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What Do Sociologists Mean By the 'Darker Side of Family Life'?
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WHAT DO SOCIOLOGISTS MEAN BY THE 'DARKER SIDE OF FAMILY LIFE'? The family is regarded as one of the most basic and important institutions in society. There are many definitions of the family, one of which is, "A group of people directly linked by kin connection, where the adult members take responsibility for the caring of the children." (Giddens, 1989) Behind such definitions lie some common assumptions of the family. Giddens definition seems to stress the idea of parental responsibility. Traditionally this was broken down by gender, the father was seen as the main breadwinner while the mother was expected to take on the main role in child rearing and running the home. For most of its history, sociology has been gender blind. The situation began to change with the beginning of organised feminism in the late 1960's. The women's movement had a more immediate influence on sociology than any other academic disciplines. For...
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