Consensus view of family, arguing it plays a vital role in providing functions to meet the needs of society and its individual members.
Human body made up of different parts that function together to maintain it. Functionalists believe society does same, in which it is made up of parts (eg. education, government, religion) that work together to maintain the system as a whole.
FOUR essential functions:
- Socialisation
- Satisfaction of economic needs
- Reproduction
- Stable satisfaction of the sex drive
The functions of family depend on type of society they are in:
- Pre-industrial society = extended family, function of production and consumption.
- Modern society = nuclear family, function of mobility.
TWO family functions:
- Primary socialisation, learn basic skills and norms and values.
- Stabilisation of adult personalities, letting adults to relax so can go to work and be effective.
Marxists take a conflict view of the family, arguing it helps maintain class inequalities.
The family exists so men can pass their private property onto their biological offspring, notably a son.
There is a function of the family called ‘cult of private life’ - belief that we can only gain fulfilment from family life, distracting attention from exploitation.
Nuclear families brainwashed into thinking capitalism is fair, teaching lower gens to conform with the capitalist system.
Agree with march of progress view - inequality becoming overcome through reform and policy change. Changing attitudes through socialisation and stereotypes.
Family and marriage are key in a patriarchal society, men benefit from women’s unpaid domestic labour and sex, and dominate them through violence or the threat of it. The system needs to be overturned - with seperatism (woman live indipendently to men).
Capitalism oppresses women most in the family by:
- Reproducing the labour force by women socialising them.
- Absorbing men's anger from being exploited at work.
- A reserve army of cheap labour, doing donestic role until needed.
The division of labour between a male breadwinner and a female homemaker is natural and biologically determined.
Reliance on state welfare = dependency culture = undermine traditional gender roles.
Produces family breakdown and lone-parent families, results in social problems due to poor socialisation.
Looks at relationships that individuals see as significant and gives a sense of identity, belonging and relatedness (pets, friends etc.). Family isnt fixed, or blood, social construct.
Interactionists believe that structural approaches assume that the traditional nuclear family is the dominant type of family. This ignores the increased diversity of families today.