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Topic 3: Family & Gender

General Concepts: Family

l Family
l Household
l Nuclear family - parents & their dependent children living together
l Extended family - extension of the nuclear form, either vertically or horizontally
l Other forms of family?

I. Is the Family a Universal Social Institution?

1.1 Functionalism

(a) Key Questions/Focuses:

• functions of the family for society?
• functional relationships with other parts of the social system (e.g. the economy)?
• functions of the family for its individual members?

(b) Murdock (1949)

-The universal functions of the family (without such functions, society cannot function):
l Sexual (rules permitting marital sex & limiting extra-marital sex - satisfying individual needs
& maintaining social order)
l Reproductive
l Economic (e.g. provision of food)
l Educational (socialization)

Queries: Could these functions be performed by other alternatives? Is the family being idealized?

(c) Parsons: Two “Basic & Irreducible Functions of the Family”

-loss of some functions of the family over time; still, two irreducible functions:
• Primary socialization of children
• Stabilization of adult personalities
—The emotional security that husband and wife provide for each other (e.g. expression of
love and childish whims) serves as a counterweight to the stresses and strains of everyday life
in modern society, where the nuclear family has become largely remote from kin support.

Queries and Criticisms:

-idealizing the family i.e. overlooking tensions and conflicts in the family in reality
-over-generalizing the family based on a typical American middle-class family
-overlooking functional alternatives to the family

1.2 Alternatives to the Family?

(a) Matrilineal Society1 (female-headed or matriarchal families)

- Kinship groupings are based on female biological relatives; only the women live with children;
husband (or marriage) plays no significant part in the formation of households & childrearing
etc.; the household consists of brothers & sisters, sisters' children, & their daughters’ children.

{Some research suggest that the female-carer role is the most basic family unit in most families;
matrifocal families and one-parent family are becoming more common today.}

1
“Matrilineal” means that property is passed down the female line; “matriarchal” refers to the considerable
authority of the female head.

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(b) Collective Childrearing (e.g. the Israeli communes - kibbutz)

-children living in communal dormitories & being raised by child caregivers
-children being protected from bad mothering
-economic cooperation: community-based rather than family-based

(c) Childrearing through Apprenticeship

-(Aries 1973) In the 15th - 17th centuries, in Europe, children were sent away at a small age to
be “apprenticed” in preparation for adult life—living for several years in another house, where
they performed menial chores, got instructed in manners and morals, and learned the trade of
the household members.

(d) Gay Families

- household or family?

(some concluding remarks …)

1.3 Critical Views of the Family

l The nuclear family, isolated from kinsfolk, has brought about an intensification of emotional
stress between husband and wife, between parents and children.

l Conflicts, abuse & violence within the family (e.g. child abuse, rape within marriage)

l Restraints on individual freedom, especially for children (e.g. conformity, submissiveness)

(e.g. Marxist views; feminist views)

II. The Family and Industrialization/ Modernization (Economy)

As industrialization proceeds, the extended family (as well as the kinship-based society) tends to break
up and the nuclear family emerges as the predominant family form in modern society. Why is it so?
How far is it a valid observation?

Traditional Extended Family Modern Nuclear Family

Patrilineal Bilineal
Patriarchal Symmetrical/ Equal
Patrilocal Neo-local

2.1 Pre-Industrial Society

Family Form & Structure:

Patrilineal: property is passed down the male line
Patriarchal: the male head has the most authority
Patrilocal: wives move to live with their husband's kin

Extended family: In pre-industrial (agricultural) society, the classic type consists of the male head,
his wife, his children, his aging parents who have passed on the farm to him and any unmarried
brothers and sisters.

Multiple Functions of Family (examples)

l Economic: as a unit of production—e.g. a lineage or family may own agricultural land which is
worked, and its produce shared, by members of the lineage or family, producing the goods
necessary for the family's survival

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l Political: as a unit in the political power system (e.g. village, village head) responsible for the
arbitration of disputes, resolution of conflicts, & collection of taxes etc.

l Welfare—caring & nurturing role

l Educational/Cultural—integrating family members into the larger value system in society

2.2 Parsons: “Isolated Nuclear Family” in Industrial Society [Structural-Functionalism]

Focus: functional relationship between economy (industrialization) & family (NF form)

Extended Family ———® Nuclear Family

­
Industrialization (modernity)

-“Isolated nuclear family” as the typical family form in modern industrial society:
("Structurally isolated" - family no longer forms an integral part of a wider system of kinship
relationships; kinship relationship becomes a matter of choice rather than binding obligations.)

(a) Structural differentiation 結構分化 —institutions specializing in fewer functions

(b) Geographical mobility of the labor force

(c) Social mobility—differential statuses among family members may cause conflicts

(d) Rise of individualism (beliefs in individual merits & achievement)

2.3 Criticisms & Queries

a] Evidence: family size & form in pre-industrial society?

l average family size: under 5
l NF being the typical family form
l differences among different classes

b] Evidence: increasing number of nuclear family in modern society?

l The early stages of industrialization increased rather than decreased the extension of the
working-class family. Hardship in life encouraged the extension of kinship bonds beyond the
nuclear family, providing support & care for the aged and the children while allowing mother
to go out to work.

l evidence suggesting that kin beyond NF play an important part in family life—nuclear in the
basic structure but maintaining fairly close kinship tie: “modified extended family”;
“dispersed extended family”

c] Assumption about nuclear family bringing about gender equality? (To be discussed later)

d] Overlooking differences in family relationships among different classes

e.g. middle class: full-time working husband, full-time working wife, maid, kids (age & no.)
e.g. lower class; upper class:
— depending on the amount and kind of resources available for people of different classes

e] Diversity of family forms (Why? Could economic factors explain it?)

l single parent; reconstituted; childless couple; cohabitation; gay & lesbian families;
remaining single etc.

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Rapoport & Rapoport (1982): Diversity

Ø organizational diversity
Ø cultural diversity
Ø class differences
Ø life cycle of the family
Ø cohort

III. Other Issues

3.1 The Changing Functions of the Family

• The loss of functions
• Functions of the family: more specialized but not less important
• Fletcher: The functions of the family have “increased in detail and importance”

3.2 Marriage and Marital Breakdown

3.3. Policies that do not Support Unconventional Families

Gender

Sex : the biological distinction between males and females

Gender : the culturally learned differences between males & females—“masculinity” & “femininity”
Patriarchy : a system of male dominance & subordination of women

l The ideology of masculinity and femininity

masculinity vs. femininity
tough soft
rational emotional
active passive
autonomous dependent
career-oriented family-oriented

Ideology 意識形態
“By ‘ideology’ we mean a pattern of ideas (common-sense knowledge)—both factual and
evaluative—which purports to explain and legitimate the social structure and culture of a social group
or society and which serves to justify social actions which are in accordance with that pattern of
ideas … Ideologies, especially dominant ones, also serve to construct certain aspects of the social
world as natural and universal, and therefore unquestionable and unchangeable.” (Abbott &
Wallace 1990:5-6)

l Sex-role stereotyping—preconceived ideas about the two sexes

l Familial ideology: patriarchy (+) heterosexuality

Q: How far does biology explain gender differences & form the basis of sexual division of labor in
society?

I. Biological Basis of Sexual Division of Labor?

1. Murdock:
Biological differences, such as the greater physical strength of men and the childbearing (as well as
nursing) capacity of women, lead to gender roles out of sheer practicality
—men for hunting, lumbering and mining, and women for cooking and making clothes etc.

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2. Parsons (functionalist theory of the differentiation of gender roles in the family)

l Functions of the family
l Two complementary roles in the family: (a) instrumental, (b) expressive
l Why gender-based: biological reasons—"… the fundamental explanation of the allocation of roles between
the biological sexes lies in the fact that the bearing and early nursing of children establish a strong presumptive
primacy of the relation of mother to the small child."

3. Queries:
(a) Counterevidence by Oakley: societies where the roles of men and women are not sharply
differentiated—cooking, hunting, & childrearing;

(d) Is biology a strong enough justification for sexual division of labor in modern society?

(e) Efficient or creating gender inequalities?

II. Institutionalization of the Mother-Housewife Role in Industrial Society (男主外、女主內)

l Pre-industrial society: The family was the basic unit of production. In the production of textile, the
husband did the weaving & the wife spun and dyed the yarn. In agriculture, husband and wife
worked on the farm; unmarried children were responsible for cleaning and childcare etc.

l Industrialization ® initially, greater labor demand for men & women

l Restriction on women's employment—due to pressure & exclusion from male workers (perception
of threat) + Victorian ideology stating that a woman's place was in the home

l Industrialization ® work/ home distinction ® sexual division of labor between workplace & home
(especially among middle class people who move to reside in the suburb area)

l An accompanying familial ideology: the domestic ideal, which simultaneously defines the
feminine ideal & a new conception of childhood

Childhood - restriction on child labor; children's well-being

The Feminine Ideal - construction of the need for a committed housewife-mother role to
take care of the household and the well-being of children

III. The Social Construction of Gender Roles

Gender roles are culturally and socially produced rather than biologically determined.

Ø Central Question (1): How are gender differences REPRODUCED?

Ø Central Question (2): How do gender differences constitute gender inequality?

Socialization:
-the process by which people learn the culture of their society and thereby acquire personality

1. Language—the issue of linguistic sexism

l male-centeredness (e.g. “mankind,” “chairman,” “he,” “Mrs.”)
l sexualization of women
l trivialization of women
l differential evaluation/ connotation

2. Non-verbal communication (e.g. use of space, gesture, gaze)

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3. Agents of socialization (examples)

(a) Family
-role-modelling; gender-role expectation (e.g. naming) & everyday interaction—socializing
children into typical gender roles

(b) School
Hidden Curriculum—implicit norms, values & roles behind or outside formal curriculum
l gender role stereotyping in textbooks & by teachers
l gender stratification in school
l sexual segregation in curriculum and school activities
l male domination in classroom

(c) Media
-Findings: the media-created woman is usually (a) wife, mother & housewife, (b) a sex object
which appeals to men as consumers, & (c) a person trying to be beautiful for men.

Reading: J. M. Henslin, “On Becoming Male: Reflections of a Sociologist on Childhood and

Early Socialization, in Down to Earth Sociology, edited by J. M. Henslin

IV. GENDER INEQUALITY

Generally speaking, the conflict perspective focuses on social conflict and social inequality, asking
questions such as who suffer and who benefit in the existing social system. In particular, feminism
pays special attention to the issue of gender inequality as one form of social inequality.

Focal Concerns
Q1: Why do so many women still remain full-time housewives?
Q2: Why, despite work, do women still take up the primary responsibility for household work?
Q3:Why, despite work, do women remain in the lower socio-economic position than men?

1. Domestication (家居化) of Women

-Oakley: the characteristics of the housewife role in industrial society
(Q: Is housework a kind of work?)

[Then will participation in work liberate women from gender inequality?]

2. Gender Inequalities in Employment

Women tend to be paid less than men, concentrated in the lower grades of occupations and in jobs
with a lower status, and more likely to be in part-time work etc.

i) Occupational Segregation (tables)

-division between men’s job & women’s job, within the same rank (horizontal gender
segregation) & across different ranks (vertical gender segregation);

ii) Sex-Role Stereotyping

-the women’s job is largely an extension of domestic work (e.g. nursing) which requires little
technical skill and expertise (or some inter-personal skill);

-the men’s job assumes significance in economic production which requires skill, expertise,
mental capacity and instrumental rationality;

iii) Differential ranking between men’s job and women’s job

-the so-called women’s job is lowly-valued in status, power in money terms whereas the men’s
job is more highly valued

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iv) Promotional Prospects

-deskilling in work among women
-preconception about women’s ability & character
-consideration of women’s caring role at home

v) Part-Time Employment and Unemployment

-part-time employment as a strategy by women whereby to shoulder the double burden of
housework and wage work
-rate of unemployment among women being under-estimated

Explanations for Gender Inequalities in Employment

(i) Functionalism and Human Capital Theory

Functionalist theory by Parsons: women are naturally suited to the “expressive” role of
childcare and men the “instrumental” role of competing in the labor market. Implications:
Women with children will give up or interrupt their careers.

Human capital theory by some economists: women’s lack of commitment to paid

employment is the cause of the disadvantages they suffer in the labor market (as a result,
relative lack of training, qualifications and experience)

Criticisms: The theories ignore causes of inequality between male and female employees
located within the structure of the labor market (à the next focus).

(ii) Women as a Reserve Army of Labor (Beechey, 1986) – Marxist-Feminist:

Marx:
-Capitalism requires a spare pool of potential recruits to the labor force.
-Under capitalism, workers are hired during the booms and fired during the slumps. Under
capitalism, technological innovations also reduce the workforce, and a reserve army provides
the necessary flexibility.
-One main function of the reserve army is to reduce the wages of all the workers.

Beechey:
-how women are particularly suited to form part of this reserve army:
-women: less likely to be unionized.
-women: prepared to work for less than men (husband’s wages as major source of income)
-women: more likely to accept part-time or flexible-hour work (due to their familial role).

(iii) The ideology of domesticity (Reference: Bilton et al., p.142)

-taking women’s work at home as a natural by-product of femininity, as requiring little skill
(reflecting gender biases in the definition of skill)

3. Gender Inequalities in the Family

• Research on conjugal roles:
-allocation of housework
-decision-making power
-money management
-invisible and emotional work

• Feminist View: the family as a source of women’s oppression (more in section V)

-financial dependence of women on men
-family ideology encourages women to put the family before their own interests
-family ideology masks gender injustice (e.g. battery, rape, & abuse)

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4. Gender Inequalities in Other Spheres

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V. FEMINIST THEORIES

5.1 Liberal Feminism

Roots of the Problem:

Socialization into rigid gender roles—hampering the development of both men & women and
preventing women from enjoying equal opportunities (The ideal situation is one in which each
individual chooses the lifestyle most suitable to her/him and has that choice respected.)

Resolution:
Creation of equal opportunities—through legislative changes and public education
(e.g. eliminating sexism and stereotypes about women and men from textbooks & the mass media)

Criticisms
(a) lacking “an account of the overall social structuring of gender inequality” (Walby 1990)—
offering no explanation of how gender inequalities first developed; some argue that the creation of
equal opportunity for and in work will not eliminate gender inequality. Why not?
-(b) encouraging women to be like men without offering alternatives to the “masculine” culture

5.2 Radical Feminism

Roots of the Problem: Patriarchy (i.e. Men’s domination over women):

Resolution: Independence from Men

Women must take radical control over their bodies & lives. Revolutionary changes include
maintaining independence and even separation from men (e.g. organizing women's movement
independently of men outside the male-dominated culture; becoming lesbians). Feminine
characteristics are embraced such as connection, sharing, emotion, process, peace and life, in
opposition to masculine characteristics such as aggressiveness, hierarchy, domination, & war etc.

5.3 Marxist Feminism

Primary root: economic oppression (capitalism)

Secondary root: sexist oppression
Resolution: communism

• Women’s role at home: reproduction of labor power

—unpaid work at home (by wife) subsidizes and disguises the real costs of reproducing labor
(by husband) in the job market

5.4 Socialist Feminism

Roots: Capitalism + Patriarchy are equally important

Resolution: for women to gain real economic independence in a fully transformed economy in
which different types of work, not ordinarily considered economic (e.g. housework), can be
understood in economic terms.