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Unlock This CourseConjugal role relationships refer to the roles performed by husbands and wives (or partners) in a relationship and how these roles are divided between them. Joint conjugal roles are a specific type of relationship where partners share household tasks, childcare and decision-making rather than having strictly divided responsibilities.
Key Definitions:
Traditional Segregated Roles:
Modern Joint Roles:
In the 1970s, sociologists Young and Willmott proposed that families were becoming more 'symmetrical' - meaning that the roles of husbands and wives were becoming more similar and equal. They suggested that families had evolved through four stages:
Stage 1: Pre-industrial family (family as a production unit)
Stage 2: Early industrial family (men working in factories, women at home)
Stage 3: Extended family (close ties with wider family, especially between mothers and daughters)
Stage 4: Symmetrical family (more equal sharing of roles between partners)
Several sociological studies have found evidence that conjugal roles have become more joint over time:
The rise of dual-career families (where both partners work full-time) has been a major factor in the move towards joint conjugal roles. When Sarah and James both work full-time in professional jobs, they found they needed to share household responsibilities more equally. They created a rota for cooking dinner, taking turns with the school run and share weekend chores. This arrangement allows both to pursue their careers while maintaining family life. However, Sarah still finds she does more of the 'mental load' - remembering birthdays, organizing appointments and planning family events.
Despite evidence of change, many sociologists argue that the move towards joint conjugal roles is incomplete or exaggerated:
Ann Oakley criticized Young and Willmott's findings, arguing that men's 'help' with housework was often limited to specific tasks and didn't represent true equality. She found women still did the majority of housework.
Arlie Hochschild identified that many women work a 'second shift' - doing paid work during the day and then coming home to do most of the housework and childcare.
Duncombe and Marsden suggested women often work a 'triple shift' - paid work, housework and emotional work (maintaining relationships and providing emotional support).
The extent to which couples adopt joint conjugal roles varies depending on several factors:
Research suggests that middle-class couples are more likely to adopt joint conjugal roles than working-class couples. This may be due to:
Younger couples tend to have more joint conjugal roles than older generations. This reflects changing social attitudes and expectations about gender roles.
Different cultural backgrounds may influence conjugal roles. Some cultures may maintain more traditional gender roles, while others may have different patterns of family organisation that don't fit neatly into Western categories.
Man-Yee Kan (2008) analysed time-use diaries and found that while men's contribution to housework had increased since the 1970s, women still did approximately 70% of household tasks. She found that the most equal sharing occurred in households where both partners worked full-time and had similar earnings. This suggests that economic factors play an important role in determining how equal conjugal roles are in practice.
Several major social changes have contributed to the development of more joint conjugal roles:
The massive increase in women's participation in the workforce has been a key driver of change in conjugal roles. When women work outside the home, especially full-time, there's more pressure for men to share domestic responsibilities.
Social attitudes about gender roles have changed significantly. Most people now support the idea of equality in relationships, even if practice doesn't always match these ideals.
Labour-saving devices have reduced the total amount of housework needed, making it easier to share. Online shopping, dishwashers and ready meals have all changed how household tasks are managed.
Smaller families mean less childcare and housework overall, making it more manageable to share these responsibilities between partners.
The evidence suggests a complex picture. While there has been significant movement towards more joint conjugal roles over the past 50 years, complete equality remains rare. Most sociologists agree that:
The concept of joint conjugal roles helps us understand how families are changing, but it's important to recognise that progress towards equality in relationships is uneven and incomplete. Different families will have different arrangements depending on their circumstances, values and practical constraints.