Applying material from item B and your own knowledge, Evaluate the feminist approach to families and households (20)

Feminist contributions to the family have been incredibly valuable as they concern themselves with the inequalities between men and women in the home. They are a structuralist perspective that is concerned with how men exploit and control women through patriarchy and oppress them through housework and childcare duties. In recent years, feminist writers have had probably the most influence on the family than other perspectives. It can be argued feminists have contributed to our understanding of the family in many ways. One way in which it has done so is by providing us research into harmful aspects of the family that have never been researched before. Examples of this include DV, housework, the negative impact the family has on a womens career and the continuing inequality between men and women. Secondly, feminists demonstrate how the family maintains capitalism through the family as it is seen as a place of work. They were the first to suggest that housework is work and that it is just like paid work even though no one pays mothers to do it. Men often gain from this as they have their children bathed, their meals cooked and their houses kept clean. 
Liberal feminists have contributed to our understanding of the family as they have shown how reform in the law is needed for households to be equal. Liberal feminists campaign against sexual discrimination and recognise that women’s oppression is gradually being overcome through changes in attitudes and changes in the law e.g. Sex Discrimination Act (1975) which outlaws discrimination in employment and the Equal Pay Act which highlights how men and women should be paid equally. More recently the Divorce Law Reform Act now allows women to file for a divorce without needing to prove why which has all led to more equality within the family. They believe we are moving toward greater equality but state full equality depends on further reforms and changes in the attitudes and socialisation patterns of both sexes. They see society as gradually becoming more equal. They see men doing more in the home and this is due to the way in which parents socialise their children. They see this as better than it was in the past. However, they fail to challenge the underlying causes of women’s oppression and for believing that changes in the law or attitudes will be enough to bring equality. Deep rooted social structure changes are needed.