1. AS Unit 1 Acquiring Culture;Family and Culture Week 5:Conjugal Roles

2. ObjectivesHave viewed this slide show you should be aware of:The changing roles perspective suggesting a growth of thecompanionate conjugal couple.The impact of employment and unemployment upon thedivision of labour.How women still undertake the bulk of domestic tasks.How technology and living standards are impacting uponroles.How power and authority relations still operate in ways thatbenefit men.Ideas of the triple shift FamilyandCultureWeek5 through recognition of emotion work. 2 3. Introduction Housework and care-work are still predominantly femaout of 10 women who work full-time undertake most household choreHowever, this bleak picture is slowly improving FamilyandCultureWeek53 4. Changing Roles PerspectiveThe changing rles perspective assumes a gradual sharing of gendfamous advocates are Willmott and Young (1973) who talk of movemSymmetry describes a sense of balance between the duties of the MenCouples moreWomen as aredomes breadwinn compani erstic FamilyandCultureWeek5onate4 5. Evidence for Changing Rolesn addition, in recent years there has been an acceptance of the intercwomen of working age now have jobs, and half of mothers with childrprising 36% of couples say that the man is the main carer (Equal OpFamilyandCultureWeek5 5 6. Economically-Active Mothers Paid employment would seem to empower women withinhe more hours a woman is employed outside the home, the more doours (evenings or weekends), men are increasingly having to care forFamilyandCultureWeek5 6 7. Technology and Living Standardsntribution is limited, the burden of domestic tasks on women is beingelivery of shopping is time and labour microwaves, freezers and proc Technologies such as saving especially to women.ut and take-away food frees women from cooking and washing up.FamilyandCultureWeek57 8. Other Factors That Promote Changing Rolesne and Ishii-Kuntz (1992) found delayed childbirth caused husbands This may be linked to the fact that women who have careers oftenes living standards meanmore equal than married couples. g suggest that they are families may employ cleaners, nannies, au pFamilyandCultureWeek5 8 9. Evidence Against ChangingRoles FamilyandCultureWeek5 9 10. Division of Work by Hours MenW om enCooking m eals 2.5 13.3Cleaning 2.0 13.15Washing/ironing 0.55 9.05Childcare 5.05 8.45Shopping 2.55.5Washing up 2.03.4Gardening3.02.0 FamilyandCultureWeek5 10 11. Dual-career Familiesfield (1992) found even in dual career families women had major respRapoport (1970) found that career women were still viewed by partney, this does not mean that they doing things equally (Ann Oakley). as men participating in domestic tasks are doing so to "help their wivFamilyandCultureWeek5 11 12. Womens Lack of Leisure Time Women have considerably less leisure and free-time because of d This David Morley (1992) says: women see the home as a place of worktranslates into 15fewer hoursnd full-time working women spent 3 hours a day doing housework whiof leisureper week. FamilyandCultureWeek512 13. HouseworkHousework is It is assumed that women are somehow naturally beviewed traditionally as : womens work.even the assumption that women should enjoy it and be fulfilled by itt Tescos magazine inviting women to throw themselves into spring c FamilyandCultureWeek513 14. Ann OakleyOakley (1974) was the first feminist sociologist to seriously examineple of 40 housewives she found they were as alienated by their workfrom encouraging a sense factory workers.milar coping strategies as of sisterhood, women competed with each FamilyandCultureWeek514 15. Social Factors on Houseworkollard (1989) studied newly-weds, and found limited evidence of symmdoes not seem to be a noticeable difference in division of labour accWestwood in her study of hosiery workers felt Asian conjugal roles wHowever, care must be made to avoid sweeping stereotyFamilyandCultureWeek5 15 16. Emotion Work: Triple Shiftwomen are increasingly seeking a haven in a heartless world througmarried wives were deeply disappointed with the lack of emotional rec0 white couples who had been married 15 years and found women tyFamilyandCultureWeek5 16 17. Economic Influencesers have wondered if male unemployment influences male participatio and Bell (1984), unemployed young men did even less domestic woris (1985) found from her sample that roles were subject to re-negotiJane Wheelock found that male unemployment did lead to positiveFamilyandCultureWeek5 17 18. Power and Authoritysion-making as unequal, with men making important decisions.nd hers marriage to reflect the power imbalance that exists.phrase differential consumption to reflect the power of men: women FamilyandCultureWeek518 19. ConclusionsThere is evidence to support the changing roles hypothesis.It would appear that womens economic work is a key factor inpromoting equality in the conjugal roles.New man is more caring and supportive, but there is limitedevidence to support his existence.However, women still undertake an unfair bulk of domestictasks.Oakley argues that many sociological studies of equality inmarriage start from the assumption that cooking, cleaning andchildcare are somehow womens work anyway. FamilyandCultureWeek5 19 20. Conclusions (continued)Feminists see this gender inequality of domestic work asstemming from a power imbalance.In addition, while couples may do things jointly, this does notnecessarily mean that they do things equally.There is a clear imbalance in the quality and amount of leisuretime female partners have.Male power and authority is reflected in patriarchal elements ofthe family.These include decision-making, differential consumption andfinancial management. FamilyandCultureWeek520 21. End ofPresentation