Family (POLICY)
General
Social policy impacts families. International examples include China’s one child policy and Nazi Germany’s policies. In UK, some sociologists believe social policy can be used to help families, however others believe it oppresses them.
Fletcher - Functionalism
Fletcher states introduction of health, education and housing policies since industrial revolution led to development of welfare state supporting family and functions (eg. NHS, families can take care of sick members when they are ill).
Donzelot
‘The policing of families’: social workers, doctors and health visitors use knowledge to control families. Surveillance is not targeted equally on all classes; ‘poor’ families are seen as ‘problem’ families and cause of all crime and anti-social behaviour. Donzelot rejects functionalist view and argues that social policy is the state controlling family.
Murray - New Right
Argues state is providing OVERLY generous benefits because these policies offer ‘perverse incentives’ - the state rewards people for irresponsible or antisocial behaviour.
Leonard - Feminist
Argues that even when policies seem to support women (eg. childcare so the woman can work), they still reinforce patriarchal family and social control over women. Eg - although maternity leave policies benefit women, it reinforces patriarchy, because paternity leave is less time, implying that women are the natural carers.
Drew - Gender Regimes
Familistic gender regimes - policies based on traditional gender divisions (eg, Greece has minimal state funding for childcare meaning woman has to do it).
Individualistic gender regimes - policies based on equality, wives arent dependent on husband, so each partner has seperate state benefits (eg, Swedish policies treat men and woman equal for breadwinning and domestic tasks).