Assess the View That in Todays free essay sample

P. Murdock; he compared over 250 societies and claimed that the nuclear family was universal, that some form of the nuclear family existed in every known society and that it performed four functions essential to the continued existence of those societies. The four functions are Reproduction (where society requires new members to ensure its survival), Sexual (this function serves both society and the individual. Unregulated sexual behaviour has the potential to be socially disruptive. However marital sex creates a powerful emotional between a couple), Educational (culture needs to be transmitted to the next generation), Economic (where adult family members show their commitment to the care, protection and maintenance of their dependants by becoming productive workers and being an income). While Murdock’s ideas are a great idea and would make a good society to live in they are also dated seeing as he wrote this in 1949, things have changed a lot since then and the family has moved on , one thing that would have changed for sure since he wrote this is the fact that women can now be the breadwinners in the family it is no longer just the men that go out to work to help the economy. We will write a custom essay sample on Assess the View That in Todays or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page So according to Murdock then family would be losing its functions because it is not fitting directly into his four main functions. Another sociologist is parsons, he saw the pre-industrial extended family as evolving into the modern nuclear family which specialised in the primary socialization of children, and he argued that the second major specialized function of the family is to relieve the stressors of modern-day living for its adult members. This theory is often called the ‘warm bath theory’. Parsons believes that the family unquestionably benefits individuals and society. He uses the idea of ‘the warm bath’ to represent the home and family. The husband worries about competition, money, job insecurity etc. nd takes these strains home. The husband’s home and family act as a ‘warm bath’ washing away his troubles so that he is refreshed and ready for the next day at work where he is able to contribute to society. Unlike Murdock, Parsons View of the family is not dated and is quite close to the reality of today’s family. From Parsons View family is not losing it function within society. In the past 30-40 years there have been some major changes in family and household patterns. The number of traditional nuclear family household has fallen. Divorce rates have increased, There are fewer first time marriages, but more re-marriages, More cohabitation , Same-sex relationships legally recognised as civil partnerships , Women are having fewer children and having them later, There are many more births outside marriage, More lone-parent families , More people living alone, More stepfamilies, more childless couples , women are getting more power and better jobs. And because women are getting better jobs and more power there is group feminists, There are four major branches of Feminist theory: Marxist-feminism, Liberal-feminism and Radical- feminism. Each of these views the family in slightly varying terms. Marxist-feminists/Feminist-Marxist argues that: The overthrow of capitalism is necessary to create equality between women and men. The family is an exploitative institution (within the context of a capitalist world, Family passes on pro-capitalist values from one generation to the next, Women constitute a reserve army of labour, The overthrow of capitalism and establishment of a socialist society will result in equality for women alongside men in the economic sphere. Socialist Feminists argue: Marxist feminist theories of the family are inadequate and overly concentrated on capitalism. They do not believe that the overthrow of capitalism will result in equality between women and men, Socialist feminists contend that patriarchy is responsible for male domination over women. Consequently, they believe that if patriarchy is challenged, then women can become equal to men, altogether, they recommend challenging the dictates of capitalism as well as patriarchy. Both systems have a tendency to subordinate women. If they are challenged, then women, stand a better chance of improving their status in society. Liberal Feminists argue: There have been gradual changes in society that have benefited women, and helped to improve their social status and general well-being in society, Within the context of the family they argue the roles (between men and women) have become more symmetrical, as men have become increasingly involved in the daily affairs of the family. Further, women have increasingly become co-bread winners, thus removing the strain on the male to be the singular income earner for the family. These changes have afforded the members to enjoy more leisure and other family oriented activities, as opposed to the seemingly disparate role-functions that have characterised the traditional family form. Radical Feminists argue: Patriarchy, a universal ‘dominant’ force is responsible for female oppression; they argue that within the context of the family males (irrespective of their relational ties to women) has the advantage over women. The family is seen as an institution of exploitation – since women and children’s labour are exploited; they are also victims of domestic violence, within the context of the family. Radical Feminists (hard line radical feminists/separatists) contend that the only viable solution to ending female oppression is the abolition of the family. As you can see feminists ideas differ depending on what sub-feminist group you belong to, for instance the radical feminists believe that family has lost all its functions and is just exploitation of women and children, whereas the liberal feminists see the family as symmetrical and the man and the women sharing house work, which would mean that the family still has its function in society. In conclusion, in order to assess the view that in today’s society the family is losing its functions, we must look into the different ideas and theories. After looking at different ideas I believe that yes the family its losing its old functions but now adapting to new functions, I think that the functions of the family should change with time and not stay the same, unless they will become dated and un-relatable to today’s society.