Domestic Division of Labour refers to the roles that men and women play regarding housework, childcare and paid work.
Parsons
In the traditional nuclear family, the roles of husband and wife are segregated and distinct from one another. In Talcott Parson’s functionalist model of the family, there is a clear division of labour between spouses.
· The husband has an instrumental role being the breadwinner of the family. He is geared towards achieving success at work, and earning the family income.
· The wife has an expressive role, responsible for the primary socialization of the children and meeting the familys emotional needs. She is a full time housewife rather than a wage earner.
Parsons argues that this is because of biological differences. Women are ‘naturally’ more suited to the nurturing role, and men are more suited to work. Parsons argues that this is the most effective way to enable society to function.
Criticisms;
· Young & Wilmott (1962) argue that men are now taking on a good share of the domestic tasks, and women are going to work. Argue that Parson’s theory is outdated and too simplistic.
· Feminists argue against Parsons theory that it is ‘natural’ for women to stay at home. They believe this theory only benefits the men.
Young & willmott (1973)
Studied working class families in London. He did find that typically, men were the breadwinners and women were the homemakers. However, he did find a long term shift towards what he calls ‘the symmetrical family’ – specifically in younger couples. In the new generation, couples are moving further away from their extended families. This means the women are going out to work to earn more money, thus meaning the men taking on more housework. The couples tend to spend more leisure time together rather than with their friends (men) or family. (women).
In summary, Young and Wilmott listed the following as reasons toward the growth of the symmetrical family.
· Changes in Women Social Position.
· Geographical Mobility
· New Technology and labour saving devices.
· Higher Standards of Living.
Feminist views on labour division
Feminists reject Young and Willmotts ‘march of progression’ argument, and argue that nothing has changed and that women still remain unequal within the family. Ann Oakley (1974) argues that their claims are exaggerated, and hardly proof of symmetry. In her own research, Oakley found evidence of husbands ‘helping’ their wives, but no evidence of pure symmetry. Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in the housework, and only 25% had high participation in childcare. She found that husbands were more likely to ‘share’ childcare because it had a more pleasurable role.
Mary Boulton (1983) found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare, and argues that Young and Wilmott exaggerate mens role in childcare by looking at tasks involved rather than responsibilities. Similarly, Alan Ward and Kevin Hetherington (1993) found sex-typing of domestic tasks still remains strong, and that wives were 30x more likely to have been the last one to do the washing, whilst men were 4x more likely to have been the last person to wash the car. In general, they found that men were less likely to carry out ‘female related tasks’.
Morris (1990) found that even when women were the breadwinners, and the male was unemployed – the women still did most of the housework.
However, generational change is still evidence. In Foundations (2000) study, 60% of men claim to do more housework than their fathers, and 75% of women claim to do less housework than their mothers. Despite this change, it is still evident women do more housework than men.
Parsons
In the traditional nuclear family, the roles of husband and wife are segregated and distinct from one another. In Talcott Parson’s functionalist model of the family, there is a clear division of labour between spouses.
· The husband has an instrumental role being the breadwinner of the family. He is geared towards achieving success at work, and earning the family income.
· The wife has an expressive role, responsible for the primary socialization of the children and meeting the familys emotional needs. She is a full time housewife rather than a wage earner.
Parsons argues that this is because of biological differences. Women are ‘naturally’ more suited to the nurturing role, and men are more suited to work. Parsons argues that this is the most effective way to enable society to function.
Criticisms;
· Young & Wilmott (1962) argue that men are now taking on a good share of the domestic tasks, and women are going to work. Argue that Parson’s theory is outdated and too simplistic.
· Feminists argue against Parsons theory that it is ‘natural’ for women to stay at home. They believe this theory only benefits the men.
Young & willmott (1973)
Studied working class families in London. He did find that typically, men were the breadwinners and women were the homemakers. However, he did find a long term shift towards what he calls ‘the symmetrical family’ – specifically in younger couples. In the new generation, couples are moving further away from their extended families. This means the women are going out to work to earn more money, thus meaning the men taking on more housework. The couples tend to spend more leisure time together rather than with their friends (men) or family. (women).
In summary, Young and Wilmott listed the following as reasons toward the growth of the symmetrical family.
· Changes in Women Social Position.
· Geographical Mobility
· New Technology and labour saving devices.
· Higher Standards of Living.
Feminist views on labour division
Feminists reject Young and Willmotts ‘march of progression’ argument, and argue that nothing has changed and that women still remain unequal within the family. Ann Oakley (1974) argues that their claims are exaggerated, and hardly proof of symmetry. In her own research, Oakley found evidence of husbands ‘helping’ their wives, but no evidence of pure symmetry. Only 15% of husbands had a high level of participation in the housework, and only 25% had high participation in childcare. She found that husbands were more likely to ‘share’ childcare because it had a more pleasurable role.
Mary Boulton (1983) found that fewer than 20% of husbands had a major role in childcare, and argues that Young and Wilmott exaggerate mens role in childcare by looking at tasks involved rather than responsibilities. Similarly, Alan Ward and Kevin Hetherington (1993) found sex-typing of domestic tasks still remains strong, and that wives were 30x more likely to have been the last one to do the washing, whilst men were 4x more likely to have been the last person to wash the car. In general, they found that men were less likely to carry out ‘female related tasks’.
Morris (1990) found that even when women were the breadwinners, and the male was unemployed – the women still did most of the housework.
However, generational change is still evidence. In Foundations (2000) study, 60% of men claim to do more housework than their fathers, and 75% of women claim to do less housework than their mothers. Despite this change, it is still evident women do more housework than men.
Teaching points;
Firstly, a thorough and indepth powerpoint going through the three different viewpoints - functionalist, young and wilmott and feminism. Group discussions as a class on the theories.
Secondly, complete/create a table summarising the three and comparing them.
Thirdly, a group task. Split into three groups and either assigned parsons, young and wilmott, or feminism. Have to create a presentation to present to the class. Further internalisation and repetition of the information and processing it in a new and active way.
Secondly, complete/create a table summarising the three and comparing them.
Thirdly, a group task. Split into three groups and either assigned parsons, young and wilmott, or feminism. Have to create a presentation to present to the class. Further internalisation and repetition of the information and processing it in a new and active way.
