Methodology For my study, I am investigating roles within middle class homes and whether roles have become more joint in recent years. I also want to know their opinion on the household chores do at home.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Rationale

Conjugal roles are the roles of a couple within the home. Bott (1957) identified two types of conjugal role: segregated and joint. Segregated conjugal roles are where couples lead largely separate social lives and have different roles within the family. Joint conjugal roles are where couples share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together.

Wilmott and Young conducted a study of working class families in Bethnal Green in the 1950s. Men were found to be the breadwinners and spent little time at home. Women were full time housewives who were responsible for housework and childcare. This is a good comparison to my research because it will be interesting to see how roles in families have changed over the years. Nowadays, it has become more typical for husbands and wives to share roles.

In middle class families it is quite common for women to take on the expressive role and do tasks such as cooking and washing and men to take on the instrumental role and do tasks like painting and washing the car. It has also become very general for women to be in paid employment.

The aim of this