Structuralist Theories

Structuralist theories pose questions such as: 1) How do social and economic changes affect families? 2) How do families respond to social and economic changes?

The first question is largely the question that structural theorists focused on. They were concerned about the changes in society with the rise of urbanization and industrialization and what those changes did to families. But they differed in their assessments. By structure they meant the institutions of society: the economy, religion, law, politics, and so on.

Under the umbrella of structural theories, Mandell and Duffy list two different theories:

1. Materialism/Marxism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (mid to late 1800s)
2. Structural functionalism: Talcott Parsons (1940s-1960s)

Materialism

• Focus is on mode of production (how do we produce the things we need to survive? What form of organization does production take?)
  • Capitalism = economic exploitation which produces conflict between owners (bourgeoisie), labourers/workers (proletariat)
    • owners own the means of production; their goal is to get the most out of the workers for the least pay
    • workers are exploited for their labour but also dependent on wages for survival.

What does all this have to do with families, according to Marx and Engels? • Class relations determine heterosexual relations, they argue • The wage earner has more power in families; men earn while women are dependent on men. Hence, the material conditions/mode of production determine male dominance.

Structural functionalism

• Focus is on social stability.
• Key terms include:
  • functioning
  • harmony
  • social order
  • equilibrium

SF are concerned with families fulfilling the important role of “the family” to ensure societal stability.

What is the role of the family according to this theory?

• socialization (teaching children proper roles)
• social capital (transmitting class positions)
• emotional gratification
  • self-actualization (through involvement in close, personal relationships)
  • individualism (conjugal family – love and sex)
• specialization (women’s role=emotionally attuned to family members (expressive role); men’s role=earn money to support the family financially and also act as the disciplinarian (instrumental role))
  • Parsons argued that these roles were separate but equal.

SF thought that the changes families had undergone – getting smaller, more individualistic, a greater emphasis on the role of love and affection, a high degree of specialization, etc – were positive for the family and for society.

Family studies scholars remain highly interested in the question of how social and economic changes affect the family but there’s also been a pretty widespread critique of structural theories of the family. Specifically, this theoretical perspective is often criticized as deterministic.