Feminists claim that families are essentially Patriarchal (dominated by men). Several sociologists have looked at how and by whom decisions are made in families. Sociologists such as Stephen Edgell in 1980 carried out a study in which he found that wives dominated decision making in interior decoration, children’s clothes and spending on food. These decisions are seen as frequent and not important whereas men made less frequent decisions but more important such as moving house, buying a care and other major financial decisions. There based on decision making, it appears that men have more power than women. However women generally increased status and greater earning power appears to be affecting the balance of power in relationships. Researched by the Future foundation in 2001 reveals that women are not only taking responsibility for their own finances, but they are increasingly the ones who are the key financial decisions makers. The rising employment and incomes of women and divorces rates have driven their greater financial freedom. 75% of divorces are initiated by women. Women have gained more legal rights than ever before. E.g. the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923 gave women equal rights with men in divorce for the first time, and therefore gave more women the opportunity to terminated unhappy marriages. This leads to women having greater political powers in the household.
Gender roles have changed over the time. More women have started to do paid work and more men are helping put with domestic work. Young and Wilmot announced the arrival of the Symmetrical Family. They claimed the ‘conjugal roles’ the role of husband and wife are becoming increasingly similar. However, despite these claims, their views were challenged by a leading Feminist Ann Oakley. She described their analysis of ‘helping from husbands’ as a loose notion. Her researched showed that women experience a period of full time housework and housework and childcare remain the primary responsibility of women. Most working wives have a dual burden. As a result, families are not fully symmetrical, although there has been a slow move towards it. Sociologist Gershury agreed with Ann Oakley on that women do majority of housework and childcare but the views that those in full time in paid employment do less. He agreed on men compensated by doing more, but it was a long way from symmetrical. The men’s roles have changed more slowly than women’s’ roles. There is ‘march of progress’ to greater equality in the home in terms of division of labour.
Feminists have drawn attention to the way the ‘ideology’ of the family masks physical and sexual abuse of women and children. Phenomenological also view the family in a negative light and Cooper and Laing see the family often as a place of unhappiness, and functionalist of the warm and supportive ‘happy family’ has been questioned on a more fundamental level by many writers, particularly feminists. The extent of violence in the family is coming increasingly to public attention, with rising reports of sexual and physical abuse, and emotional neglect, of children and the rape of wives by their husbands. In 2000, there were 97000 children registered for physical injury or sexual abuse alone. The largest survey ever conducted on domestic violence in Britain in 1993 found that one in ten women has been victim of violence from their partners, with 28% of women suffering physical injury. 99% of assaults between partners involve men assaulting women. Many Radical Feminists writers see patriarchy as the main obstacle to women’s freedom. Both Radical Feminists and Marxist feminists would agree that domestic violence stems from structural inequalities in society and that only by improving the position of women in society.
In conclusion, ultimately of course conjugal roles, the balance of power and decision making are organised in a multitude of ways but they are shifting. Evidence suggests that men are doing more marginally more and women are doing substantially less by way of housework especially the educated, high earners. As a result these women are likely to have greater power in the home both economically and politically. Many men on the other hand want to do more parenting but are often constrained by inflexible work places. 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 and Anne Green. Nevertheless, Patriarchal family does exist to certain extent. As suggested by sociologist Paul, her statistics shows that 60% of couples, male are dominated.
