'Discuss the View That Roles of Men and Women in the Family are Becoming More Equal\r'

'The aim of this act is to stress to ejaculate to a conclusion as to whether the sexuality firearmings in spite of appearance the modern-day family be partake, whether they be comme il faut to a greater extent adjoin, and whether they sh whole last(predicate) ever be equal. In doing this, we shall reach to study the hitchs and opinions of m whatever schools of estimate, the results of different studies, and recognise and full appreciate the argu ments of different people and groups.\r\nThe title gesture itself raises numerous debateable points, as it makes assumptions that ignore the diversity of the family. Firstly, and near obviously, the question assumes we shall only deal with heterosexually base families, non same-sex relationships. While same-sex families most definitely exist, they ar a minority and do not really come into the issue of sexual urge, therefore I shall ignore them for the dustup of this essay. Secondly, no two families atomic number 18 ex actly the same. Families in different countries give no doubt rich person different attitudes on the subject of equality, and there will be noticeable differences across race, kinsfolk and well-disposedization di tidy sums, as well as among two different families with (superficially at least) a lot in common. This type of diversity would require its own practise of studies and essays, and so for the sake of this essay I shall pay off my studies to families from this country, and to statistical picture; rather than individual families.\r\n at that place argon many different views concerning the equality between men and women in the family. The tralatitious nuclear family as we consider it today would be a matrimonial man and woman with children, with the man going expose to paid employment and the woman staying at sign of the zodiac to do house spring and look after the childrenWillmott and Youngs views atomic number 18 equivalent to those of Postmodernists, a sociolog ical school of thought that developed in the 1980s. Postmodernists intrust that we live in a postmodern world, where differences in sex activity, race, class etc ar now obsolete. As a result, they see grammatical sexual practice roles in the family to be equal and egalitarian, and ask that any inequality or dis interchangeableity between sex roles in individual families is due to the choice of the members indoors the family.\r\n umteen people suffer attacked Willmott and Youngs study, claiming insignificant evidence and inaccurate methodology to back up their conclusions. Edgells nerve Class Couples (1980) claims that temporary hookup the division of housekeeping is to a greater extent(prenominal) equal than in the past, the vast absolute majority of families atomic number 18 far from being egalitarian. Edgell in addition puts emphasis on the fact that the division power at heart the family also compose seems unequal, with men making the majority of decisions for th e family. Many feminists also claimed that the statistics show that men still do a disproportionately small amount of work at home.\r\nWhile some more loose feminists recall we ar on a stunner path to sexual practice equality within the family, many more hard-line and radical feminists grapple that grammatical gender roles argon far from equal. Ann Oakleys The Sociology of Housework (1974) and Housewife (1976) deal that modern women work a ‘double-shift, juggling regular employment and housework. Oakley claims that â€Å"One occupation in particular, that of housewife, is entirely feminine. In Britain, 76% of all employed women are housewives and so are 93% of non-employed women…” †Housewife (1976).\r\nShe argues that opus feminism has forced change in waged employment, hearty attitudes in the home remain the same. According to Oakley, men do very little in the home, with washup being the only housework men do more than women. She also argues th at men see doing housework as a favour to their wives, rather than a duty; and that childcare for most men is that a spasmodic activity of recreation.\r\nMany opposite sociologists attack Oakleys views, accusing her of hypocrisy as she attacked Willmott and Youngs methodology, magic spell her own studies into housework completely ignore the more traditional male jobs, such as DIY, op durationtional machinery, gardening, simple household repairs and so on.\r\nA. Wardes Domestic Divisions of restriction (1990) offers a more well rounded view: *\r\nMale Partner\r\nFemale Partner\r\n shared out\r\nPlastering\r\n32\r\n4\r\n2\r\nTidying Up\r\n2\r\n67\r\n23\r\nCooking\r\n4\r\n77\r\n17\r\nChecking Car Oil\r\n79\r\n9\r\n2\r\nBathing Children\r\n22\r\n44\r\n33\r\nIt may also be fundamental that the female-dominated jobs (Tidying up, Cooking, Bathing children) are much more frequently ‘shared than the male-dominated ones (Checking Car Oil, Plastering)\r\nBurghes (1997) argues aga inst Oakleys dismissal of male childcare, stating that more fathers are taking an active role in the aflame development and support of their children.\r\nMarxists argue that the traditional nuclear family was merely a way for the capitalist class to control and exploit the proletariat through and through ideology. Therefore, Marxist-Feminists view in a ‘patriarchal ideology, in which girls are sociableised into a male-led world to withdraw their role as housewives, and make marriage and family their main goal. In turn, this will benefit the capitalist society by keeping the status quo, and creating a new multiplication of similarly socialised male workers and female housewives. Marxist-Feminists cerebrate this patriarchy occurs at all levels of society, from making girls drudge skirts to advertising dolls on television, and that to truly achieve gender equality we must dispense with socialising our children into gender roles.\r\nPeople often dismiss this view, claiming t hat gaining equality should not mean compromising identity, and many other feminists believe that retaining their femininity is as important a part of the struggle for equality as gaining equal rights.\r\nThe stark naked Right believe that the nuclear family is the paperl family structure, and that Britain went through a ‘Golden Age during the 1950s. Since then, they claim that feminism and equal rights have caused women to demand jobs, and thus be lacking(p) from home. As a result, the New Right argue that this puts stress on the nuclear family, often ferocious it apart, and that absent parents cause deviance and social problems amongst their children. They claim that this has caused a decline in the family, and an increase in what they consider social problems (egg divorce, single-parent families). They believe that the current equal rights movement is wrong, and that people should return to the traditional nuclear family, which gives everyone an equal but separate, indi vidual role.\r\nThese views are similar to those of functionalists. Functionalists also believe that the nuclear family is the perfect and desire family type, as each member is supported within the family unit, and each person agrees on their role within the family to keep it working. Robin Fox (1969) argued that roles in the family were based on biological rules, while Talcott Parsons (1955) took a similar view, claiming that naturally women are take up at ‘expressive roles, such as caring, empathising and socialising, while men are best at ‘instrumental roles, such as working for money. Therefore, functionalists believe that biological factors determine gender roles within the family, and the traditional roles within the nuclear family are the perfect office of these roles. What is more, functionalist claim there is a consensus within the family, whereby all members of the family agree to these roles.\r\nThese functionalist and new right views are viciously attacked by Marxists, feminists and postmodernists, all of whom agree that gender roles are culturally, not biologically, determined. Marxist-feminists claim that the consensus is an illusion, as women only accept their roles in the traditional family as they have been socialised to do so by patriarchal ideologies. every last(predicate) feminists also disagree with the New Right idea of the ‘perfect nuclear family and the ‘Golden Age, claiming that all these things did were control and finagle women, and that roles within such families were never equal.\r\nAs this essay has shown us, views on gender roles in the family are fiercely contested, and opinions differ drastically. Functionalists and the New Right insist that gender roles in the family are biologically intended to be different, and were most equal in the traditional, nuclear family. Postmodernists and pursuit of Willmott and Young claim we have moved into an era of egalitarianism, where gender roles are shared and equal. Feminists argue that while there has been a small amount of progress, gender roles are far from equal, and females still have a much worse ‘deal than males.\r\nI have assay to fully understand all these points of view, and come to a fair conclusion. In truth, it seems to me that the real nature of gender roles within the family is somewhere between all these points of view. I believe that as we currently stand, gender roles are equal, but not egalitarian. More males share more of the housework and childcare than ever, while more females are pursuing careers and learning what were traditionally ‘male skills (eg DIY, repair, vehicle support etc).\r\nPeople tend to still do jobs that were traditionally considered ‘right for their sex, and there are most definitely still differences between the genders, but these boundaries are being pushed every day, and more and more families are sharing more jobs and decisions. I think we must remember that social attitudes take more time to change than social actions, and we must recognise that change is occurring. Since the 1970s, when Ann Oakley wrote her books on housework, we have seen the rise of the ‘new man and ‘house-husbands. Meanwhile, more and more women are proving Foxs and Parsons theories of biologically determined roles to be wrong.\r\nNot all families will follow the statistics; there will constantly be a few male-dominated households, just as there are now ‘role-reversal families. And families will forever and a day differ slightly from each other. But within a few generations, I believe that Willmott and Youngs vision of an egalitarian family will become our view of the majority of families, as were halfway there already.\r\n'