Download The Sociology of Housework

The Sociology of the Family

Aim: To explore an understand the
breakdown of Conjugal Roles within the
Family.

Key Words:
Conjugal Roles
Home-centered
Class
Social Networks




What are conjugal roles?
Roles played by men and women within
a marriage, with particular reference to
the domestic division of labour. Roles
can be joint or separated
Focus On………………
The distribution of Housework
b) Decision Making
c) Violence
d) Emotional Work
a)
Why are Women housewives?

Oakley – due to industrial revolution,
women were banned from factories

Parsons – expressive role

Women were needed at home to look
after children
Characteristics
Oakley, Housework is
seen as being a
predominantly
female role;
‘non-work, unpaid,
isolated and makes
women
economically
dependent on men’
Oakley

Housework is far
more monotonous
than the production
line.
 Furthermore there is
little chance of
promotion, job
satisfaction or
personal
development
However…….

Martin suggests that
housework is in fact
liberating for women
as it allows them to
create their own
sense of power
Equality
Wilmott and Young (1973)
 Move from segregated
to joint
 Move towards greater
equality as spouses
share domestic and
leisure activities
 Study in Bethnal Green
found 72% of husbands
did housework other
than washing up
Other Explanations
More working wives……………………
.................................................................
2. Changes in the status of women………
……………………………………………….
3. Move from extended to nuclear…………
………………………………………………..
4. Breakdown of kin based groups………..
…………………………………………………
1.
Vs Inequality
Oakley
 Criticises Wilmott and
Young’s methodology
 Backed by British Social
Attitudes Survey
 Showed 88% of women
were solely responsible
for washing and ironing
compared to 1% of men!
 HOWEVER her
methodology was also
questionable
Class Differences
THE WORKING CLASSES
 Dennis et al – segregated
working class roles in
mining community
 Men out at pub, female
housewife at home
 Women seen as inferior
as they couldn’t work
down the mines



However not all
sociologists agree with
this
Wilmott and Young –
w.c roles became more
joint as the family
became more privatized
Gavron – w.c were more
home-centred and family
orientated
The Middle Classes
Wilmott and Young –
m.c showed joint
conjugal roles due to
greater mobility

However – Wilmott
and Young’s study of
Managerial directors
showed inequalities
Rapoport et al –
dual-career families
more segregated

Edgell’s work on
professional families
supported this
Paid Employment
Rapoport’s found
that dual-working
families had shared
conjugal roles
 However – Devine
(92) men were only
involved in childcare
and that was due to
financial reasons

Elston’s study on
female doctors –
husbands still did
little housework
 Family Studies
Centre 1987 study women in paid
employment still do
the majority of
housework.

Unemployment



McKee and Bell (‘86) –
unemployed men don’t
do housework as it
threatens masculinity
Morris (’87) depends on
class and
homecentredness
Leighton – only if agreed
with wife working
Social Networks Elizabeth Bott
Study of 20 families in London
 Found a link between conjugal roles and
class
 However more importantly in terms of
social relationships
 Those with close-knit networks (lots of
friends) are more likely to have
segregated roles and those with looseknit are more likely to have joint roles

Evaluation

Many of the studies
are dated
 Measuring
housework is reliant
on the researchers
opinion
 Researchers don’t
usually include DIY
and gardening in
their research

Are we seeing a new
wave of New Men as
the media would like
use to believe
 Realistically women
are still doing the
majority of the
housework
Decision-Making
Decision Making
Who makes the decisions in the family?
 Who makes the key decisions?
 Who makes the day-to-day decisions
 If decision making equals power who
holds power?

Decision Making: Men Vs
Women
Women
 Edgell ’80 interviewed 38 MC couples
 Found women made the decisions in three
areas:
1.
2.
3.

decorating
Children’s clothes
Spending in terms of food
Hardill et al ’97 found women are making
more and more important decisions
Men: Hunt

Decisions made by women are day-to-day
decisions but they are only minor
 Men make less frequent decisions but they
are more important and therefore the major
ones. These are:
1.
2.
3.
Important financial decisions
Maritial debates
What is made for tea
Non-Decision Making

DM is criticised for failing to take into
account NDM. This falls into three
categories:



Washing, cleaning, ironing
Childcare
Emotional Work
Mansfield and Collard


1.
2.
Men seen as more important than
women
Study of newly weds found:
Around time of marriage 1/3 of men
changed career for better
2/3 of women changed career for worse
Control of Money: Men Vs
Women
Women
 Inadequate money keepers
 Hunt: Women’s wages are seen to buy
luxury items
 Pahl three types of money distribution:



Husband hands over wage packet & wife gives
him “pocket money”
Husband keeps wage packet & gives wife
“housekeeping”
Resources pooled & spending decisions made
jointly.
Men
Pahl – only ¼ of her
study had a fair
system of managing
money
 This financial power
meant it was harder
for women to leave
men

Evaluation

Dated studies
 Varies by class
 How is it measured?
 Women do hold
power but in subtle
ways
Domestic Violence
Another aspect of power – studied
mainly by radical feminists
 Dobash and Dobash: domestic violence
is carried out by males as a way of
extending their patriarchal power
 Creates a power relationship where men
are in control

Domestic Violence

Pahl: link between alcohol and wife beating
 Feminists: rape in marriage & wife beating
are acts of violence and domination allowing
men to exercise more control over women.
 The New Right: violence in the home is a
result a decline in moral standards and family
values this century
Evaluation

Status for women has improved and we have
seen a decrease in DV over the years
 Domestic violence appears to support
Oakley’s claim that “Symmetry remains a
myth”.
 Assumes that all men are the perpetrators and
all women are the victims, this is not
necessarily the case