P1 - 9 d. Patriarchy and sexual division of labour
Patriarchy - literally, rule by father; this concept is used to refer to a system that values men more and gives them power over women.
Sexual division of labour is a system in which all work inside the home is either done by the women of the family or organized by them through domestic helpers.
From primitive to modern societies, it is found that division of labour is a universal phenomenon. Earlier, it was highly based on sex and age, and today in modern times, it is based on talents. If division of labour is considered a biological concept, then it will be termed as sexual division of labour. If it is socially and culturally derived and decided, then it's gender-based division of labour.
Tiger and Fox argue that human behavior is based on human bio-grammar. The bio-grammar is a genetically based program which predisposes mankind to behave in certain ways. Because of this, compared to women, men are more aggressive and dominant. The differences are partly due to genetics inherited from men's primate ancestors, and partly due to an adoption of a way of life. Thus, male dominance is a sex-linked characteristic. Male and female adapted to a sexual division of labour in a hunting society. Compared to cultural change, genetic change is slow - thus male and female bio-grammar of a hunting society is still in existence. Therefore, the division of labour is sex-based.
G.P. Murdock finds biological differences between men and women are the basis of the sexual division of labour in society. He says that men with their superior physical strength can better undertake the most strenuous tasks. Not handicapped by the physiological burdens of pregnancy and nursing, men can take on activities like hunting, fishing, while women can take on activities of gathering food, cooking, washing. Murdock surveyed 221 societies ranging from hunting and gathering bands to modern nation-states and found that the sexual division of labour is present in all societies in his sample.
Parsons has described two important functions of the isolated nuclear family - Primary socialization of children and Stabilization of adult personality. Parsons characterizes women's role in the family as expressive - she provides warmth, security, and emotional support to her husband. Male role is instrumental which leads to stress and anxiety, and the expressive female relieves the tension by providing him with love, consideration, and understanding. Parsons argues that for the family to operate effectively as a social system there must be a clear-cut division of labour.
According to John Bowlby, it is essential for mental health and wellbeing that infants and young children experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with their mother. His argument implies that there is a genetically based psychological need for a close and intimate mother-child relationship. Thus, the division of labour is sex-based.
According to Ann Oakley, "the division of labour on the basis of sex is not universal, and there is no reason why it should be." Human cultures are diverse and endlessly variable. They are the creation of human inventiveness rather than invincible biological forces. Since human cultures are changing, there is a change in whole lifestyles, which eventually changes division of labour in society.
While criticizing Murdock, she says he is biased because he looked at other cultures through both western and male eyes. Similarly, she attacks Parsons, arguing that the expressive housewife/mother role is not necessary for the functioning of the family unit. It merely exists for the convenience of the male. Therefore, she concludes that gender roles are culturally rather than biologically determined.
Sherry B. Ortner claims that it is the universal devaluation of women, and not biology, that ascribes women their status in society. Thus, if this universal evaluation changed, then the basis for female subordination would be removed. Ortner argues that women are universally defined as close to nature because their physiology and its functions are more concerned with the natural processes surrounding the reproduction of species. And so, they are entrusted with child care and primary socialization. They develop more personal and intimate relations with others, especially their children. By comparison, men have a wider range of contacts and less personal and particular relationships by engaging in politics, warfare, and religion. Thus, men are seen as being more objective and less emotional. In this way, it can be said that subordination of women is due to the cultural evaluation of their biological makeup.
Ernestine Friedl provides an explanation for both sexual division of labour and gender division of labour and supports a cultural explanation for this. She tested her hypothesis by examining hunting and gathering bands and small-scale horticulture societies. Friedl argues that the distribution of scarce or irregularly available resources (meat in hunting society) is the source of power. Those who distribute such resources gain prestige. Thus, in comparison to females, males are attached with high prestige and honor. Similarly, in horticulture societies, defending the property requires a lot of courage and sacrifices. And so, a greater prestige and honor are attached to it, which shows the dominance of men. Also, activities with danger are undertaken by men, as the loss of men can still ensure that the population survives, but the loss of women cannot be adequately compensated.
Shulasmith Firestone claims that the mothering role is the root cause of sexual division of labour, and its removal can lead to gender equality.
Hochschild calls working women doing housework as the second shift for women and a stalled revolution - activities like cooking and cleaning are strictly time-bound.
Sylvia Walby and other Feminists
Sex refers to the permanent and immutable biological characteristics common to individuals in all societies and cultures, while gender defines traits forged throughout the history of social relations. Gender, although it originates in objective biological divergences, goes far beyond the physiological and biological specifics of the two sexes in terms of the roles each is expected to play. Gender differences are social constructs, inculcated on the basis of a specific society's particular perceptions of the physical differences and the assumed tastes, tendencies, and capabilities of men and women. Gender differences, unlike the immutable characteristics of sex, are universally conceded in historical and comparative social analyses to be variants that are transformed over time and from one culture to the next, as societies change and evolve.
Gender relations are accordingly defined as specific mechanisms whereby different cultures determine the functions and responsibilities of each sex. They also determine access to material resources, such as land, credit, and training, and more ephemeral resources, such as Power. The implications for everyday life are many and include the division of labour, the responsibilities of family members inside and outside the home, education and opportunities for professional advancement and a voice in policy-making.
A patriarchal structure where a number of factors coincide:
There is no society on earth whose features are the exact reverse of these. For even in matrilineal, matrilocal systems, which are fairly rare, major property is usually controlled by males. For this reason, the term 'matriarchy,' though often found in literature, is probably a misnomer, and there is no conclusive evidence to support that matriarchy was a universal early stage in the development of kinship systems.
Goran Therborn - Between sex and power
He studied 5 major family types across the 20th century, shaped by particular religions:
Following structure across families: patriarchy; marriage/non-marriage regulation of sexual behavior; fertility and birth control measures.
Patriarchal power declines in 2 stages: