2.5.3
Feminist Views of Families
Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
Feminist Views of Families
Feminists believe that conjugal roles aren’t equal. Feminists argue that steps towards men undertaking the expressive role are small and that women still do most of the housework and childcare.

Radical feminists
- Delphy and Leonard are feminists who argue that women are exploited by men.
- They explain this by acknowledging that family is male-dominated and therefore men have more power in decision-making.
- As a result, women might suffer from the dual burden (doing household chores and paid job) or the triple shift (doing housework, paid work and offering emotional support or caring for the elderly).

Key Study
- 'Familiar Exploitation' is a key study published by feminists Delphy and Leonard in 1992.
- The study says that:
- Men benefit from women’s labour.
- Family is responsible for perpetuating patriarchy.
- Women are oppressed because they have to carry out tasks at home after coming back from work (dual burden).
- All the while, men don’t make equal contributions to domestic chores.

Evaluating feminist ideas
- According to functionalists, feminists ignore the positive aspects of the family.
- According to functionalists, feminists don’t recognise that there might be women who enjoy being housewives and caregivers.
1The Sociological Approach
1.1Introduction to Sociology
1.2Sociological Approaches
1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate
2Families
2.1Functions of Families
2.2Family Forms
2.3Conjugal Role Relationships
2.4Changing Relationships Within Families
2.5Criticisms of Families
3Education
3.1Roles & Functions of Education
3.2Processes Within Schools
4Crime & Deviance
4.1The Social Construction of Crime
4.2Social Control
4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5Social Stratification
5.1Social Stratification
5.2Poverty as a Social Issue
6Sociological Research Methods
6.1Research Methods
6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods
Jump to other topics
1The Sociological Approach
1.1Introduction to Sociology
1.2Sociological Approaches
1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate
2Families
2.1Functions of Families
2.2Family Forms
2.3Conjugal Role Relationships
2.4Changing Relationships Within Families
2.5Criticisms of Families
3Education
3.1Roles & Functions of Education
3.2Processes Within Schools
4Crime & Deviance
4.1The Social Construction of Crime
4.2Social Control
4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5Social Stratification
5.1Social Stratification
5.2Poverty as a Social Issue
6Sociological Research Methods
6.1Research Methods
6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods
Practice questions on Feminist Views of Families
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1
Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium
Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions
Mini-mock exams based on your study history
Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books