Sociology For 01/06/23

1) “EVALUATE THE EXTENT FAMILY BRINGS Stability and security to it’s

members”
(26 Marks)

Intro: Functionalists such as Murdock (1949) would define family as a social group
made up of common residence, economic cooperation, reproduction, adults of both sexes,
who engage in a socially approved relationship, and that the education system is
important. Functionalists believe that the nuclear family is the best type of family for
individuals and society. Functionalists believe that sexual relationships with the same
partner are very important to society as it helps to prevent social disruption and can result
in making a husband’s and wife’s relationship stronger.

Functionalists believe that sexual relationships with the same partner are very important
to society as it helps to prevent social disruption and can result in making a husband’s and
wife’s relationship stronger. They believe that reproduction is important to keep society
going. Economic cooperation is important for the family as it provides them with
necessities such as food and shelter. Functionalists believe that the education system is
important because it educates children into society’s norms and values, which they then
pass down to different generations so when children grow up they support the
functionalist views on society which they believe benefits society the most. This suggests
functionalists have a positive view on families.

The New Right theorists agree with functionalists and think that if the nuclear family
were the dominant family it would benefit society the most. The New Right theorists
would argue that nuclear families are important for the young to be socialised to respect
traditional sources of authority. They also support a traditional allocation of gender roles
while taking into account that a dynamic market economy might need an increase in the
amount of married women to take up employment. However, New right theorists argue
that in practice, as a result of increasing divorce, cohabitation, increasing numbers of lone
parent families and the increase of homosexuality, the nuclear family is less secure than
functionalists imply.

Although, functionalists think that family is a good thing, others believe that the family is
bad, this is called ‘the dark side of the family life’. There are two main areas to the dark
side of the family are child abuse and domestic violence. These are very difficult to
measure as they are behind closed doors; this makes it very difficult to stop it from
happening especially if people do not talk about it with others. There are four different
types of child abuse, which are physical, neglect, emotional and sexual.

Feminists have many different approaches of domestic abuse. However, they usually
focus on the male domination of society as the main cause of abuse of women, children
and the elderly within the family. The feminist ‘Elliot’ argues that this is based in two
linked arguments. The first argument is the assumption that all male domination is, in the
last resort, supported by physical force. The second argument is that there is an equally
persuasive assumption that male sexuality is both powerful and irresistible.

Some feminists suggest that such a construction of masculinity puts women at constant
risk of sexual harassment, and that children are at risk of sexual abuse unless men are
regularly ‘serviced’. Some feminists would also claim that male sexual violence gets
support from the law, judges and the media. This infers that the dark side of family is the
most common picture in family life. This would go against a functionalists view on the
family. This view on the family can be criticised; this is because most men reject the fact
that they are inherently violent and potential abusers of women and children, with no
control over their sexual feelings and desires. Most men think that physical abuse to
women and children is outrageous, and men in prison for child abuse usually have to be
kept separated from other male prisoners for their own safety. The radical feminist
approach fails to explain women’s abuse to children, men and other women. It also does
not explain domestic abuse in same sex relationships. This suggests that although family
does have a dark side to it, most people do gain from family relationships.

Vogel and Bell think that the dysfunction of child abuse is not as bad as the breakdown of
the family. They focus on emotional abuse where the child is used as an emotional
weapon by the parents who argue. This might suggest that emotional abuse is better than
divorce because of all the different outcomes as a result of divorce.
However, Parton suggests child abuse is only found in extreme cases. He argues that
structural circumstances in which people live can put a huge strain on a personal
relationship. For example at the lower end of the economic scale, it may be the stress of
poverty, unemployment, debts and marital problems that lead to abuse. Middle-class
abuse might be due to a lack of job satisfaction, financial anxieties and fear of
redundancy.

Conclusion: Conclusively, it can be said that functionalists view challenged a huge

amount by the dark side of family life. Functionalists believe that sexual relationships
with the same partner is important to society as it helps to prevent social disruption
making a husband’s and wife’s relationship stronger. However, if there is domestic abuse
within this relationship it will only cause more of a social disruption and weaken a
husband and wife’s relationship. Functionalists also believe that nuclear family is
important to educate children into society’s norms and values, which they pass down to
different generations, however, domestic abuse is not normal and children should not be
educated to think it is.