Perspective Prism

Perspective Prism: functionalism, Marxism and feminism for AQA GCSE Sociology

This free game is part of our AQA GCSE Sociology (8192) course for exams in EXAM YEARS 2026-2029.

Three ways of seeing society

Sociologists look at the same society through different perspectives, like shining light through a prism. Perspective Prism teaches the three you need for the AQA GCSE Sociology (8192) course:

• Functionalism: society is a system of parts that work together, like the organs of a body. Shared norms and values act like glue, and institutions such as the family, school and religion keep society stable.
• Marxism: society is shaped by the economy and divided by class conflict. Factory owners get rich by paying workers less than the value of what they produce, and Marx argued that one day workers would realise they are exploited and overthrow capitalism.
• Feminism: society is patriarchal, with gender inequality built in. Men hold most of the power at home, at work and in politics.

Key thinkers to know

• Talcott Parsons (functionalist): society is a social system; the family has two basic functions, primary socialisation and stabilising adult personalities.
• Robert Merton (functionalist): manifest functions are intended, latent functions are unintended.
• Karl Marx: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." The ruling class rules through ideas as well as force.
• Bowles and Gintis (Marxists): the correspondence principle says school mirrors the workplace, training obedient pupils to become obedient workers.
• Ann Oakley (feminist): the distinction between sex (biological differences) and gender (the roles society expects of men and women).
• Sylvia Walby (feminist): six structures of patriarchy: paid work, the household, culture, sexuality, violence and the state.
• bell hooks (feminist): gender, race and class intersect, so not all women experience inequality in the same way.

Applying the perspectives and evaluating them

In the game you take real issues and decide which lens explains them. A Marxist sees private schools teaching the children of the rich to lead, while many state schools stress following rules. A feminist points to women in full-time work still doing most of the housework and childcare, and to the gender pay gap. A functionalist asks whether new family types can still socialise children.

Each perspective also has a criticism you should be able to give in the exam:

• Functionalism downplays conflict and inequality.
• Marxism focuses so much on social class that it overlooks gender and ethnicity, and it is too economically deterministic.
• Feminism has different strands that often disagree with each other.

The big lesson: no single lens shows everything, so use more than one to see the full picture.