Conjugal Roles
Conjugal roles refer to the division of tasks and responsibilities within a marriage or partnership. These roles are often influenced by societal norms and expectations, and can encompass various aspects such as household chores, childcare, and financial management. The concept of conjugal roles has evolved over time, with modern perspectives emphasizing more equitable and flexible arrangements between partners.
4 Key excerpts on "Conjugal Roles"
eBook - ePubFamily and Social Network
Roles, Norms and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families
- Elizabeth Bott, Elizabeth Bott Spillius(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...CHAPTER III Conjugal Roles and Social Networks A. INTRODUCTION There was considerable variation in the way husbands and wives performed their Conjugal Roles. At one extreme was a family in which the husband and wife carried out as many tasks as possible separately and independently of each other. There was a strict division of labour in the household, in which she had her tasks and he had his. He gave her a set amount of housekeeping money, and she had little idea of how much he earned or how he spent the money he kept for himself. In their leisure time, he went to cricket matches with his friends, whereas she visited her relatives or went to a cinema with a neighbour. With the exception of festivities with relatives, this husband and wife spent very little of their leisure time together. They did not consider that they were un-usual in this respect. On the contrary, they felt their behaviour was typical of their social circle. At the other extreme was a family in which husband and wife shared as many activities and spent as much time together as possible. They stressed that husband and wife should be equals: all major decisions should be made together, and even in minor household matters they should help one another as much as possible. This norm was carried out in practice. In their division of labour, many tasks were shared or interchangeable. The husband often did the cooking and sometimes the washing and ironing. The wife did the gardening and often the household repairs as well. Much of their leisure time was spent together, and they shared similar interests in politics, music, literature, and in entertaining friends. Like the first couple, this husband and wife felt their behaviour was typical of their social circle, except that they felt they carried the interchange-ability of household tasks a little further than most people...
eBook - ePubFamilies in Context
Sociological Perspectives
- Gene H. Starbuck, Karen Saucier Lundy(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Gender-based theories of conjugal power also have adherents, as do human capital and empowerment theories. Marriage relationships have also become increasingly egalitarian, as determined by different measures of, and theories about, conjugal power. Newlyweds negotiate several role relationships, working out their own marital scripts using social expectations as a starting point. Utilitarian and intrinsic marriages are determined by the "why" of the marital relationship. Couples have a number of role relationships to negotiate: sexual, provider, housekeeper, religion, friendship, child socialization, child care, therapeutic, recreational, and kinship. Couples also develop a generalized script based on the basic "why" of their relationship. Family scholars have developed a number of indicators of marital quality, including marital happiness and marital stability. Several factors are associated with marital happiness and life satisfaction. Developmental theories look at the "life cycle" of marriages. Specific points in the life cycle, such as the "empty nest" period and retirement pose challenges for couples. Considerable research has been done on the effect of life-cycle changes on marital quality, with confusing and sometimes contradictory results. In conclusion, this chapter focused more on the microsociological processes and outcomes involved in marriages. It should be apparent that measuring the "goodness" or "badness" of relationship is difficult, and not all measures get the same results. Some unhappy marriages, for example, are nonetheless quite stable. Just as a couple negotiates a marriage, their negotiations continue when children must be taken into account...
eBook - ePubWomen and the Family
Two Decades of Change
- Beth Hess, Marvin B Sussman(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...She holds that equality between the sexes requires full abolition of the sexual division of labor. Since traditional marriages are characterized by a rigid division of labor with the female assuming roles in the domestic realm (sexual relations, reproduction, socialization and hornemaking) and the male in the public sphere (politics, education, economic production), full equality can only be achieved if the structural linkages among roles within these two domains decline and roles are no longer ascribed by sex. The assumption of a linear trend toward companionship, symmetry, or equal partnership implied in these models has been questioned by Hunt and Hunt (1977, 1982) who envision crystallization of different life styles rather than a general trend toward more role sharing and equality. Three major variations in life styles are distinguished: (1) traditionalists who resist change, (2) prioritizers who arrange their life around distinct priorities (either careers or families), and (3) integrators, i.e., spouses who work together and attempt to integrate family and work roles. Each of these variants is expected to develop independently of the others, leading to increased polarization of familial life styles, accompanied by little change in social and economic institutions. Apart from Hunt's model, these formulations are in basic agreement on the direction and content of current and future changes in family roles. Major defining characteristics of the two polar family types which I prefer to call sex-role segregated and sex-role transcendent 4 are summarized in Table 1. They should be understood as ideal types in the Weberian sense. Sex-role segregated families follow rigid, normatively prescribed sex roles which assign the provider role and authority to the husband/father and the homemaker and childcare roles to the wife/mother. The marital relationship tends to be task-oriented, and women's interests are considered secondary to those of men...
eBook - ePubFamily Communication
Cohesion and Change
- Kathleen M. Galvin, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Paul Schrodt, Carma L. Bylund(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Mothers shared more time with daughters in meal preparation and family care projects; fathers shared more time with sons in doing home and car repairs and yard work. Today, partners enact gender roles that work for their particular relationships. Due to the relative absence of marital role models, for example, same-sex couples must negotiate responsibilities rather than rely on societal expectations or previous gender role models. In same-sex couples, the division of household tasks tends to be more equitable than in heterosexual couples, with decisions about household labor made based upon the particular skills of each partner, their preferred interests, and perceived needs. 11 Ultimately, there are many factors that influence how couples enact gender roles, including cultural backgrounds, career demands, and individual expectations. With time, partners may develop more flexible roles through their ongoing experiences and interactions with each other as they communicate in response to the internal and external demands of family life. Consider, for example, the sentiments of one mother who wrote the following about her adult son: I recently received an e-mail from my son that reminded me of how his marriage is so different from mine. He wrote about the meals he cooked for the family and taking the kids shopping for school clothes. This week he was the primary caregiver while his wife, Alyana, was in Los Angeles on business. She loves the outdoors, takes care of the lawn, and coaches the boys’ baseball team. Their lifestyle amazes me, and I love to see Brian act as such a caring and active parent to their two sons. This mother came to realize that her son’s relationship with his wife afforded both partners the opportunity to enact family roles that suited their personal and professional needs, rather than adhere to preconceived notions of what husbands and wives are supposed to do in marriage...
