Assess the view that an understanding of patriarchy is essential in analysing relationships within the family
...l feminists believe separates feminine and masculine roles in the family. It is apparent for both parent- child relationships. Oakley introduces three ways in which females are socialized into their stereotyped gender roles: manipulation, canalization and verbal appellation. It is because of gender stereotyping that girls learn to be subordinate to masculine values. Delphy and Leonard suggest that the family is a hierarchical and patriarchal institution that benefits men. In Delphy’s study “close to home” she agrees that conjugal relationships are not equal. Alongside Oakley, they point out that the difficulty facing women is simply a matter of men exploiting women for their own needs. Delphy suggests that women should combine to overthrow the patriarchal structures. In fact, these structures are the basis of socialization where women accept dominance and men have more power. Friedl (Women and Men) sees the power of men in the family results in cultural factors as in where certain tasks assigned to men carry more prestige as opposed to females. Male dominance arises from the fact that they have greater access to highly valued roles in society with more power and control. There has also been a focus on violence against women on their partners. Feminists emphasize the dark side of family life. Dobash and Dobash found women are far more at risk from family members and men they have a close relationship with than from strangers (Violence Against Wives 1980). They quote, “For a woman to be brutally or systematically assaulted, she must enter our most sacred institution, the family. It is within marriage that a woman is most likely to be slapped and shoved, assaulted and raped”. The feminist approach is essentially that domestic violence is widespread and that women are victims and men are perpetrators. Marxists feminists take particular reference to the role of the economy in marginalizing the role of women in the home undertaking unpaid labor. They link the exploitation and oppression of women in the family closely due to capitalism. Margaret Benston (The Political Economy of Women’s Liberation) believes that capitalism is an economic system which operates by exploiting a group who performs essential labor in the cheapest way and this occurs both among the paid in the workplace and unpaid in the home. Women contribute to both sectors as women form an indispensable labor force that help set up the exploit system of capitalism. Benston argues that the family system disadvantage women, act in the interest of men and employees and promotes individual concerns at the expense of a community. Women become scapegoats for the problems and frustration in the workplace. In Fran Ansley terms, women are “takers of shit” and are also “sponges” for men’s problems. The feminist theories have been rejected and criticized by supporters of change. Changes in the law, labor market and economy and sexual revolution has had a massive impact on the role of women in society. Gershuny (1992) used diaries to measure the time spent by men and women on their various activities. He found that although the distribution of household tasks was not equal, the proportion of housework done by men was increasing. Gershuny also suggested that eventually there will be equality in the home to which even children will be socialized in more egalitarian households. Sociologist Catherine Hakim attacked feminist sociologists for underestimating the amount of power women enjoy within the family. The fact that women divorce their husbands in such large numbers indicates they have the power to leave a relationship. “The unpalatable truth is that a substantial proportion of women will accept the sexual division of labor which sees home making as a woman’s principal activity and income earning as men’s principal activity in life.” Although feminist theories are insightful in giving a pessimistic view on family relationships, sociologists Willmott and Young have contributed important studies to the family. Their study on the Symmetrical Family 1972 showed that socio-economic changes due to modernization affected family relationships. They called this the Stage Three family. Factors such as geographical mobility, improvement on housing, a fall in the birth rate, a rise in standard of living and communication improvements allowed the family to become more “home centered”. The nuclear family was a small, privatized unit where husbands and wives shared domestic...