are often expected to carry out unpaid domestic work inside the home, while men are expected to do paid work outside it

  • This supports Delphy and Leonard’s claim that family structures benefit men at women’s expense

• Unequal power in conjugal relationships

  • Jan Pahl (1989) found that in many marriages, husbands controlled the finances, even when both partners were earning

  • This highlights the unequal distribution of power within many households

  • Victim surveys also show that women are more likely than men to experience domestic violence, reinforcing feminist claims that the family can be a site of male dominance and control

Criticisms

• Ignoring egalitarian families

  • Critics argue that Delphy and Leonard overlook modern, egalitarian families where partners share power, decision-making and domestic responsibilities

  • Many contemporary families no longer fit the traditional patriarchal model described by radical feminists.

• Marxist critique

  • Marxists agree that inequality exists within families but argue that it stems from capitalism rather than patriarchy

  • They believe the family primarily serves economic interests rather than simply men’s dominance over women

• Functionalist critique

  • Functionalists argue that the nuclear family benefits all its members, providing emotional support, stability, and socialisation

  • Functionalists see the family as a positive institution that meets both individual and societal needs, rather than a source of inequality

Criticisms of families

Decline of the traditional family

• There is concern that the traditional nuclear family — a married couple raising their biological children — is in decline

• Social changes, such as higher divorce rates, lone-parent families, and cohabitation, are seen by functionalists as a threat to social stability and the family’s ability to perform its key functions

Loss of traditional functions

• Families once played an important role in providing education, healthcare, and economic support, but many of these functions have now been taken over by other institutions such as schools, the NHS, and welfare services

• This has led some sociologists to argue that the family’s role in society has weakened

Isolation from wider kinship networks

• The modern nuclear family is often isolated from extended relatives, unlike families in the past who lived close to grandparents, aunts, and uncles

• This isolation can reduce emotional and practical support for family members

Dysfunctional families

• The functionalists’ idealised image of a happy, supportive family ignores the reality that some families are dysfunctional

• Problems such as neglect, conflict, and poor communication can make family life stressful rather than supportive

Status and role of women

• Feminists argue that families remain patriarchal, with women often carrying the burden of unpaid domestic work and emotional labour

• This unequal division of labour reinforces gender inequality and limits women’s independence

Isolation and unrealistic expectations

• The family can create pressure to live up to idealised images of happiness and success

• This may lead to stress, loneliness, or disappointment when reality doesn’t match expectations

Marital breakdown and divorce

• Increasing marital conflict and divorce rates suggest that many families struggle to meet emotional and economic demands

• This may lead to instability for adults and children and challenges traditional ideas of lifelong marriage

The dark side of family life

• The family is not always a safe or loving institution

• Domestic violence, child abuse, and emotional neglect are serious issues that show the family can be a place of harm and control rather than care and support