Sociology Essay 2 Family

How far would sociologists agree that marriage and family life benefit men far more than women?

Some sociologists would agree with the statement. For example, feminist writers argue that society is essentially a patriarchy – a male dominated society – with a range of inequalities and conflicts between men and women. Feminists see the family as a unit based on patriarchy, reproducing and supporting a society in which men have most of the power, status and authority.
Form an early age girls get socialized to do low paid or low status work when they grow up. When girls are young they see their mothers doing all the work so it seems normal for them to do all the work when they’re older. Whilst they are still young they’re encouraged by the family to be kind, caring and also passive whereas the males see their fathers as the providers and being in control.
However some sociologists would argue that although women do low paid work and the men do higher paid work the men have the pressure of being the breadwinner. They have to pay the bills, pay off any debts, provide food and other necessities for the family and also provide what luxuries the women and children want. They argue the men are under more pressure than the women.
Feminist sociologists would argue that actually women are under more pressure than the men because they do the dual burden or the triple shift. The triple shift is a modern day expectation where the women are expected to do the child caring, the housework and also be the breadwinner. The man would probably only do one job which is being the breadwinner whereas the woman is doing three jobs therefore the women is actually the one under more pressure.
Feminists would also argue that even though they can see men do more work than in the past the roles of childcare and housework are still not symmetrical. They also say that not only does family life benefit men far more than women, but often does so at the expense of women. For example, because women do more housework and childcare their ability to enter full time employment and pursue careers is limited. It may also have negative consequences for their mental and physical health. It is still mainly women who give up paid work or suffer from lost or restricted job opportunities to look after sick children or the elderly. Women still take the most responsibility and are most likely to get the blame from society if these tasks are not performed properly. This puts women under a lot of stress worrying about children, their work and the house.
Some sociologists would argue that although a lot of women are sacrificing careers there are also some men that are becoming househusbands and sacrificing their careers. A househusband is like a male housewife. They raise the children rather than go to work leaving their partner to become the family breadwinner. They spend more time at home with the children and doing housework.
The feminist sociologists would argue that although some men are now becoming househusbands it is only a minority number because it is still the majority of women who do all the work. They would also argue that men get more leisure time whereas, because of the triple shift, the women barely get any free time. This is because women still perform the majority of domestic and childcare tasks, even when they have paid jobs themselves. They spend on average nearly twice as long as men each day on household and childcare tasks.
Some sociologists would argue that the emergence of the so-called new man has been accompanied with the change

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