APPLYING MATERIAL FROM ITEM B11 AND YOUR OWN KNOWLEDGE,
EVALUATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF FEMINIST VIEWS TO OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAMILY.
In this essay I will discuss the feminist perspective on the family and how this
aids our understanding. The four perspectives of feminism each hold different
opinions on the role family plays in society, with an overarchingly negative opinion of
the family as an institution.
Radical feminists view the family as patriarchal and highly oppressive to
women. Due to the typical nuclear structure of the family, with the father taking on an
instrumental role as the breadwinner, women tend to be treated as subordinate.
Often being forced to take on a more expressive role and sacrifice their aspirations
to take care of the family. Item B11 discusses how the family can negatively impact
female lives and opportunity. As the male in the household provides financially,
women are often required to take care of the children and the home. With rising
costs of childcare such as babysitters or day care centres, it becomes an expectation
for women to avoid going to work until their child is of school age. It is not the norm
for men to be stay-at-home dads, so the responsibility falls on the female. This may
also impact female opportunity long term as the hours a woman can work is limited
to school hours if after-school clubs and activities are inaccessible, which they often
are for lower class families. This makes it more viable for a majority of families to
have the male be the breadwinner. Overall, radical feminists see the family as
benefitting men as a result of female oppression. However, with a shift to a post-
modern society the conjugal roles in society are becoming more joint where women
are allowed to take on paid work and fulfil their aspirations alongside their male
counterparts.
Liberal feminists on the other hand focus on the progress made in the family,
and the increase in equality. In recent years, the level of women taking up
employment is increasing, and the number of men who take on a more expressive
role in the house is also rising. Due to legal changes such as the Equal Pay Act of
1970, having women in employment is more viable. As women previously earned
less than men for doing the same amount of work, it made less sense for them to
provide for the family financially. Whereas now they can pursue career goals while
still helping the family as well as their husbands. This may also be a reason for an
increase in family diversity as women no longer have to rely on their husbands to
make ends meet, meaning single parent households are attainable. Legal changes
such as these are seen as positive for women as they enable women to have more
freedom and control of their own lives and opportunity rather than this being dictated
by men; for example, men previously inhibited women’s employment based on the
societal expectation that women should stay in the home. However, Anne Oakley
disputes the extent to which the new man actually exists. The new man is one that
takes on an expressive role in the home rather than the instrumental one. But in
actuality, the men that are labelled as new men only help out by doing household
chores once a week, implying the existence of the new man is exaggerated.
Finally, Marxist feminists focus on the financial oppression women face in the
home. As women are excluded from the world of paid work, they act as a stress
relief for their husband. In a capitalist society, workers are often stressed with the
level of work required, but this stress inhibits the quality and amount of work they can
do. For this reason, the family acts as a place where men can destress. This puts
excess pressure on women as they are subsequently expected to complete all
EVALUATE THE CONTRIBUTION OF FEMINIST VIEWS TO OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAMILY.
In this essay I will discuss the feminist perspective on the family and how this
aids our understanding. The four perspectives of feminism each hold different
opinions on the role family plays in society, with an overarchingly negative opinion of
the family as an institution.
Radical feminists view the family as patriarchal and highly oppressive to
women. Due to the typical nuclear structure of the family, with the father taking on an
instrumental role as the breadwinner, women tend to be treated as subordinate.
Often being forced to take on a more expressive role and sacrifice their aspirations
to take care of the family. Item B11 discusses how the family can negatively impact
female lives and opportunity. As the male in the household provides financially,
women are often required to take care of the children and the home. With rising
costs of childcare such as babysitters or day care centres, it becomes an expectation
for women to avoid going to work until their child is of school age. It is not the norm
for men to be stay-at-home dads, so the responsibility falls on the female. This may
also impact female opportunity long term as the hours a woman can work is limited
to school hours if after-school clubs and activities are inaccessible, which they often
are for lower class families. This makes it more viable for a majority of families to
have the male be the breadwinner. Overall, radical feminists see the family as
benefitting men as a result of female oppression. However, with a shift to a post-
modern society the conjugal roles in society are becoming more joint where women
are allowed to take on paid work and fulfil their aspirations alongside their male
counterparts.
Liberal feminists on the other hand focus on the progress made in the family,
and the increase in equality. In recent years, the level of women taking up
employment is increasing, and the number of men who take on a more expressive
role in the house is also rising. Due to legal changes such as the Equal Pay Act of
1970, having women in employment is more viable. As women previously earned
less than men for doing the same amount of work, it made less sense for them to
provide for the family financially. Whereas now they can pursue career goals while
still helping the family as well as their husbands. This may also be a reason for an
increase in family diversity as women no longer have to rely on their husbands to
make ends meet, meaning single parent households are attainable. Legal changes
such as these are seen as positive for women as they enable women to have more
freedom and control of their own lives and opportunity rather than this being dictated
by men; for example, men previously inhibited women’s employment based on the
societal expectation that women should stay in the home. However, Anne Oakley
disputes the extent to which the new man actually exists. The new man is one that
takes on an expressive role in the home rather than the instrumental one. But in
actuality, the men that are labelled as new men only help out by doing household
chores once a week, implying the existence of the new man is exaggerated.
Finally, Marxist feminists focus on the financial oppression women face in the
home. As women are excluded from the world of paid work, they act as a stress
relief for their husband. In a capitalist society, workers are often stressed with the
level of work required, but this stress inhibits the quality and amount of work they can
do. For this reason, the family acts as a place where men can destress. This puts
excess pressure on women as they are subsequently expected to complete all
