The Domestic Division of Labour

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The Domestic Division of Labour

Feminists View of Housework

Oakley believes that there's a rise of housewife roles. She sees that married women have more housework to do nowadays.

15% of men helps out with housework and 25% helps out with childcare.

Ann Oakley (1974) argues that the symmetrical family is over exaggerated and that men hardly help out with the housework etc

They see this is due to the patriarchy society.

They argue that little has changed within the family. They see men still as the breadwinners and women as the housewives.

Joint & Segregated Conjugal Roles

Young & Willmott identified a pattern of separated conjugal roles in their study, saying that men were mainly the breadwinners, spending their leisure time with thair work mates. Whereas the women were full time housewives and had limited leisure time that they spent with their female relatives.

Joint Conjugal Roles - where couples share the tasks such as childcare and housework. They spend their leisure time together also.

Segregated Conjugal Roles - where couples have separate roles: the male the breadwinner and the female the homemaker. They have separate leisure times too.

Elizabeth Bott (1957) came up with 2 roles within marriage

The Symmetrical Family

They believe there's a rise in S.F. due to major social changes, such as: - Changes in women's positions (going to work) - Geographical mobility (more couples living away from their hometowns) - New technology (labour-saving devices) - Higher standards of living

By this they mean the roles of husbands and wives are now more similar, but not the same. - Women go out to work more (although they tend to work part time) - Men now help with more housework and childcare

Young & Willmott take a 'march of progress' view of the history of the family. They believe that it's gradually improving for all its members.

Parsons: Instrumental & Expressive Roles

Criticism: - Michael Young & Peter Willmott (1962) argue that the domestic labour is now becoming more shared between the husband and wife. Men are doing more housework and women are becoming wage earners. - Femisits argue that the division is not natural and that women do more housework and this causes their oppression. Men benefit from this.

He believes that the different roles are due to biological differences. He says that women are 'naturally' suited to nurturing the children whereas men are the wage earners.

Expressive - the wife's role, geared towards primary socialisation of the children and meeting family's emotional needs. She's the homemaker (a full time housewife instead of a wage earner).

Instrumental - the huband's role, geared towards achieving success at work to support/provide for the family financially. He's the breadwinner.

In the traditional nuclear family, the roles of husbands and wives are segregated (separate and distinct from the other)