Functionalist Perspective on the Family

• The family is a crucial institution that maintains social order and stability by fulfilling essential functions, according to functionalists.

Functional Fit Theory – Talcott Parsons (1955)

• Family structure adapts to fit societal needs, especially comparing industrial and pre-industrial contexts.
• In pre-industrial societies, extended families offered economic and social support.
• Nuclear families are more efficient in modern industrial societies because of increased social and geographic mobility.
• This shift requires specialized roles, such as instrumental and expressive roles, to satisfy an evolving economy's demands.
• Greater workforce flexibility of the nuclear family benefits industrialized societies.
• The family's adaptive nature contributes to social stability and economic efficiency.

Primary Socialization & Value Consensus – Parsons

• The family is vital in socializing children into societal norms and values.
• Families are responsible for primary socialization and internalizing value consensus.
• Without this process, conflicting values would cause instability in societies.
• Social cohesion is maintained through transmission of norms within the family.
• The family reinforces social order and integration by ensuring cultural continuity.

Stabilization of Adult Personalities – Parsons ("Warm Bath" Theory)

• The family offers emotional support, helping individuals manage stress and fulfill societal roles.
• The family is like a "warm bath" providing a relaxing environment, especially for the breadwinner.
• Emotionally stable workers are more productive, benefiting capitalist economies.
• Traditional gender roles with emotional labor on women are reinforced.
• The theory highlights psychological benefits but overlooks potential gender inequality.

Criticism of Functionalism

• Feminists like Ann Oakley (1974) argue that functionalists ignore the patriarchal nature of families, where women do unpaid domestic labor.
• Marxists like Engels (1884) suggest that families primarily benefit capitalism.

Marxist Perspective on the Family

• Families function as tools of capitalism, reinforcing inequality and benefiting the ruling class.

Family and Inheritance – Friedrich Engels (1884)

• Nuclear families emerged to maintain private property and pass wealth through generations.
• Before capitalism, tribal societies practiced primitive communism with shared resources.
• Private property led to monogamous marriage to ensure legitimate heirs.
• Capitalist interests are protected, as wealth remains within ruling-class families rather than being distributed.
• Women became economic dependents within this system.
• Nuclear families are shaped by capitalist needs and reinforce class and gender inequalities.

Family as an Ideological State Apparatus – Louis Althusser (1971)

• Families socialize individuals into accepting capitalism, acting as an ideological state apparatus (ISA).
• Children learn values like obedience, hierarchy, and competition, making them compliant workers.
• Capitalism is reproduced as future generations internalize ruling-class ideology, accepting inequality as normal.
• The family prevents resistance to capitalism by acting as a mechanism of social control.

Zaretsky (1976) - Family as a Safe Haven

• The family offers an illusion of escape from capitalism but does not challenge it.
• The domestic sphere offers emotional support, but does not free workers from exploitation.
• Workers rely on the family for emotional security, preventing them from revolting against capitalist oppression.
• The family serves as a stabilizing force for capitalism rather than a means of social change.

Criticism of Marxism

• Feminists like Delphy & Leonard (1992) argue Marxists focus on class but ignore gender oppression in families.
• Functionalists like Parsons and Murdock argue the family provides essential functions benefiting society.

Feminist Perspective on the Family

• Families maintain patriarchy by reinforcing gender inequalities.

The Domestic Division of Labor – Ann Oakley (1974)

• Oakley critiques Parsons’ instrumental and expressive roles, arguing they are socially constructed, not biological.
• Housework and childcare are overwhelmingly performed by women, even in dual-income households.
• This unequal labor division reinforces gender roles, limiting women's independence.
• The family socializes individuals into sexist norms, maintaining male dominance in society.

"Takers of Shit" – Fran Ansley (1972)

• Women absorb male frustration, acting as "takers of shit," which maintains male power.
• Men displace anger onto women in the household due to alienation from work in capitalist societies.
• This deflects blame away from capitalism, making women the scapegoats for economic stress.
• The family reinforces patriarchal oppression, sustaining capitalism and gender inequality.

Criticism of Feminism

• Functionalists like Parsons and Murdock argue that gender roles contribute to social stability.
• The New Right like Murray (1990) states that traditional families provide the best outcomes for children.

New Right Perspective on the Family

• The decline of the nuclear family causes social problems.

Welfare Dependency – Charles Murray (1990)

• Welfare benefits create a dependency culture, discouraging work and responsibility.
• Single-parent families increase crime rates because of a lack of father figures.
• Without strong male role models, young men turn to delinquency.
• The state should promote marriage and self-reliance rather than welfare.

Criticism of the New Right

• Feminists like Oakley suggest New Right ideas promote sexist stereotypes.
• Postmodernists like Stacey argue that family diversity is an expression of choice, not a problem.

Postmodernist Perspective on the Family

• Family diversity reflects individual choice and freedom.

The Pure Relationship – Anthony Giddens (1992)

• Relationships are now based on love and emotional satisfaction, not duty.
• Couples cohabit and separate more frequently, as traditional pressures decline.
• This creates more fluid and diverse family structures, allowing people to self-define their relationships.
• The nuclear family is no longer dominant, reflecting a shift to individual choice.

Criticism of Postmodernism

• The New Right like Murray argues that too much diversity weakens social stability.

Explore the functionalist view of the family as a key institution for maintaining social order. Functional fit theory explains how family structure adapts to societal needs. Learn about primary socialization and value consensus.