Whereas functionalist theory conceptualizes the family as an integrative institution – it has the function of maintaining social order – conflict theorists depict the family as an institution subject to the same conflicts and tensions that characterize the rest of society. Families are not isolated from the problems that a society is confronted with as a whole. The struggles brought on by racism, class inequality, sexism, homophobia and other social conflicts are played out within family.

Symbolic Interaction Theory and Families

Sociologists have also used symbolic interaction theory to understand families. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes that the meanings people attach to their behaviour and the behaviour of others is the basis of social interaction. Symbolic interactionists tend to take a microscopic view of families and might ask how different people define and understand their family experience. They also study how people negotiate family relationships, such as deciding who does what housework, how they will arrange child care, and how they will balance the demands of work and family life.

To illustrate, when two people get married, they form a new relationship that has a specific meaning within society. The newlyweds acquire a new identity to which they must adjust. Some changes may appear very abrupt – a change of name certainly requires adjustment, as does being called a wife or husband. Some changes are more subtle, for example, how one is treated by others and the privileges couples enjoy (such as being a recognized legal unit). Symbolic interactionists see the married relationship as socially constructed; that is, it evolves through the definitions that others in society give it, as well as through the evolving definition of self that married partners make for themselves.

The symbolic interaction perspective emphasizes the construction of meaning within families. Roles within families are not fixed but will evolve as participants define and redefine their behaviour towards each other. This perspective is especially helpful in understanding changes in the family because it supplies a basis for analysing new meaning systems and the evolution of new family forms over time.

Feminist Theory and Families

Feminist theory has contributed new ways of conceptualizing the family by focusing sociological analyses on women’s experiences in the family and by making gender a central concept in analysing the family as a social institution. Feminist theories of the family emerged initially as a criticism of functionalist theory. Feminist scholars argued that functionalist theory assumed that the gender division of labour in the household is functional for society. Feminists have also been critical of functional theory for assuming an inevitable gender division of labour within the family. Feminist critics argue that, although functionalists may see the gender division of labour as functional, it is based on stereotypes about the roles of women and men.

Influenced by conflict theory, feminist scholars see the family as not serving the needs of all members equally. On the contrary, the family is one primary institution producing the gender relations found in society. Feminist theory conceptualizes the family as a system of power relations and social conflict (Glenn 1987; Thorne 1993). In this sense, it emerges from conflict theory but adds the idea that the family is a gendered institution.