Family Gender Roles

This article focuses on family gender roles. Sociologists study family gender roles as a means of exploring how gender is constructed and performed, how familial relationships are formed and maintained, and the ways in which the family unit affects society. This article explores the sociology of family gender roles in five parts: an overview of family gender roles and social roles in general; a description of social role theory; a discussion of the family studies field; an exploration of the ways in which sociologists apply social role theory to studies of family life and behavior; and an analysis of the issues associated with changing family gender roles. Understanding how sociologists conceptualize and study family gender roles is vital for all those interested in the sociology of family and relationships. Further, an understanding of the way family gender roles have changed and evolved reflects changing societal and cultural norms and attitudes.

Keywords Family; Gender; Gender Role Self-Concept; Identity; Interpersonal Role Conflict; Intrapersonal Role Conflict; Norms; Role Models; Roles; Social Role Theory; Society; Sociology; Values‗

Overview

Sociologists study family gender roles as a means of exploring how gender is constructed and performed, how familial relationships are maintained, and the ways in which the family unit affects society. In 1955, two sociologists, Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, published a book entitled Family, Socialization and Interaction Process, which provided a functionalist explanation for the existence of the nuclear family and differentiated family gender roles. Parsons and Bales described the roles of women and men necessary to support the individual family. According to Parsons and Bales, the nuclear family, with its gender-based social roles, functioned to support the economy and society. The functionalist explanation of family gender roles advanced by Parsons and Bales typifies sociology's classical or traditional take on family gender roles until the 1960s. Beginning in the 1960s, contemporary sociology, strongly influenced by the feminist and civil rights movements, has argued that family gender roles are converging and changing to accommodate shared responsibilities of employment, education, and parenting. In the twenty-first century these gender roles continued to change.

Understanding how sociologists conceptualize and study family gender roles is vital for all those interested in the sociology of family and relationships. This article explores the sociology of family gender roles in five parts: an overview of family gender roles and social roles in general; a description of social role theory; a discussion of the family studies field; an exploration of the ways in which sociologists apply social role theory to studies of family life and behavior; and an analysis of the issues associated with changing family gender roles.

Types of Social Roles

Modernization and industrialization reshaped American society and the composition of the American family unit. Starting in the early twentieth century, the family became nuclear and isolated from its extended kin. The nuclear family consists of husband, wife, and dependent children. According to Parsons, the nuclear family is a functioning system that requires and depends on equilibrium and successful role performance. Common family roles in the nuclear family unit include providing income, cleaning the house, preparing food, caring for children, disciplining children, socializing children, and visiting and maintaining relationships with friends and family (Huntington et al., 2001). Classical or traditional sociology, as represented by sociologist Talcott Parsons, divides family gender roles into expressive roles and instrumental roles.

In traditional social role division, women's roles and men's roles in the family are differentiated. The classical sociological view of the male caregiving role is managerial and instrumental in nature. Men play instrumental roles by earning money in their chosen professions. In contrast to the men's role in the family, the classical sociological view of the female caregiving role is characterized by emotional, physical, and maintenance work. Female family roles are traditionally understood to include relationship maintenance and an overall effort at keeping kin close and connected. Women play expressive roles, taking care of the home and the emotional life of a family.

In the 1950s, Parsons advanced the idea that the isolated nuclear family contributes to the functioning of the economy and society. The isolated nuclear family socializes and educates its young but remains mobile and able to move should the man's employer require. In industrialized societies, social institutions such as schools, libraries, community centers, and government programs take over some roles that were once served by families. Parsons believed that the family performed very clear functions for its members and society as a whole. Family functions included the socialization of children and the stabilization of adult personality. Parsons argued that a full-time mother was responsible for the family needs, while the father/husband was responsible for income and thus could move between home and work contexts. Women were limited to their roles as wives and mothers. Parsons predicted increased gender role segregation in the future. According to Parsons, marriage becomes the source of feminine and masculine role socialization. Sociologists in the 1950s believed that young girls were given mixed messages by providing girls with a full education and then offering marriage and motherhood as the best or only roles available (Breines, 1986).

Ultimately, the work of Parsons, along with Bales, represents the classical sociological belief of a division between gendered family roles (i.e., instrumental versus expressive roles within the nuclear family). In general, contemporary sociological theory, including feminist theory, opposes the belief in the differentiated gendered family or caregiving roles (Carroll & Campbell, 2008). In the twenty-first century not only has this classical sociological belief in gendered family roles been challenged, the entire construct of gender has undergone massive changes.

Social Role Theory

The field of sociology has long studied the importance of social roles for individuals and society. For instance, French sociologist Emile Durkheim studied the part that social roles play in solidarity and social cohesion. Durkheim found that the interdependent social roles or functions that people perform hold society and institutions together. Contemporary sociologists recognize that gender roles, particularly family gender roles, are socially constructed and taught through the socialization process. Social constructs refer to culturally created parameters for social action or behavior. Common social constructs include social roles, gender, time, nature, illness, and death. Sociologists explain and explore social roles, including family gender roles, through the lens of social role theory.

Social Roles

Social role theory argues that men and women act in accordance with their social roles. Social roles, which tend to be gender-based, require unique skill sets and are associated with unique expectations. Gender stereotypes, such as women being natural nurturers, and men being natural leaders, are linked to clearly differentiated gender-based social roles (Vogel et al., 2003). Sociologists apply social role theory to diverse contexts. For instance, social scientists have studied the changing social roles of contemporary Palestinian women (Huntington et al., 2001); the relationship between managerial responses and gender-based roles (Bowes-Sperry, 1997); and the connections between sex-specific family-work roles and well-being in African American families (Broman, 1991).

Social role theory, also referred to as role theory, originated in the field of social psychology. A social role refers to the social behavior, rights, and duties associated with a specific identity or situation. Roles may be associated with cultural expectations, gender, biological characteristics, or a given situation. Social roles function to differentiate groups of people by class, gender, education, etc. Over the life course, an individual will play or serve multiple social roles. Individuals may have multiple roles at the same time, such as parent, child, sister, teacher, or volunteer. Social roles specify particular norms of behavior and associated values.

Role Conflict

Social role theory anticipates and explains role conflict. Individuals with competing or conflicting roles may experience role conflict. Sociologist Robert Merton (1910–2003) described the problem of role conflict by classifying two different types of role conflict: intrapersonal role conflict and interpersonal role conflict.

• Intrapersonal role conflict refers to the conflict that may exist between people, often seen in work settings, regarding the expectations associated with different roles.

• Interpersonal role conflict refers to the conflict that arises from the competing roles performed simultaneously by a single person. As gender roles change and evolve there is often an interpersonal role conflict between family and work roles (Chen et al., 2022).

Both intrapersonal and interpersonal role conflict may cause tension, stress, and antisocial or deviant behavior. Merton made significant contributions to the sociology of deviance (O'Connor, 2007).

Role Attribution

An individual's social roles may be chosen or attributed to them by their family, institution, or society. The gender role self-concept refers to an individual's sense of self as related to gender roles, attributes, and behavior. Social scientists have found that an individual's identity, as related to gender roles, attributes, and behavior, is affected by their chosen role models and reference groups (Wade, 2001). The theory of social role valorization argues that roles vary widely in their degree of social support, respect, and compensation. Social role theory offers suggestions for building self-esteem and success through active changes in one's social roles. For instance, a woman who performs devalued social roles (such as that of an addict) may build self-esteem through the choice or opportunity to take on valued roles (such as that of an employee). The acquisition of socially valued roles is part of the recovery process for some types of addicted or abused individuals. For instance, Alcoholics Anonymous encourages its members to seek out valued social roles and opportunities to serve as role models for others (Stenius et al., 2005). Critics of social role theory argue that the theoretical perspective offers no means of evaluating and explaining deviant behavior.

Social Structure

Ultimately, social role theory is part of sociology's larger concern for social structure. Traditional sociologists take social structure and society as their objects of study. Social structures include roles, status, groups, and institutions. Roles are the actions associated with a person's status. Individuals generally play multiple roles in society. Status refers to the socially defined position of individuals in society. The roles people perform, which may be gendered, professional, authentic, conflicting, or multiple, reflect the social status they occupy at any given time (Hitlin & Piliavin, 2004).

Family Studies

Following World War II, the popular topics of sociological inquiry included the sociological study of marriage and family; social stratification and political sociology; the study of work and organizations; large-scale studies of corporations; and gender roles and gender relations. The field of family sociology, also referred to as family science or family sociology, was established in the early twentieth century by prominent sociologists such as Ernest Burgess, Talcott Parsons, Florian Znaniecki, William Thomas, Willard Waller, and Reuben Hill. For instance, sociologist Ernest W. Burgess (1886–1966), the twenty-fourth president of the American Sociological Association, developed schemes to predict marriage success and outcome. Burgess' work on the study of marriage and family remains influential. The family, as an object of study for sociologists, became extremely popular and important in the early twentieth century (Spanier & Stump, 1978).

By the 1950s, sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) advanced the idea that the family is a social institution whose functions are determined by a functionally organized society. Sociologists believed that a family's function, purpose, and performance would be determined by factors such as a society's gendered division of labor. Mid-century sociology furthered the belief that a nuclear family was the ideal family form or construct. Parsons advanced the concept of the isolated nuclear family with differentiated gender-based family roles for men and women. Parsons believed that a family's class position was determined by a husband's occupation and described a gender-based division of labor in households. Parsons studied families and society in general through a functionalist lens and believed that gender-based division of labor in households and families strengthened the family and contributed to its overall stability. According to Parsons, the gender-based division of labor, in which the man's career is prioritized, eliminates power or status competition between spouses and allows the family to move whenever the husband's career requires without the complication of a second career in the family to consider (SzelÉnyi & Olvera, 1996). While this idea would face immediate challenges in the twenty-first century, at the time it was widely accepted in American society.

Collectivity

Parsons's concept of collectivity, a term that refers to distinct human groups united by shared social structures, identity, and customs, influenced sociological conception and understanding of the family unit. Parsons's concept of the isolated nuclear family is a form of collectivity. In his book The Social System (1951), Parsons defined the parameters and characteristics necessary to create collectivities. For example, Parsons believed that a group must have loyalty toward the members and the group. Examples of loyalty include attachments, rights to relational rewards, and a commitment to act based on a system of shared standards and symbols. Parsons considers attachment to refer to a generalized system of expectations with regard to the gratifications to be received from a category of persons and generally favorable attitudes toward the qualities and performances associated with them. Members must accept the preservation of the collective as a moral obligation and must develop a system of sanctions to direct behavior. The system should stress certain actions as desirable and identify other actions as hostile to and ultimately incompatible with the collective (Treudley, 1953). Parson’s concept of collectivity functions under the control of a large number of specific and accepted societal norms.

Changing Family Systems

During the 1960s and 1970s, researchers developed conceptual schemes or perspectives to explain changing family roles, behaviors, and functions. In the 1960s, family sociology, led by Harold Christensen and Ira Reiss, became increasingly liberal. For instance, researchers studied the function and effects of women's paid work outside of the home. In the 1970s, family sociology recognized and studied the changing trends in families, such as co-parenting, daycare, premarital sex, cohabitation, divorce, extramarital sex, same-sex relationships, childlessness, single mothers, stepfamilies, open marriage, group marriage, evolving definitions of gender, and new divisions of household responsibilities. Sociologists developed the idea of an alternative lifestyle or family. Family sociology began to recognize the importance of applying integrated models, theories, and perspectives to understand complex family relationships in society. In the 1980s, family sociology focused on alternative families, individuation, and hedonism. Multiple competing family models emerged to account for the diversity of modern families. In the 1990s, family sociology recognized the existence of the postmodern family that defies categorization with diffuse boundaries and an evolving composition.

Family sociology's changing subjects over the course of the twentieth century reflected the changes occurring in society. Families changed throughout the twentieth century as a result of immigration, modernization, World Wars, civil rights movements, and women's rights. Families also changed as the definition of gender changed and evolved. Sociologists have analyzed and reported on the evolution of the traditional or functional family, liberal family, alternative family, and postmodern family. Sociologists study areas of family relations such as marriage across life span, mate selection, sexual behavior, parenthood, family planning, retirement, sex roles, divorce, premarital sexual relations, contraception, cohabitation, extramarital sexual relations, same-sex relationships, alternative gender classifications, group marriage, open marriage, adoption, voluntary childlessness, communal living, single-parent households, and stepfamilies (Jallinoja, 1994).

Applications

Social scientists apply the perspective offered by social role theory as a means of exploring gendered role performance and identity formation. Sociologists study family gender roles across societies, cultures, classes, and ethnicities to see how gender is constructed and performed, how familial relationships are constructed and maintained, and the ways in which the family unit affects society. Sociologists apply social role theory to diverse contexts. For instance, social scientists have studied the changing social roles of contemporary Palestinian women (Huntington et al., 2001); the relationship between managerial responses and gender-based roles (Bowes-Sperry, 1997); and the connections between sex-specific family-work roles and well-being in African American families. This section provides an example of the way in which sociologists have investigated family gender roles in African American families. This example is representative of the multitude of sociological studies of family gender roles and dynamics in societies worldwide.

Case Study: Gender Roles in African American Families

In 1990, sociologist Clifford Broman conducted a study into the connection between family gender roles and psychological well-being in African American families. Broman believed that social role theory, which asserts that men and women act in accordance with their chosen or ascribed social roles, was likely to be less apparent and well-supported in African American families than in White families. Broman hypothesized that sex-specific social roles, including specific family gender roles, would be both fluid in African American families and have an impact on the well-being of African American families. Broman used data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) to complete his research. The National Survey of Black Americans, which was conducted in four “waves” (1979–80, 1987–88, 1988–89, and 1992) and initially included 2,107 completed interviews, was considered a representative sampling of the Black population living in the United States at that time. Broman found that family-life satisfaction among African Americans was higher if the family included an employed male or female. Broman found that while social roles in African American families affect familial well-being, the social roles were not linked to gender or sex.

Social scientists, particularly sociologists and historians, found that African American families engaged in significant flexible role-sharing behaviors. African American family roles were more egalitarian than gendered. Social historians suggested that nongendered family roles may have served as a coping mechanism against poverty, racism, and discrimination in African American families during economically depressed periods, allowing family members to contribute as needed. Due to family role sharing, as seen in the egalitarian practice of co-parenting, African American men and women have different relationships with and roles within the labor force and economy. Ultimately, research demonstrated that African American families tended to have a more egalitarian structure than families of European origin. African American families did not generally divide responsibilities and behaviors into male and female roles. Sex-specific family roles, also known as family gender roles, were more common in families of European origin (Broman, 1991). A 2012 study indicated that these trends persisted into the twenty-first century: African American newlyweds who followed egalitarian role-sharing in the household reported greater marital satisfaction than those who adhered to traditional family gender roles (Stanik & Bryant, 2012). According to the Pew Research Center, these views continued to remain stable into the 2020s. The majority of Black Americans, male and female, believed in gender equality within the family with only small variations due to education level and religious participation (Cox, 2023).

Issues

Changing Gender Roles

Gender roles changed significantly within families and society during the mid-twentieth century. Sociology was slow to incorporate notions of changing family gender roles into sociological theory and understanding. For instance, sociology was slow to recognize women's massive entry into the labor force. The large-scale entry of women into the workforce, particularly during and after World War II, changed family gender roles. Following World War II, significant numbers of women and mothers entered the workforce and sought out higher education. Mid-century American society was characterized by prosperity and a growing push for equal civil rights (Breines, 1986). Other changes in society that influenced and changed family gender roles included the trend of marrying and parenting for the first time at an older age; sharing parenting responsibilities; greater participation of married women in the workforce; and greater commitment of women to their careers. Sociology, from the 1950s through the 1970s, considered the family unit rather than the individual to be the main sociological unit of inquiry or study. As a result, mainstream sociology was slow to recognize new and converging gender roles for men and women. Mainstream sociology was slow to retire classical sociology's belief in differentiated family gender roles (SzelÉnyi & Olvera, 1996).

Prior to the 1950s, sociologists primarily studied women's roles in families and households. Talcott Parsons's work reinforced this sociological take on women's existence and importance. Many in the feminist movements and feminist sociology criticized Parsons for marginalizing women's roles in his theoretical perspective. Starting in the 1970s, sociology began to recognize that women had roles and lives outside of the family worthy of recognition and exploration. Sociologists, in response to the civil rights movement and feminism, began to study women's role in the economy along with women's role in family and household (Swedberg, 1987).

While the 1950s was characterized by clearly differentiated gender roles, reinforced by the mass media, the 1960s saw convergence and homogeneity in role options and performance. Feminine and masculine sex roles converged in post-1960s American society. The convergence of masculine and feminine gender roles occurred in the family and work setting. The reasons for this convergence include new civil rights laws, new female role models, economic need, and coed education in which boys and girls began to learn from the same curriculum. Ultimately, social and economic transitions changed family gender roles. Family gender roles, whether differentiated or converging, are a reflection of the sociopolitical times at which they are performed.

Gender roles continued to change in the twenty-first century and these changes reflected overall society changes in norms as well. Further, the very definitions of gender and family continued to change. Women were no longer financially dependent on men and were often the main source of income in a family. Men were more likely to take on a caregiving role. Adults in general waited longer to start a family. Men and women raised families on their own as single parents. However, when one considered the fact that sociology continued to separate this division of labor into male and female roles even when families continued two or more adults of the same gender, it was clear that more recognition of changing norms within social theory was needed. Social theory needed to expand to explore new issues like gender’s impact on work-family conflict (Cerrato & Cifre, 2018).

Conclusion

In the final analysis, sociologists study family gender roles as a means of exploring how gender is constructed and performed, how familial relationships are maintained, and the ways in which the family unit affects society. The work of sociologist Talcott Parsons provides a functionalist explanation for the existence of the nuclear family and differentiated gender roles. According to Parsons and Bales, the nuclear family, with its gender-based social roles, functioned to support the economy and society. The functionalist explanation of family gender roles advanced by Parsons and Bales typifies sociology's classical or traditional take on family gender roles until the 1960s. Since the 1960s, contemporary sociology, strongly influenced by the feminist and civil rights movements, has argued that family gender roles are converging and changing to accommodate shared responsibilities of employment, education, and parenting. Family gender roles, whether they are differentiated or converging, are a fundamental part of social role theory and family studies. Understanding how sociologists conceptualize and study family gender roles is vital for all those interested in the sociology of family and relationships.

Terms & Concepts

Gender: The cultural rules, roles, and characteristics attributed to and associated with masculine and feminine identities.

Gender Role Self-Concept: An individual's sense of self as related to gender roles, attributes, and behavior.

Identity: A sense of self often developed in relation to others.

Intrapersonal Role Conflict: Conflict that may exist between people, often seen in work settings, regarding the expectations associated with different roles.

Interpersonal Role Conflict: Conflict that arises from the competing roles performed simultaneously by a single person.

Norms: Shared rules, customs, and guidelines that govern society and define how people should behave in the company of others.

Role Models: Individuals who serve as a model for a behavior or social role.

Roles: The actions associated with a person's status.

Social Role Theory: A theory that argues that men and women act in accordance with their social roles.

Society: A group of people living and interacting in a defined area, such as a country or other geographic region, and sharing a common culture.

Sociology: The scientific study of human social behavior, human association, and the results of social activities.

Values: Intangible qualities or beliefs accepted and endorsed by a given society.

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Suggested Reading

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Parsons, C. (2004). Some remarks on Talcott Parsons's family. American Sociologist, 35 , 4–22. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=17395142&site=ehost-live

Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Chuang, S. S. (2013). Gender roles in immigrant families. New York, NY: Springer. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from EBSCO online database eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=577072&site=ehost-live

Wharton, A. S. (2011). The sociology of gender: An introduction to theory and research. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from EBSCO online database eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=522159&site=ehost-live