'Gender relations are the axis around which family life is organized.' Why might the perspectives of social psychology / sociology and psychoanalysis interpret this statement in different ways?

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‘Gender relations are the axis around which family life is organized.’  Why might the perspectives of social psychology / sociology and psychoanalysis interpret this statement in different ways?

Whilst gender relations are fundamental to any understanding of family life, this essay will focus on the perspectives alluded to in the question, those of social psychology/ sociology and psychoanalysis.  However, it must be noted that within each perspective there are a number of theories, each with differing views on the topics of gender and gender relations.  For purposes of clarity and concision, this argument will focus on particular aspects of these perspectives, namely role theory and object relations theory, although where appropriate, other aspects within the social psychological/sociological and psychoanalytic accounts will be examined. It must also be noted that the essay will assume that the ‘family’ includes parents and children, since ‘…in common sense ideology, the transition to parenthood is seen…as the moment when new families are created.’ (Wetherell, 1997, p.214)

 

It will become clear that while each perspective does indeed view gender relations as pivotal to the process of the creation and maintenance of family life, each stems from very different understandings as to how gender relations are constituted.  It will therefore be necessary to examine the theoretical assumptions underlying these approaches, together with a consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of each, drawing on the critiques put forward by a number of writers from both within and outside of these perspectives.  However, before this can be done an outline of each approach is required, with particular regard to the significance of gender and gender relations.  

At its most basic, the social psychological / sociological approach argues that any account of family life must be understood within the wider social, economic and political context of the external world.  Within this social context, concepts such

as roles, the sexual division of labour, and power, all to some extent determined by the dominant ideology of the particular society, which itself is patriarchal in character, play a highly influential role in the construction of gender identity and in turn, gender relations within the family.  An examination of each of these concepts must be undertaken in order to understand their significance to the social construction of gender relations.

The concept of social roles, as the name suggests, is integral to role theory, which has been highly influential in the study of gender identity.  The central premise of this theory is that the behaviour, identity and characteristics of an individual are socially, rather than biologically, determined.  Indeed, role theorists claim that each social position within the hierarchical social structure is imbued with expectations and prescribed behaviour, thus when an individual occupies a certain position they act according to these expectations.

Within the ideology of the family the dominant prescribed roles are those of wife/mother and breadwinner, constructed along gender lines.  There are strong social pressures to adhere to the roles, in the form of both sanctions and rewards, but perhaps the most powerful determinant is that of socialization. From early childhood these roles, and the norms and expectations associated with them, are learned through imitation and modelling, eventually becoming internalised, and thus seen as ‘natural’.  In this way, the sexual division of labour reproduces itself.  

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This gendered division of labour is itself a social construct.  Feminists argue that it is effected by patriarchy and is organised according to the way in which the public and the private are represented within the wider social discourse.  The private sphere is commonly associated with domesticity, and hence female gender roles, whilst the public world of paid work is seen as a masculine domain.  

However, despite an apparent blurring of the public/private boundary, with increasing numbers of mothers now going out to work, studies have shown that the employment status of women tends to be ...

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