Comparing Perspectives on Family Functions
Sociologists have different views about what families do and why they exist. These different viewpoints help us understand the complex role families play in society. Each perspective focuses on different aspects of family life and has its own take on whether families are positive or negative for individuals and society.
Key Definitions:
- Family functions: The roles and purposes that families serve in society.
- Sociological perspective: A particular way of looking at and understanding social issues.
- Nuclear family: A family unit consisting of parents and their dependent children.
- Extended family: A family group that includes relatives beyond the nuclear family.
📈 Functionalist Perspective
Functionalists see the family as a positive institution that performs essential functions for society. They believe the family is like a vital organ that helps keep society healthy and working properly.
Key functions according to functionalists:
- Primary socialisation: Teaching children society's norms and values
- Economic function: Providing for family members' material needs
- Reproductive function: Producing the next generation
- Emotional support: Providing love, security and stability
Talcott Parsons identified two key family functions:
- Primary socialisation of children
- Stabilisation of adult personalities - providing emotional support
📝 Marxist Perspective
Marxists view the family critically, seeing it as serving the interests of capitalism rather than individuals. They argue the family maintains inequality and class divisions.
Key functions according to Marxists:
- Reproducing labour power: Creating new workers for capitalism
- Consumption unit: Families buy products, supporting capitalism
- Ideological control: Teaching obedience to authority
- Inheritance of property: Passing wealth down generations, maintaining class inequality
Friedrich Engels saw the family as a tool for passing down private property and maintaining class divisions.
More Perspectives on Family Functions
Feminist Perspectives
Feminists focus on how traditional family structures can reinforce gender inequality and benefit men at the expense of women. Different types of feminists have varying views:
👩 Liberal Feminists
See gradual progress in family equality but argue more change is needed. They focus on:
- Legal reforms to improve women's position
- Changing attitudes about gender roles
- More equal sharing of housework and childcare
✊ Radical Feminists
View the family as a key site of women's oppression where:
- Men benefit from women's unpaid domestic labour
- Patriarchal control is maintained
- Women's identities are limited to mother/wife roles
- Domestic violence reflects male power
💻 Marxist Feminists
Combine class and gender analysis, arguing:
- Women's unpaid work benefits capitalism
- Women provide emotional support for male workers
- Women raise the next generation of workers
- The family reproduces both class and gender inequality
New Right Perspective
The New Right emerged in the 1980s and strongly supports traditional family structures. They believe the nuclear family is the cornerstone of a stable society and worry about the effects of family diversity.
Key arguments from the New Right:
- The traditional nuclear family is the natural and best family form
- Children need both a mother and father for proper development
- Family breakdown leads to social problems like crime and educational failure
- Welfare benefits have undermined family responsibility
- The state should support traditional families through policies and tax benefits
Charles Murray argued that single-parent families create an 'underclass' with poor socialisation of children, leading to social problems.
Postmodern Perspective
Postmodernists reject the idea that any single family form is 'natural' or 'best'. They celebrate family diversity and individual choice.
Key postmodern ideas about family functions:
- Family forms are diverse and constantly changing
- People choose family arrangements that suit their individual needs
- Traditional family functions are now shared with other institutions
- Identity is increasingly shaped by factors beyond the family
- There is no single 'correct' way for families to function
Judith Stacey describes the 'postmodern family' as diverse, fluid and unresolved, with people creating their own family arrangements.
Case Study Focus: Changing Family Functions in the UK
Over the past 50 years, UK families have changed dramatically:
- 1950s-60s: Most children were raised in nuclear families with clear gender roles (breadwinner father, homemaker mother)
- 1970s-80s: Rising divorce rates, more mothers in paid work, beginning of greater family diversity
- 1990s-2000s: Increase in cohabitation, same-sex partnerships and single-parent families
- 2010s-present: Legal recognition of same-sex marriage, more shared parenting and diverse family forms
These changes show how family functions have adapted to changing social conditions, supporting different sociological perspectives. For example, the increase in women working supports feminist arguments about changing gender roles, while some might see rising divorce rates as supporting either the New Right concern about family breakdown or the postmodern view of increasing choice.
Comparing the Perspectives
✅ Strengths of Different Perspectives
- Functionalism: Identifies important social functions families perform
- Marxism: Shows how families connect to wider economic systems
- Feminism: Highlights gender inequality within families
- New Right: Recognises the stability traditional families can provide
- Postmodernism: Acknowledges the diversity of contemporary family life
❌ Criticisms of Different Perspectives
- Functionalism: Ignores conflict and inequality within families
- Marxism: Overemphasises economic factors, downplays emotional bonds
- Feminism: Some versions may overlook positive aspects of family life
- New Right: Idealises the past and ignores problems in traditional families
- Postmodernism: May overstate individual choice and freedom
Exam Tips: Comparing Perspectives
When answering exam questions about different perspectives on family functions:
- Clearly explain the key ideas of each perspective
- Use specific sociologists to support your points (e.g., Parsons for functionalism)
- Compare perspectives by identifying similarities and differences
- Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of each perspective
- Use examples from real life to illustrate your points
- Consider how perspectives might explain recent changes in family life
Key Takeaways
There is no single 'correct' perspective on family functions. Each offers valuable insights:
- Functionalists help us understand how families contribute to social stability
- Marxists reveal connections between family and economic systems
- Feminists highlight gender inequality within family structures
- New Right thinkers emphasise the benefits of traditional family forms
- Postmodernists celebrate diversity and choice in family arrangements
A comprehensive understanding requires considering insights from all perspectives.