4.3.1
The Symmetrical Family
The Symmetrical Family
The Symmetrical Family
Gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society.
Domestic division of labour
Domestic division of labour
- The domestic division of labour refers to the way gender roles are assigned within the family, such as the man as breadwinner and the woman as homemaker, known as instrumental and expressive roles.
- Partners in these traditional kinds of relationships are also likely to have separate friends and engage in different leisure activities.
The march of progress
The march of progress
- Symmetrical families refer to those that are equally balanced and flexible and where partners share both the instrumental and expressive roles.
- Young and Willmott support the ‘march of progress’ view of modern families, in that families are becoming less patriarchal and more symmetrical.
Living standards
Living standards
- Bott describes this as a change from segregated conjugal roles to joint conjugal roles and suggests a number of factors that have led to this, such as:
- Improved living standards e.g. labour-saving consumer goods and better housing have resulted in couples being more home-centred.
Women's rights
Women's rights
- With the improved status and rights for women and with more women in paid employment, men are being encouraged to view women on equal terms.
Domestic labour
Domestic labour
- The commercialisation of domestic labour means that there are many consumer goods that help to ease the burden of domestic labour, such as washing machines and dishwashers, and home delivery of groceries, although these may only be accessible to the middle-classes.
Postmodernists
Postmodernists
- Postmodernists argue that couples are free to pick ‘n’ mix roles and identities leading to the weakening of traditional gender identities, which in turn, weakens the gendered division of housework and childcare.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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