Examine the New Right view of the family

Millie Morgan L6HJ Examine the new right SOT of the family The new right perspective comes from a group of thinkers who mainly share the same values and ideas, from the conservative government. These thinkers believe that the nuclear family is the ideal family in society, and therefore is the bedrock of society. The views of the new right are in keeping with the functionalist views. The new right thinkers are opposed to many things in modern society, such as the decline of the nuclear family, and the rise in the numbers of couples that now cohabite and the number of marriages that now end in divorce. They believe many things are undermining the nuclear family. There are four main features of new right, the emphasis on individual freedom and choice, reduced spending by the state, free markets which encourage competition and the importance of tradition values and institutions. The new right believe that the family promotes decency, manners, respect for property and the law. They also believe that the new social policies have begun to undermine the nuclear family, such as welfare benefits. They believe that the government is too easy and generous with their benefits, and that this had a profound effect on the family, leading to more divorces, more single parent families and declining morals of the family. New right thinkers claim that the welfare state is leading to a culture

  • Word count: 1075
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Using item A and other sources of information, examine the suggestion that the nuclear family is not a universal institution

Using item ‘A’ and other sources of information, examine the suggestion that the nuclear family is not a universal institution (24 marks) The nuclear family is a household of two generations – married parents and children. It is also known as the ‘cereal packet family’. Different perspectives see the family as providing different roles within society and whether these roles have a negative or positive effect. The idea of it being a universal institution is an arguable one and one that many different sociological perspectives have many different views on. The functionalist’s would say that the Nuclear Family is a universal institution as it is the reason why and is crucial for the function and maintaining of society. They argue that the nuclear family carries out the essential roles and functions such as ‘socialising us all into culture and skills’ and helping us to ‘develop relationships and maturity’. In this way it is obvious that the nuclear family is a universal institution as without it all the inter related systems that build a society would fail to work and society as a whole would collapse and with it civilisation. However there are different situations within which different groups of people may don’t be able to be within a nuclear family and this could be viewed as one of the reasons why the capitalist system in which we live and in some ways

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Examine the Marxist contribution to our understanding of the family

Examine the Marxist contribution to our understanding of the family (20 marks) Marxism is a structuralist theory based on conflict, in particular class conflict. In capitalism the Bourgeoisie (owners of businesses and power) exploit the proletariat for personal gain. Marxist believe the only way to stop this is to have a revolution and convert to a communist society. Marxists believe the nuclear family props this system up, such as Zaretsky. They say how women are free labour, and this benefits capitalism. Others say communism will not work as it has never happened properly before. The Marxists do have some supporters such as the Radical Psychiatrists and the Marxist Feminists. On the other hand, Functionalists completely disagree and promote the nuclear family. Engels suggests the origins of the nuclear family were when people started to earn money and buy goods and own possessions. They need a biological family they could pass their possessions down to, knowing they will be safe. He says this developed Capitalism, doing things for personal gain and creating inequality. Engels says the nuclear family supports capitalism by using women as an unpaid labour force. They stay at home and work for free, supporting the children and socialising them. They are the next generation of workers, their socialisation is a false-consciousness making them accept and appreciate capitalism.

  • Word count: 785
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships

Item 2B Feminists take a critical view of the family. They argue that family life maintains and promotes gender inequality. For example, this is reflected in the domestic division of labour. Housework and childcare in the family, which are carried out mainly by women, are unpaid and hardly recognised as work at all. However, some sociologists suggest that feminist theories ignore the extent of family diversity. In fact, family roles and relationships are varied and therefore women’s experiences of family life are more diverse than some feminists suggest. Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the contribution of feminist sociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships. (24 marks) Different feminists have different views on family roles and relationships. Radical feminists believe that families maintain the oppression of women in a patriarchal and male dominated society. Germaine Greer (2000) argues that even in marriages today women are still subservient to their husbands. She has the belief that single women are happier than married women; this is reflected on by the high divorce rates instigated by women. Greer also claims wives are more likely to suffer physical and emotional abuse than husbands, and daughters are more frequently victims of abuse from other male members of the family. Radical feminism has been criticized for

  • Word count: 479
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess the influence of social policies on the family.

Assess the influence of social policies on the family (24 Mark) Different social policies have influences on the family in different ways, one social policy is maternity and paternity leave, currently women get 26 weeks maternity leave where as men get 2 weeks paternity leave. This shows an unequal balance between men and women, this then portrays the idea that women should be at home looking after the children for longer and the men should be out working. This policy reinforces the ideology of the patriarchal nuclear family, it puts forward that men are the head of the family, they should be out working while the women take on the child care. Feminists disagree with the difference as this puts men and women on an unequal level, feminists belive that they should all be equal so by giving women a larger time to be at home looking after the children influences the family. A lot of families receive child benefits, it has been seen by the government that for poorer families it is an incentive to have more children as the more they have the more money they are given. The conservative government have put a cap on child benefits at £26.000 as they are trying to limit the number of children in poorer families, murray saw the trend of children in poorer families and how much money they receive and in order to reduce children in poverty they cap it so families cannot claim on

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess the view that women being in paid work leads to greater equality in the domestic division of labour

Assess the view that women being in paid work leads to greater equality in the domestic division of labour – Daniel Oluwadare 11H The term ‘equality’ in the domestic division of labour (how the housework, childcare and paid work is divided within a relationship), and whether it occurs when women are in paid work, depends on your perspective sociologically. For feminists and most functionalist sociologists, this type of ‘equality’ is defined as conjugal roles (the sharing of tasks such as housework and childcare by couples, as defined by Elizabeth Bott (1957)) being identical. For few other (structural) sociologists like Talcott Parsons (1955), this means having segregated conjugal roles, but doing work that leads to an equal outcome. Seeing as the view is very similar to that of a feminist/functionalist sociologist, this view will be assessed from their standpoint. Functionalist sociologists like Young and Willmott (1973) have a “March of Progress” approach towards identical conjugal roles. In a study they carried out in Bethnal Green, they found that men were now helping out with housework and childcare, while women were working more. There is likely to be a link between women working and men doing more household labour. In addition, the women’s work may be part-time or full-time, and that may have an impact on exactly how great the equality is. Feminists

  • Word count: 956
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Using material from Item 2b and elsewhere, assess the views that the nuclear family is no longer the norm

Using material from Item 2b and elsewhere, assess the views that the nuclear family is no longer the norm The nuclear family consists of two generations living together, all related by blood or law. Oakley calls this the conventional family, because he believes it is universal and works effectively as part of a community. Leach calls this the ‘cereal packet family’ which is advertised to us as the perfect family, where everyone is valued. Despite this one structure of family being seen as the norm since the 70s, society today appears to moving towards a more diverse variety of family structures. On the other hand, about 20% of households in the UK still fit this structure, it may no longer be the majority but many people still value it as the norm in society. It is also the most desirable family structure. This view is supported by both the Functionalists and New Right. Parsons, a functionalist, believed that the expressive female and instrumental male roles in the family work as a team. This sexual division in the family present the woman as the child-rearer and the man as the breadwinner. This can be positive in the way that it provides an effective team that keeps the household secure, and in that the parents of the family only have to take on one respective role. Parsons also thinks that gender-role socialisation is important, this is an aspect of socialisation

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the view that gender roles and relationships have become more equal in modern family life. 24marks

Q10 Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that gender roles and relationships have become more equal in modern family life. (24 marks) Today we have a number of sociological views and approaches, which have agreed changes have taken place in gender roles and relationships within families to make them more equal. However many others sociologist criticise the nature of those changes. Some argue there has been a greater equality within modern family life and others say it is simply exaggerated. In my essay I going to assess these views through domestic labour, paid work, decision making and domestic violence in couples and try to conclude to what extent gender roles and relationships have in reality, become more equal in modern family life. Functionalists sociologist Talcott Parsons in 1955, had viewed a biological division of labour roles within the family, which benefit family at most from this and most of society as well. Secondary Parsons saw the gender roles as expressive and instrumental, which mean that gender roles were unequal so the husband have to play the instrumental role in the family of being the ‘breadwinner’ by providing financial stability to theirs family and the wife who had to follow the expressive role by looking out for the emotional welfare of the family, socialising the children and being housewife. Parsons also argued that

  • Word count: 1038
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity

Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity Social policy refers to the actions of government agencies, like the welfare system. They are usually based on laws that provide the framework within which these agencies operate. Most policies affect families in one way or another, as some are aimed directly at families, while others aren’t but still have an effect on them. There have been many social policies introduced, such as the Soviet government’s attempt to destroy the pre-revolutionary patriarchal family structure by making divorce and abortion easy to obtain, allowing women to enter paid employment and providing workplace and communal nurseries. This meant that women would not have to carry out Parson’s idea of an expressive role. Instead, women were seen as more equal to men and they were liberated in the sense that they weren’t just there to produce children and look after the home. They also had the opportunity to leave the marriage much more easily, creating more single-parent families. This succeeded in destabilising the patriarchal family. However, after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 the Soviet Union had to change their policy. Divorce laws were tightened, abortion was made illegal and parents were encouraged to have more children. As an incentive, they were rewarded with bigger family

  • Word count: 882
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess the functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family.

Denis Kirya Assess the functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family? Functionalist ideology employs the idea of the nuclear family being the main universal family in society and most benefitting. The nuclear family functions to meet the pro dominant means of society (sexual reproduction, educational and economic functions). The family allows each member of the family to shine individually and enjoy success from this although feminists would argue about women gaining any benefits from the nuclear family. Functionalist Charles Murray also argues other family institutions weaken the production of society’s needs. Divorce is ultimately highlighted as one of the main causes of this creation of new families which are presumably less effective in meeting the functional needs of society through the family. Sociologists Young and Wilmott research in the 2nd half of the 20th century indicated nuclear family as the dominant family type in Britain at the time. Functionalist viewed the institution as a symmetrical family in reference to the equal relationship between husbands and wives in private. In contrast the decline in family institutions has led to much debate which has prompted the idea of family no longer meeting the needs of the state or family becoming less private due to various legislations allowing other institutions into marital affairs. The New Right

  • Word count: 866
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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