Functionalist Views of the Family.

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Aneesa Hanif

The functionalist theory views society as being a system which looks at society rather than the individuals themselves. In functionalism, society is considered more significant because an individual is made by the society and because, people are the creation of the social influences upon them, for example, their family, friends, how well they have been educated and how the media influences them.  

Parsons are functionalist sociologists who see the society as a body and the body parts as the institutions. Parsons claimed that the family provides two important functions which are the primary socialisation which teaches children the norms and values of society, and stabilisation which stabilises personalities and emotional relationships. Parents also provide security to help individuals cope in wider society.

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Parsons believe that family has an important part in teaching values and norms as it is in the primary socialisation. Primary socialisation happens in the very early years of life, usually through parents. Parsons believe that there are expected roles for men and women. They claim that the male role is instrumental as they are better at providing for the family, and the women role is expressive, as they are better at emotional support.

The criticisms for the Parsons theory are that Marxist feminists would argue that the women end up staying at home, being a housewife and not ...

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