What Do Sociologists Mean By the 'Darker Side of Family Life'?

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        Sociology        May2003

WHAT DO SOCIOLOGISTS MEAN BY THE ‘DARKER SIDE OF FAMILY LIFE’?

The family is regarded as one of the most basic and important institutions in society. There are many definitions of the family, one of which is,

“A group of people directly linked by kin connection, where the adult members take responsibility for the caring of the children.” (Giddens, 1989)

Behind such definitions lie some common assumptions of the family. Giddens definition seems to stress the idea of parental responsibility. Traditionally this was broken down by gender, the father was seen as the main breadwinner while the mother was expected to take on the main role in child rearing and running the home.

For most of its history, sociology has been gender blind. The situation began to change with the beginning of organised feminism in the late 1960’s. The women’s movement had a more immediate influence on sociology than any other academic disciplines.

For feminist sociologists who are studying gender, the idea of reproduction has three meanings. One of these three meanings refers to women’s child bearing and mothering capacities. The second looks at women’s domestic service to her family, and the third meaning shows how women are made to serve their own husbands or partners.

Shifting focus, provided by radical analysts of the family since the 1960’s, has shed light on the ‘dark side’ of the family. There were many cases of violent crime, and statistically most murders take place within the home. Domestic violence and child abuse have both been under estimated and “brushed under the carpet” in the past.

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Domestic violence began to be recognised as a serious social issue in the 1970’s, and the term domestic violence covered a variety of behaviours ranging from verbal and emotional abuse, to physical attacks, sexual assault and rape. These types of cases are more commonly, though not exclusively inflicted by males, and are often referred to as ‘wife beating’ or ‘wife battering’. The cycle of violence demonstrates the complex dynamics of an abusive relationship. There are three phases in the cycle of violence: tension building phase, followed by the acute battering incident, and finally the honeymoon phase.

During the tension-building phase, ...

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