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The And Structure Of Family

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The definition and structure of family has significantly developed throughout the years, with liberal perspectives suggesting alternative family arrangements. In 1973, Michael Young and Peter Willmott conducted studies of family life within the London area and concluded that the development and changes within the structure of family life can be sorted into three categories of time. (Van Krieken et al. 2017, p. 107). The pre-industrial family (up until the early 19th century), the early industrial family (Industrial Revolution - early 20th century) and the symmetrical family (20th century onwards). Sociological perspectives such as Marxism, functionalism and feminism all adhere to the structure within the household and how this shapes the …show more content…

The Industrial Revolution completely transformed family life. In the 1970s, female social scientists, such as Meg Luxton, began to explore different concepts of family life. (Fox 2015, p. 205). Luton 's 1980 book ‘More Than a Labour of Love’ examines the gender inequalities women faced where men earned wages and women were expected to act as full-time unpaid domestic workers within the home. Therefore, as a byproduct of this Revolution, women became increasingly independent and career motivated. (Volarevic 2012, p. 223). Consequently, women were becoming less domestically oriented, and as a result, were disrupting the family structure. However, this caused major controversy, as many functionalists were dissatisfied with this change. When exploring the functionalist perspective, many analysts view the work of Talcott Parsons. Parsons argues that society establishes several institutions in which reflect a shared valued system. (Grimes 1988, p. 183). He claims that each institution conduct functional tasks in order to sustain social order. Therefore, when change was brought about, many perceived moral chaos. Feminist sociologists combatted this argument by declaring that the ideology of the traditional family structure was of disadvantage to women. (Hare-Mustin 1978, p. 1). They argued that functionalists overlook the inequalities women face in

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