Introduction
A family is a residential unit in the society. Gender roles are a significant contributor to family dynamics. They establish stability in the family. Since the past, it has been known that the man is the breadwinner of the household and the women are the caregivers. In the recent past, this aspect has drastically changed. Today women have become empowered to attain a status almost equal to that of men. They have dared to live an independent lifestyle and support the men in some cases. Some men on the other do not consider the importance of family in the first place. Therefore, they do not get to be breadwinners of any family. Social-economic factors such as industrialization have greatly contributed towards such disorganization in the family. Parsons and Bales are sociologists who took an interest in the aspect of the family as an integral part of the society. The conducted a study of the various changes (or disorganization as they call it) in gender roles and the family as a whole. The subject of interest is to understand the insights of family dynamics gained through understanding gender role specialization. In this paper, the central aspect of concern is to analyze the changes that have taken place within the family in line with gender role specialization, as a result of socio-economic factors.
Understanding the aspect of gender roles in the family is a major factor, not only to individuals but the society as a whole. The study of Parsons and Bales on ‘The American Family and its Relation to Personality and the Social Structure’ has made a significant contribution to gender roles and family dynamics. The contribution of Parsons and Bales is significant since it enables readers (especially sociologists) to understand factors that affect the society. In essence, it helps identify the social, cultural and economic factors that influence gender roles and family dynamics. Their study is also instrumental in understanding why the American family is undergoing a profound process of change.
The work of Parsons and Bales is an improvement to previous studies since it emphasizes on the aspect of a family as a building block of a society and not a separate entity compared to previous studies. Most importantly it enables a clear understanding of the aspects of disorganization and the crisis of clashing gender roles in the family. Their contribution also provides a clear knowledge of the impact of industrialization on the function of the family. It narrows down to the idea that the main impact of industrialization on the role of family is adult stability and industrialization.
Aside from the significant contribution made by the study of Parsons and Bales, it still has a few limitations. Scholars in the sociology field may have a problem working with this study because of the various aspects overlooked in the study. The most notable problem of this study is the lack of a complete social imagination. It evidently depicts itself in various aspects of the study. Parsons makes an assumption of the general idea of the family. In essence, there is a lack of consideration for the nitty-gritty. For instance, he looks at industrialization as the sole reason for the emergence of the breadwinner family. However, there are additional social conditions that contribute towards the same. Such assumptions may make this study problematic since scholars cannot only count on one side of the story. There should exist a clear indication of all the other factors and their contributions to the area of study.
Brief Description of Parsons and Bales’ theory
Parsons and Bales used gender roles are an important entity to the basis of their study since these functions make up the function of the family. These functions eventually reflect in the society as a whole. Parsons and Bales argued that the gender role specialization as a result of industrialization. The development in gender roles was simply an adaptation to the new industrialized world. In any case, one can say that industrialization changed the family. In essence, the family changed to keep up with the changes at that time. The society required well-educated families and geographically mobile ones at the same time, to be able to exploit the prevalent economic opportunities at that time.
In the industrial society, the family had to primary functions. The first function was the socialization of children. Socialization was meant to make children, true members of the society they are born. Socialization starts at childhood, where the child is molded in line with the core values of the society. In this case, families act like factories with systems and processes meant to reproduce human personalities in a secure environment. The second function in an industrial society is the stabilization of adult personalities in the community. Parsons argues that these two functions are a clear confirmation that ‘every adult is a member of a nuclear family’ (Parsons, Talcott and Bales 17).
Socialization of children is completely fulfilled by placing the child in an institutionalized system of social relationship. However, this is not enough to achieve socialization; the child needs to be placed in a particular type of social system which embodies psychological condition suitable for socialization (Parsons and Bales 17). Stabilization of adult personalities is achieved within the confines of a marital relationship. Parsons insists on emotional security which is meant to relieve the daily stresses of an adult life.
Parson and Bales Underlying Assumptions
Parsons and Bales did not consider various external factor that could have had an impact on the family apart from industrialization. Some of such factors include classes in the society and government intervention in higher education and housing. They assumed that the males in the family had the financial capability to support themselves and their families. However, this was not the case for the men in some families were not capable. At that time there were social classes, the upper class, middle class and lower class. The government also intervened through the Federal Housing Act of 1935 that enabled an average American to afford to house for a 30-year mortgage arrangement. The government also intervened through higher education plans. In this case, the GI bill was enacted to enable free higher education of veterans. It made their earning capability to increase hence the ability to support their families as they moved into the middle-class. Parsons and Bales made these important assumptions that prove problematic to the scholarly study of family dynamics and gender roles. They assumed that the future would possess a steady trajectory when it comes to the nuclear family. In essence, they thought that the basic family structure would remain the same even in the future. However this was not the case since families have assumed different structures in the recent past given the social conditions.
Changes in External Social Forces since the 1950s
The economy faced significant changes since the 1950s. As mentioned earlier, the government had so much contribution towards different sectors in the country. Through the Federal Housing Act, average Americans could access housing at a fair rate. Under the GI bill, veterans could access higher education for free. However, after World War II, there was a great change in the economy. The government had spent so much money funding on the war that it had to cut back on some spending. In this case there was a recession in the economy. As a result, there was an increased rate of unemployment. In essence, a significant number of men did not have the ability to support their families hence rendering the ideal male-breadwinner family structure inapplicable.
In line with to police, in the 1950s there was a more distinct aspect of social classes. With a significant percentage of citizens educated, it meant that they had a better chance of getting jobs. Uneducated people had slimmer chances of getting high paying jobs. As a result, there was a significant division between the social classes that existed. Also, social policy allowed the acceptance of women into the workforce. Televisions were instrumental in making the society accept this ideology. Therefore the aspect of social policy experienced various changes from 1950.
Before the 1950s, women did not need to work as men were seen as the sole breadwinners of the family also it was not culturally normal for women to work. However, since the 1950s, the number of female workers increased. The ideology of women being caregivers significantly changed as they worked.
The specialized gender roles became less feasible since the 1950s due to the various economic, social and cultural changes. The gender roles had to change in order to accommodate the transitions in the society in line with parenting, education, and employment. An increasing percentage of women joined the workforce. Parsons states that ‘a significant portion of gainfully employed women are single, divorced and thus cannot be said to take the place of a husband as the breadwinner of the family' (Parsons and Bales 14). In such an instance, it is clear that the aspect of specific gender roles not only changed but also rendered the ‘ideal’ family structure insignificant. This is because some women decided not to have families and some divorced. Essentially the trend has been changing up to date.
Inequalities in adult partner cause strain to the ‘stabilization of adult relations.' In this case, the man and woman in a relation, contribution in the family is unequal. In the past, such a situation was considered okay. However, in the present, such a situation is likely to cause strain in a marriage. Eventually, it leads to the disorganization that Parsons and Bales talk about. The disorganization leads to high rates of divorce, low birth rates and changes in the older sex morality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, gender specialization has experienced significant changes as a result of socio-significant factors. The study by Parsons and Bales clearly indicates the changes based on industrialization. However, they made great assumptions that cannot be overlooked especially by sociology scholars. More of their argument was based on industrialization as the main reason that resulted to the changes in unspecialized gender roles. There are various other factors that they did not consider like social classes and the government involvement in education, housing and various aspects of the labor market. All in all it goes without saying that the analysis of the changes that took place regarding specialized gender roles plays a major role in the analysis. It has enabled scholars to appreciate various insights like industrialization, social policy, economy, education and the government. Therefore it has a significant effect to the field of technology.
References
Parsons, Talcott and Robert F. Bales. Family Socialization and Interaction Process. 1st ed., Glencoe, Frea P, 1960.
