Rhiannon Lonsdale

Power relationships and the division of labour

Power relationships can be derived from cultural factors like gender
specific socialization, gender roles, religious beliefs and (value of)
traditions.
Wilmott and Young believe in The March of Progress a belief that men and
women are no longer defined with separate roles in the household and
that the Symmetrical family is becoming much more common. However,
Ann Oakley, a Feminist, rejects this theory as she believes the role of man
and woman is so segregated that a symmetrical family is difficult to
achieve. She believes the division of labour benefits the man as they do
not have the responsibility of housework, and the woman with social
expectations does.
Browne and Ross developed the understanding that gender domains are
constructed in primary socialisation and that girls are persuaded to the
colour pink and bunny rabbits and boys are persuaded to blue and
violence. (Violence being an expected behaviour with sayings such as
Boys will be boys implying their reckless behaviour and grass stains
should be pardoned) and this is largely reflected in the manufacture of
toys with small model, plastic kitchen sets for girls and Hot wheels for
boys.
Because boys have these boisterous and violent expectations, typically to
prepare them for the labour workforce common in working class boys (The
Lads Paul Willis) they are deterred from feminine roles like cooking and
cleaning and childcare. This ideology of masculinity sometimes leads to
domestic abuse. In the UK domestic abuse will affect 1 in 4 women and 1
in 6 men in their lifetime. It also leads to, on average, two women being
murdered each week and 30 men per year. These statistics are so high
because of leading factors such as stress of the workforce and domestic
revolutions. It can be argued that the depiction of women in media is also
at blame as they are demoralized and romanticised as objects of sexual
relief and property.
Ethnic groups such as those in the Middle east share a cultural capital of
patriarchy and the practice of polygamy which weakens the stigma of the
monogamous relationship and is not seen as a value. Government policies
also directly benefit men for they are seen as superior in law and so
women are supressed and therefore targeted more upon domestic abuse
and sexual assault.
In the 1750s England became industrialized and the family became
privatised in order to protect private property and to control womens
conception within a monogamous bourgeois nuclear family to secure a

Rhiannon Lonsdale

rightful heir (Engles). This is when domestic abuse became problematic

and the instrumental role of the man became powerful.
Women do more domestic labour (Lader et Al) especially with the
constructs of the duel burden and the triple shift. The concept of
mcdonaldization where women are challenged with doing more housework
while modern convinces of washing machines and dish washes are on also
paralyzes the idea of the march of progress.
Men are also subjected to domestic violence by women (and other men) in
relationships as the Crisis of masculinity (Mac and Ghaill) perceive men
who do not follow traditional conventions of their gender domain
(violence, strength, sex drive) they are ridiculed and made fun of, called
Sissies, weak, pathetic, gay and feminine. Women, typically those of
black afro-Caribbean origins, who are the assertive role in the family
(Families known as the Matriarchal family) are most prone to domestic
abuse on their male partners, especially if they are not a masculine
person.
Talcott Parsons, a functionalist sociologist believes that there are biological
differences between men and women that categorize them into these
expressive and instrumental roles. For example, women have natural
urges to child bare and provide the warm bath effect (emotional work) for
their family, and men are naturally driven by physical strength and mental
strength to take on laborious/intelligent careers.
The division of labour is constructed by gender domains and social values
and power relationships likewise. Power relationships (typically private,
monogamous bourgeois nuclear family) are domineered by men and in
fewer cases by women.