Topic 8: Gender Roles, Domestic Labour and Power Relationships
Theoretical perspectives
Functionalists- such as Parsons view traditional gender roles as functional. Parsons claimed
that it made sense for women to care for the children they gave birth to in an expressive,
domestic role, while men went out into the world as breadwinners- the instrumental role.
Feminists criticise Functionalists for being biologically deterministic
New Right- also welcomes women taking this role, supported by a responsible male worker
Post-modernists- interested in the ways roles have been questioned and changed since mid-
20th century. They suggests that people now have the freedom to forge their own identity
and life-course regardless of gender and other characteristics
Feminists- see gender roles as much harder to change and oppressive to women. They have
examined the domestic division of labour between couples, decision making and power
relations
Domestic division of labour
Name: YOUNG and WILMOTT
Concept: Joint Conjugal Roles
Argument
Young and Wilmott described conjugal roles in the contemporary family as joint
Women as well as men were wage earners, so men helped with domestic work and
childcare, unlike in earlier times when women were full-time housewives and roles were
segregated
Joint roles were described as symmetrical as both partners did paid work, housework and
childcare. Though often in different proportions as the new man was more likely to work full
time
Criticism
Feminist Ann Oakley claimed that Young and Wilmott had exaggerated men’s domestic role
by rating even a small chore as contribution to housework
She found that only 15% of husbands helped with this to a substantial degree and only 25%
with childcare
Middle class men more likely to help than working class but this was vastly outweighed by
the average 77 hours a week of domestic duties done by women
Even with new household appliances, this work was repetitive, isolated and taken for
granted
However, critics have suggested that Oakley’s questions to women were loaded
Feminist view of housework
Name: OAKLEY
Concept: Housewife role
Theoretical perspectives
Functionalists- such as Parsons view traditional gender roles as functional. Parsons claimed
that it made sense for women to care for the children they gave birth to in an expressive,
domestic role, while men went out into the world as breadwinners- the instrumental role.
Feminists criticise Functionalists for being biologically deterministic
New Right- also welcomes women taking this role, supported by a responsible male worker
Post-modernists- interested in the ways roles have been questioned and changed since mid-
20th century. They suggests that people now have the freedom to forge their own identity
and life-course regardless of gender and other characteristics
Feminists- see gender roles as much harder to change and oppressive to women. They have
examined the domestic division of labour between couples, decision making and power
relations
Domestic division of labour
Name: YOUNG and WILMOTT
Concept: Joint Conjugal Roles
Argument
Young and Wilmott described conjugal roles in the contemporary family as joint
Women as well as men were wage earners, so men helped with domestic work and
childcare, unlike in earlier times when women were full-time housewives and roles were
segregated
Joint roles were described as symmetrical as both partners did paid work, housework and
childcare. Though often in different proportions as the new man was more likely to work full
time
Criticism
Feminist Ann Oakley claimed that Young and Wilmott had exaggerated men’s domestic role
by rating even a small chore as contribution to housework
She found that only 15% of husbands helped with this to a substantial degree and only 25%
with childcare
Middle class men more likely to help than working class but this was vastly outweighed by
the average 77 hours a week of domestic duties done by women
Even with new household appliances, this work was repetitive, isolated and taken for
granted
However, critics have suggested that Oakley’s questions to women were loaded
Feminist view of housework
Name: OAKLEY
Concept: Housewife role
