Assess the view that it no longer makes sense to talk about the patriarchal family For the most part of human civilisation families were always considered as being male dominated or patriarchal

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Assess the view that it no longer makes sense to talk about the patriarchal family

For the most part of human civilisation families were always considered as being male dominated or patriarchal, however since the mid 1950’s and onwards families have slowly become a lot more women orientated. Some sociologists argue that now women have a lot more power in the home and as they become more equal to men in society they also have more power in the marriage and the way the household operates, these sociologists say that modern day families are no longer male dominated as they were last century and before.

Power in the household, (i.e which parent makes the decisions in the household like when to move, buy a new car, schools etc…) is becoming more women orientated according to sociologists like Irene Hardill, Anne Green, Anna Dudlestone and David Owen who proved this by a study carried out in 1997, the results of this found that on a whole decisions in the family were being made jointly between the husband and wife. A woman having more power in the decision making of the family shows that women’s views and opinions are as important as the male’s which shows the family is less patriarchal than before. The 1997 study contradicts studies conducted in 1980 and 74 by Lukes and Edgell respectively; these studies found that men decided the majority of major decisions and that women accepted their place in their traditional gender role with the male having the majority of power. These studies conducted 20 years before that of Hardil, Green, Dudlestone and Owen shows how things have changed in a small period of time with women gaining more power in the family which would have traditionally belonged to a man.

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Young and Wilmot found that women and men had roughly the same working hours on average. Before the 1930’s women would never have worked meaning that families were more patriarchal because the male was the main breadwinner and supported his wife, his wife could never have survived without her husband so separation was very uncommon. These days however as Wilmot and Young showed women work the same amount of time as men and can financially support themselves out of the relationship which means they would not put up with most of the things women in the 30’s would have ...

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