Feminists Perspective on the family

Highly critical of the family

Focus is on he harmful effects of the family on women

Theories to support their claim: Male dominance in family, power differences, domestic violence and housework.

The women lose out in the nuclear family.

Men benefit

The family and marriages are not the centre of love, equality and functionalism that other sociologists claim it is

Split into 3 categories: Marxist feminist, Difference Feminist and Radical Feminists

Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ens1Vi1_24

Marxist FeministThese are Marxist who see the capitalist

industry as taking advantage of women in the family

Production of Labour Power

(Britain on strike 1hr 17 quote)

What is this Benston quote saying?

(Britain on strike 1hr 17)

A husband’s responsibility to his family weaken his bargaining power and commit him to working for a low wage and not to strike for better conditions. (no pay for striking workers)

This was demonstrated in...

Benston quote 2

The family not only produces cheap labour but the worker is maintained (fed, nurtured, loved and able to work) at no cost to the employer

Ansley built on the functionalist approach of the family as building stabalised adult personalities (Parsons) and put it into Marxist framework.

The emotional support provided by the comforting wife is a safety valve for frustration. It enables to worker to let of steam at home and function for work the next day.

Bernard quote

Mcfee and Wood make a similar point when they observed that the “petty dictatorship that men had over their family enabled them to vent their anger and frustration in a way that poses no challenge o the system.

Task1. Explain how the family can be seen as a

tool for “idealogical conditioning.”

Refer to Cooper and Feeley.

2. What are the criticisms to Marxist Feminist theory?

Find pictures that illustrate the Marxist feminist theories of Benston, Ansley, McAfee and Wood and Cooper