Approaches
This approach focuses on the roles of men and women in the family and how they have changed
Feminist
When two people in a romantic relationship live together, but are unmarried
Cohabitation
The New Right would not agree with one of these changes in family
-Heterosexual relationships -Mothers in careers -Non-traditional gender roles -Single-parent families
Murdock
This approach argues that the family is a safe place for individuals in the face of an oppressive wider society
Black Feminist
Focuses on the role of family in wider society and argues it is one of the most important institutions
Functionalist
When men and women perform different tasks inside and outside the home
Segregated conjugal roles
This is one of the reasons why family sizes are decreasing
-Later marriage -Women being career-oriented
-Birth control -Less social pressure
Argued that family has lost many of its functions including care of elderly and education
Fletcher
This is the term for a family that focuses on the needs, talents, and nurturing of their offspring
Child-centered
Family only serves the needs of a few while keeping the rest of society in a lower social position
Marxist
The idea that women, but also men, are responsible for the psychological well being of family members
Emotion Work
This is the term for the modern father who is involved in his children's lives, emotional, and has a career
New Man / New Father
This sociologist found that working class families are more likely to be single-parent and have kids earlier
O'Neill
This is the idea that many women have careers but are also more responsible for domestic labor than their partner
Dual Burden / Double Shift
New Right
The official term for the idea that the nuclear family is the most common type in all societies
Fit Thesis
This Marxist argues that the family encourages people to think about private instead of public issues
Zaretsky
This sociologist studied nurtured and nurturing children, finding that this depends on wealth
Hecht
Family is what we choose it to be; any form can raise functional children
Postmodernist
The name for a married relationship where there is no love but the parents stay together for their children
Empty Shell Marriage
Smallwood and Wilson argued that even if families don't live together, they can still be a family by staying in touch. This is called...
A modified extended family
These Feminists argue that women have not just a double but a Triple Shift
Duncombe and Marsden
This is the term for a family that is vertically extended due to long lives and low birth rates
Bean Pole Family