Conjugal Roles and Changing Family Relationships: Oakley, Willmott and Young
Who does what at home, and how has that changed? Learn joint and segregated conjugal roles, the symmetrical family described by Willmott and Young, and the critique offered by Oakley.
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Who does what at home?
Sociologists study the roles of partners within a couple, called conjugal roles, and how they have changed over time. This module covers joint and segregated conjugal roles, the idea of the symmetrical family described by Willmott and Young, and the critique offered by Oakley.
Conjugal role words
Four terms run through this topic. Learn them first.
Joint or segregated?
Conjugal roles fall into two patterns.
Match the term
- Conjugal roles
- Joint roles
- Segregated roles
- Symmetrical family
- The roles of partners within a couple
- Partners share tasks and do them together
- Partners have separate, distinct tasks
- A home-centred family with similar, equal contributions
Which roles are shared?
In which type of conjugal roles do partners share the tasks and do them together?
- Joint roles
- Segregated roles
- The symmetrical family
- Stratified diffusion
Two sociologists
Willmott and Young (1973) argued the family had become symmetrical, with partners contributing in similar and equally important ways, more common in the working class; they also described stratified diffusion, where trends spread from the top of society downwards. Oakley (1982) was more critical, examining the conventional family, meaning a nuclear, legally married family with children, and the strains of conforming to it.
Which case fits which idea?
- Willmott and Young
- Oakley
- Stratified diffusion
- Conventional family
- Predicts a couple who both work will also share the chores
- Points out she still plans every meal although both work full time
- A pattern seen first in wealthy homes, then everywhere
- A married couple living with their own two children
The symmetrical family
Which TWO of these describe the symmetrical family? Choose all that apply.
- Partners contribute in similar ways
- Contributions are of equal importance
- Partners have completely separate roles
- Only one partner makes all decisions
How roles changed
Put this account of how conjugal roles changed into a sensible order.
- Segregated roles were once common
- More women went into paid work
- Tasks became more shared
- Willmott and Young saw a symmetrical family
Conjugal roles, named
The roles of partners within a couple are _____ roles. When partners share tasks and do them together, the roles are _____. When partners have separate tasks, the roles are _____. Willmott and Young described the _____ family. Oakley critiqued the _____ family.
Spot the symmetrical family
Tap the TWO features of the symmetrical family.
- Partners contribute in similar ways
- Contributions are of equal importance
- Partners keep completely separate roles
- Only one partner makes all decisions
Whose case does it support?
A survey of 200 couples finds that where both partners work full time, cooking, cleaning and childcare are shared fairly evenly, and that both partners treat the two contributions as equally important. Whose position does that finding support?
- Willmott and Young, who argued conjugal roles were becoming symmetrical
- Oakley, who argued housework still fell mainly to women at home
- Parsons, who described separate instrumental and expressive roles in families
- Murdock, who listed the functions the family performs for society
Which household?
For each household, choose the term it best matches.
- Partners share the cooking, cleaning and childcare and do them together. Which conjugal roles?
- One partner earns the money while the other does all the housework, with clearly separate jobs. Which conjugal roles?
- A home-centred family where both partners contribute in similar and equally important ways. What did Willmott and Young call this?
Explain the change
Explain how conjugal roles within families have changed.
- Explain joint and segregated conjugal roles
- Explain the symmetrical family described by Willmott and Young
- Refer to the critique offered by Oakley