Download 1. childhood 100316

Starter: Review Gender Roles
Joint Conjugal
Roles
Separate
Conjugal Roles
Symmetrical
Family
Egalitarianism
Domestic
Division of
Labour
Dual Burden
Triple Shift
New Man
Decisionmaking
Pooling Vs
Allowance
Gershuny
Hardil
Oakley
Edgell
You Say We Pay
Joint Conjugal
Roles
Separate
Conjugal Roles
Symmetrical
Family
Egalitarianism
Domestic
Division of
Labour
Dual Burden
Triple Shift
New Man
Decisionmaking
Pooling Vs
Allowance
Oakley
Young and
Wilmott
You Say We Pay
Domestic
Violence
Dobash and
Dobash
Under-estimate
Patriarchy
Dark side of
family life
1 in 4 women (1
in 8 repeatedly)
35 assaults
before
reporting
Stanko
Mirlees-Black
Wilkinson Stress
1 in 7 men (1 in
20 repeatedly)
New Right View
1991 Marital
Rape Law
New Right View
All Men Are
Rapists
Theoretical Perspectives on Division of Labour
Functionalist
Liberal
Feminist
MarxistFeminist
Radical
Feminist
Theoretical Perspectives on Division of Labour
Functionalist – sexual
division of labour is natural
and innevitable – women are
naturally suited to the
expressive role.
Liberal Feminist – women
have made real progress in
terms of equality. If we
address attitudes and
behaviour future will bring
more equality.
Marxist-Feminist –
housewife role serves the
needs of capitalism (2 for 1)
maintains the present
workforce and reproduces
future labour power.
Radical Feminist – Women
are the exploited group – the
housewife role is created by
patriarchy and serves the
needs of men.
Power and Control in the Family
(a) Explain what is meant by domestic division of
labour (2 marks)
(b) Identify two reasons for the trend towards
egalitarian marriage. (4 marks)
(c) Suggest three ways in which men’s role as
parents may have changed in recent years. (6
marks)
(d) Assess sociological explanations for inequalities
between husbands and wives. (24 marks)
Domestic Violence: Exam Questions
1. Explain what is meant by ‘domestic
(2 marks)
violence’
1. Suggest 3 reasons why women might stay with violent
partners or husbands (6 marks)
1. Examine the patterns of, and reasons for, domestic
violence in society. (20 marks)
The nature of childhood, and changes in the
status of children in the family and society
• How childhood is socially constructed.
Pilcher, Aries, Wagg
• Different sociological views on the nature and experience of
childhood.
Postman, Palmer, Womack
• How childhood is experienced differently across gender,
ethnicity and social class.
McRobbie and Garber, Brannen, Howard
• Cross cultural differences and how the experience of
childhood has changed historically.
Aries, Punch, Donzelot
Has the position of
children improved?
1 got worse
10 significant improvements
Name on a post it. Prepare to justify your
answer.
Childhood
Social
Construction of
Childhood
Has the position
of children
improved?
The future of
childhood
Something to consider...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01xYdGsisf8&feature=player_embedded&safe=active
6 questions – 6 minutes...GO!
1. What is childhood?
2. Write down 3 words you would associate
with childhood
3. What is adolescence?
4. When does childhood end?
5. How are children different from adults?
6. Identify 2 ways in which children are
legally controlled
What is childhood?
• It is commonly thought (in the west) that
childhood is a special and protected time
of life, and that children are different from
adults.
Why do children need protecting?
Primary Socialisation
•
•
•
•
Nurturing
Learning about societal norms and values
Behaviour
Rules and sanctions
Childhood is sometimes referred to as a golden
age of ‘innocence’. In some ways, it could be
described as a period of quarantine – children
are sheltered from the ‘real’ world.
Pilcher (1995)
• The most important feature of the modern
idea of childhood is ‘seperateness’.
Laws (what children can and cannot do)
Dress (though some argue less so nowadays)
Entertainment
Wagg (1992)
• Childhood is socially constructed.
• This golden age of protection and restriction is
not found throughout the world.
• There is no single, universal experience of
childhood.
• Experiences are also vastly different in different
eras (time periods).
• Wagg argues childhood is not ‘natural’.
‘Biological immaturity’ is the natural state
(nature), childhood is social constructed
(nurture)
Laws in the UK
At what age can one...
1. Legally drink alcohol
2. Purchase cigarettes
3. Have sexual intercourse
4. Have a part-time job
5. Have a full-time job
6. Be convicted of a crime
1. Legally drink alcohol
2. Purchase cigarettes
3. Have sexual intercourse
4. Have a part-time job
5. Have a full-time job
6. Be convicted of a crime
18
18
16
13
16
10
Criminal age of responsibility
• In the UK this age is 10, what about other
countries?
US
India
China
Sweden
Belgium
Iran
6-12
7
14 (for serious crimes)
15
18
9 for girls, 15 for boys
What can you conclude about the experiences
of childhood from these pictures?
•Childhood is a SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION- created and
defined by society, rather than
simply a biological state
•Ideas about childhood vary
between different cultures,
societies and different historical
periods
Cross-Cultural Differences in Childhood: A
Comparative Approach
• Bolivia – 5 years old expected to work. (Punch,
2001).
• Samoa – never too young to take part in work.
(Lowell-Homes 1974).
• Tikopia – children do not automatically do
what adults ask (Frith 1970).
• Triobriand Islands – adults tolerate children’s
sexual explorations.
• Black foot Indians – beat boys to make them
strong.
Globalisation of Western Childhood.
• Some sociologists argue that childhood is a Western
construct (socially constructed) that has been
forcibly imposed on some cultures.
• Some child liberationists think that cases of
Western charities campaigning against child labour
or street children imposes views about how
childhood ought to be.
• Some believe the Western view of childhood is
spreading through the world. Not disappearing.
Historical
differences in
childhood
Sociologist Phillippe
Aries (1960) argued that
childhood is a relatively
‘recent’ invention......
PRE INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY
Pre- industrial society
• Childhood as we know it did not exist
• Children were ‘little adults’ who took part in the same work
and play activities as adults.
• Toys and games specifically for children did not exist.
• Children seen as an economic asset, rather than something to
be cared for
• Children were punished for crimes in the same way that
adults were (In Tudor times a 7 year old could be hung for
stealing)
• High death rates encouraged indifference and neglect towards
infants.
Aries used paintings and
diaries to develop his theory.
• Why might there be problems in using
evidence such as paintings and diaries to
understand life?
Childhood in Medieval Times
Industrial family
Industrialisation
• Children from W/C families still worked in
mines, factories etc
BUT!!!
• M/C attitudes started to change- parents
investing emotionally in children as the death
rate of children was starting to fall
Mid 19th Century:
• Adults became concerned with children who
were begging on the streets and child
prostitution.
• Children were banned from working in the
factories and mines where many had been
killed.
• BUT some W/C parents resisted changes as
they depended on children wages and many
children continued to be badly treated
Aries (1960)
Critique:
Cult of Childhood.
20th Century –
century of the child.
Child-centred
society.
• Was there no concept
of childhood in the
past? Or merely a
different notion of
childhood.
20th Century: A Child-Centred Society
• Emergence of child- centred society- ‘children are
valued, loved and protected!’
• As a result of improved standards of living= major
decline in infant mortality rates
• Increased availability of contraception meant
couples could choose to have fewer children=
invest more time in them in terms of love,
socialisation and protection
Child centred society
Have their own toys, TV programmes,
play areas made especially for them!!
Have their own
doctors,
Children are provided teachers etc, to
care for them
with an education
Special food/drink for
kids
Task Read the following statements and decide
which period of time it fits into....
PI= pre industrial
IS= industrial society
TS- today’s society
What period of time am I?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Children and adults both work
Children’s toys and games do not exist
Lots of laws to protect children
Childhood seen as separate from adulthood
Many middle class children stop working
increased contraception
Aries argued that children were regarded as
an economic asset
What period am I?
• High infant mortality rate
• Child centred society
• No laws to stop children being overworked
• Adults start to become concerned about
child prostitution
• children work in mines, factories etc
• Infant mortality rate starting to fall
• Children are like small adults, taking part
in the same work and play activities
Perspectives
on
Childhood
What is meant by
the idea that
childhood is socially
constructed?
How has
childhood
changed over
time?
Activity: Suggest reasons why childhood
has changed during industrialisation?
Laws restricting child
labour
Compulsory education
1880
Child Protection Laws
Growth of Children’s
Rights
Declining Family Size
Lower infant mortality
Theories of child
development
Modern industry
needs an educated
workforce who need a
compulsory education
Modern Childhood
• Children now had a separate legal status
• Accompanied by development of adults
specialising in children
Aries
– Our world is obsessed with the physical,
moral and sexual problems of childhood
• Children have different needs
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzCHjfaEgn8&feature=related&safe=active
Assessment Questions:
a) Explain what is meant by the term child
centred society (2 marks)
b) Suggest 2 reasons why childhood can be
argued to be a social construction (4 marks)
c) Identify three changes linked to
industrialisation that have led to changes in
the position of children (6 marks)
Has the position of
children improved?
Activity – Yes – No Continuum.
Name on a post it. Prepare to justify your
answer.
De Mause (1974)
“The history of childhood is a nightmare
from which we have only recently
begun to awaken. The further back in
history one goes, the lower the level of
childcare, and the more likely children
are to be killed, abandoned, beaten,
terrorised or sexually abused”
Q) What is DeMause trying to say?
THINK OF KEY
WORDS WE
ASSOCIATE WITH
CHILDHOOD……..
innocence
happines
s
Fun
playing
Love
The positive view of childhood
March of progress
• Over the past few
centuries, the position of
children has improved
• Today children are more
valued, better cared for,
protected etc
• The family and society
have become more child
centred!!
Evidence:
Laws against child labour.
Child Protection
Professionals.
Lower infant mortality.
Smaller family sizes – needs
met.
Conflict View
• ‘March of Progress’ view is false
• Society is based on conflict
–There are inequalities between children –
risk and care, many remain unprotected
–Inequalities between children and adults –
experience greater control, oppression and
dependency, not care and protection
But could childhood be disappearing?
Inequalities among children
• Not all children will share the same status or
experience of childhood
Inequality
Gender differences
Ethnic differences
Class differences
Research evidence
Inequalities among children
• Not all children will share the same status or
experience of childhood
Inequality
Research evidence
Gender differences
Hillman (1993) boys more likely to be allowed to cross the
road, use buses and go outside.
Bonke (1999) Girls do more domestic labour (x5 than boys)
Ethnic differences
Brannen (1994) study Asian families strict towards daughters.
Bhatti (1999) ‘Izzat’
Class differences
Poor mothers have babies with a lower birth weight.
Woodroffe (1993) Children from unskilled manual workers
more likely to suffer from hyperactivity disorders.
Howard (2001) Children born into poorer families more likely
to die in infancy or childhood and suffer from poorer health.
Inequalities between children and adults
Firestone (1979) and Holt (1974) argue the child
protection is a form of oppression.
We forcibly segregate children and make them
dependent and powerless.
We need to free children from adult control –
CHILD LIBERATIONISM
Neglect and abuse
• Dark side of the family where parents control
their children through physical and mental
abuse
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9njhcQU
lXc
Inequalities between children and
adults
What other ways
do adults have
control over
children?
Task - Inequalities between
children and adults
•
•
•
•
•
Adults have control over children’s.....
Space
Time
Bodies
Access to resources
• Read pages 33-34 and make notes
Child Liberationism
Age Patriarchy – adult
domination and child
dependency (Gittens,
1998).
Violence used against
children to assert this
dominance.
Hockey & James (1993) –
children tend to Act UP or
Act Down.
Modern childhood is a state
most children want to
escape.
Critique – some adult control
is necessary.
Children are not completely
powerless
Task:
1. Draw up a two-column table with a title ‘Has
the position of children improved?’
2. Head one column up ‘YES’ and the other ‘NO’.
In each column, list evidence and arguments in
support of that view.
3. Then write a brief conclusion saying whether
on balance you think the position of children has
improved, giving your reasons.
Has the position of children improved?
March of Progress
The Conflict View
So has the position of children
improved?
Tennis
One of you will have the view of march of
progress, the other conflict
You will rally with each other, arguing
whether, according to your view, childhood
has improved or not!
The person who can rally the most points
back, supporting their view, wins!!
Plenary –essay plan me
Assess whether the position of children has
improved in contemporary society. (20 marks)
You Say We Pay
Childhood
adolescence
Social
construction of
childhood
Phillip Aries
Historical
Differences
Cultural
Differences
Child-centred
Industrialisation
March of
progress
Conflict Theory
Inequalities
between children
Child
Liberationism
Is this evidence for or against a
child-centred society?
Task:
• Summarise the article about the different
generations of childhood in Sheffield.
1. What is the article suggesting?
2. What changes have occurred over time?
3. What are the specific reasons for these
changes in attitudes?
The Future of Childhood:
Is childhood disappearing?
POSTMAN (1984) childhood is disappearing
1) The growth of television means that there are
no more secrets from children. Television gives
them unlimited access to the adult world. They
are exposed to the ‘real world’ of sex, disaster,
death, suffering.
2) ‘Social blurring’- little distinction between adults
and children. Children's games disappearing,
they speak, dress and act more like adults.
Task
Suggest 3 examples of ways in which
children’s activities, leisure, dress or
food and those of adults have become
similar in recent years…
The Middle Ages/Medieval Period
• Most people were illiterate.
• Speech was the only skills needed.
• Children could enter adult society
because they could speak and
converse.
• There was no division, protection or
mystery, childhood was not
associated with mystery.
The
th
19
Century
• More and more people became literate
• This was in part due to the rise of newspapers
(print media)
• The printed word created a knowledge
hierarchy. Adults could read – children could
not.
• This gave adults the power to keep issues like
sex, money, violence and death etc a secret
from children.
• As a result childhood became more innocent.
Today
• Postman believes the decline of the printed word
and the rise of the visual world (TV, internet) has
destroyed this knowledge hierarchy.
• Children can acquire all sorts of knowledge from
TV, and they can access it (like the internet)
• The boundaries between adults and children are
broken down.
• The results are that children want to engage in the
adult world, as they experience it so young.
• Children’s and adults tastes become
indistinguishable.
Brooks (2001) has criticised Postman……
• But evidence suggests that adults are taking
more and more control of children’s livescotton wool society!!!
• parents are more obsessed with safety, and
ever more concerned with defining
boundaries for their kids
• Perhaps it is children that are disappearing
and not childhood- smaller % of our overall
population today, and getting smaller...
Opie (1993) A separate childhood culture
Analysis of research into children’s games,
rhymes and songs.
Strong evidence that there is a separate
independent children’s culture.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b7mwTK
564o
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jppUkWG
Kgls
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZxzH9Gu
fP4&feature=related
Toxic childhood- Sue Palmer (2007)
• Rapid technological and cultural changes are
harming children
• Parents are spending less time with their
children and are more than happy to allow
technologies, such as video games, occupy
their children’s home upbringing!
• Children are deprived of traditional childhood
and family life- not so child centred now!!!
Globalisation of Western Childhood.
• Some sociologists argue that childhood is a Western
construct (socially constructed) that has been
forcibly imposed on some cultures.
• Some child liberationists think that cases of
Western charities campaigning against child labour
or street children imposes views about how
childhood ought to be.
• Some believe the Western view of childhood is
spreading through the world. Not disappearing.
Is childhood under threat?
Margo and Dixon (2006)
• UK youths are at, or near, the top of
international figures on:
–Obesity
–Self-harm
–Drug and alcohol abuse
–Early sexual experiences
–Teenage pregnancy
Childhood in postmodernity
Jenks – relationships are unstable in
postmodern society – increase in divorce –
relationships with children important source of
adult stability – adults become even more
fearful about children’s safety.
Childhood is not disappearing – increased
surveillance and regulation.
Is childhood under threat?
Contrasting debates
• All in all...there is no clear evidence
that childhood is disappearing,
because childhood itself is a social
construct with no fixed age
boundaries or definitions.
Is childhood under threat?
Contrasting debates
• More rights, but not equal
• Growing similarities between adults and
children (dress, activities etc)
• Compulsory education keeps being extended
(dependency on parents)
• Children's physical movement is more
restricted
• But their moral behaviour is less restricted
(internet, TV etc)
Moral Panic
• Some say the disappearance of
childhood is a moral panic.
• This is when the media and other
agencies create widespread social
panic about a particular issue.
• It becomes a real concern for the
general public.
Task
• Each table has a children’s toy.
• You are marketers trying to make update
this toy.
• Give it a twist, make is slightly
inappropriate, perhaps something that
supports the notion that childhood is
disappearing, or that children are
engaging in more adult interests.
Plenary Task –
Is Childhood Disappearing?
Arguments For:
Arguments Against:
Assess sociological explanations of changes in
the status of childhood. (20 marks)
Social
Policies
that affect
children
Townsend et al
Using data from 43 developing countries they
found:
•1/3 of children in the world suffer from absolute
poverty (i.e. below the minimum food, shelter and
clothing level)
•134 million children have never been to school
•Nearly 400 million children have a 15 minute walk
to get water or are drinking unsafe water
Childhood & Industrialisation
• WC attitudes stayed the same but MC
attitudes started to change in the mid 19th
century.
• Campaigners fought against children
working in mines and factories
• Schooling became important for the MC.
Childhood In
Century
th
20
The 20th century became ‘child centred’
Health and diet improved and the infant
mortality rate declined.
th
20
The
century saw the increasing
need to protect children via a
number of pieces of legislation.
1945 Butler Education Act – schooling
for all 5-15 (Raised to 16 in 1972)
The Children Act 1989 – giving more
rights to children
State Policies that affect children:
• The state supervises the socialisation of
children through compulsory education
(lasts 11 years)
• Social Services/social workers police
families that are deemed to be ‘at risk’.
2004 Children Act
• Produced the policy ‘Every Child Matters’
• Focuses on the wellbeing of children aged 0-19.
Aiming to keep children healthy, safe and
economically secure.
1991 Child Support Act (CSA)
• Protects children’s welfare in the event of
separation and divorce – the child's welfare is
paramount (most important)
• Some children have used the act to ‘divorce’ their
parents!