Assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of society
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Discuss the view that conjugal roles are becoming joint in families.
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Introduction
Discuss the view that conjugal roles are becoming joint in families A conjugal role describes the positions and tasks typically taken up by husband and wife or cohabiting partners in the family. It has been argued that these roles are becoming increasingly joint in relation to the family. Elizabeth Bott (1957) distinguishes between two polar types of conjugal role relationship, segregated and joint. Segregated in a sense that men and women have clear differentiation in tasks, interests and activities. Botts study suggests that there is a basic division of labour in which the man is responsible for supporting the family financially and the women performs the housework and childcare. ...read more.
Middle
Also their research suggested that families were becoming increasingly symmetrical this was premised on the fact that more women are now in paid employment and the growth in technology is assumed to have removed drudgery from domestic work and saved time. The evidence presented showed that sharing the household tasks is becoming increasingly the norm in families. On the other hand it is also argued that conjugal roles remain the same and are not becoming increasingly joint. According to Oakley (1974) a feminist only a minority of husbands help in the housework or typically "female" tasks suggesting no sign of change in conjugal relationships. ...read more.
Conclusion
In conclusion time provides the evidence in the last century that there has been a change in the conjugal roles meaning that they have become more equal which could be argued that this is due to the fact that more women are now in paid employment this has made a significant contribution to the way in which women are now portrayed as. They are seen to have a more equal status to men which has changed their position in the family. However this is debate is a complex one and it can also be argued that the equality of these conjugal roles depends a lot on age, class and ethnicity. Paman Sidhu ...read more.
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