The conflict perspective on the family views the family as a site of struggle and conflict between its members, rather than as a harmonious unit. This perspective is rooted in Marxist theory, which posits that society is divided into different classes that are in constant conflict with each other. According to the conflict perspective, the family serves as a tool for the dominant class to maintain its power and control over the subordinate class.
One way that the dominant class maintains its power within the family is through the institution of patriarchy. Patriarchal systems of power prioritize men over women and often reinforce traditional gender roles, with men holding positions of authority and control within the family. This can lead to conflicts within the family as women may resist these traditional roles and fight for more equal power dynamics.
Another aspect of the conflict perspective on the family is the idea that family members may have conflicting interests and goals. For example, parents may have different ideas about how to raise their children and this can lead to conflicts within the family. Additionally, the distribution of resources within the family, such as financial support or household tasks, can also be a source of conflict.
The conflict perspective also highlights the ways in which the family can be a site of oppression and inequality. For example, in some cultures, women may be expected to serve and obey their husbands, and this can lead to power imbalances and conflicts within the family. Similarly, LGBTQ+ individuals may face discrimination and marginalization within their families due to their non-traditional sexual or gender identities.
Overall, the conflict perspective on the family emphasizes that the family is not a harmonious unit, but rather a site of struggle and conflict between its members. It highlights the ways in which power dynamics and conflicting interests can shape family relationships and the ways in which the family can be a site of oppression and inequality.
10.2 Sociological Perspectives on the Family
This is more important than concentrating on the negative aspects. The Credential Society According to sociologist Randall Collins, understanding credentialism can help explain class-based differences in educational attainment. As such, the family performs several important functions. This si negative of the subject class as they will continue to serve the ruling class, but it is positive for them as they get a lot of generations of worker. In most societies, the family is the major unit in which socialization happens. Such gender differences seem less common in middle-class families, where men are better educated and more emotionally expressive than their working-class counterparts. Conflict theory focuses the way in which members of the family struggle for different aspects of life.
Sociological Perspectives on the Family
Today, few schools use tracking systems that so overtly differentiate upper, middle, and working class skills. Another classic study by Lillian Rubin 1976 found that wives in middle-class families say that ideal husbands are ones who communicate well and share their feelings, while wives in working-class families are more apt to say that ideal husbands are ones who do not drink too much and who go to work every day. The control of power is a critical element in conflict theory and power is a central aspect in Weber's work on the types of athurity. Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Because of this, the industrial revolution had socially impacted many families. Some children have advantages throughout life because of the social identity they acquire from their parents, while others face many obstacles because the social class or race and ethnicity into which they are born is at the bottom of the social hierarchy. They are the result of misunderstandings or false information between the parties involved.
Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives on Family
As previous chapters indicated, no society is possible without adequate socialization of its young. New York, NY: Random House. This type of credentialism is common in white-collar jobs, which require workers to have difficult-to-measure skills such as critical thinking. But after World War II, they quickly fell out of favor over fear of being associated with Nazism. In the conflict perspective, change comes about through conflict between competing interests, not consensus or adaptation.
1.3C: The Conflict Perspective
The family as an Ideological Apparatus The modern nuclear family functions to promote values that ensure the reproduction and maintenance of capitalism. The Encyclopedia of Aging. Provided by: OpenStax CNX. Third, the family helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction. Toward a general theory of action. Dahrendrof 1959:162 refer his conflict theory as the "coercion theory of society" which can be reduced to a small number of basic tents: Every society is at every point subject to processes of change, social change is ever-present. The Stabilization of Adult Personalities The stabilization of adult personalities, otherwise known as "warm bath theory," emphasizes the emotional security found within marital relationships.
