In Parson’s view, the family operates most efficiently with a clear cut division of labor in which females act in expressive roles, providing care and security to children offering them emotional support. Men, on the other hand should perform instrumental roles – namely, being the bread winner in the family. Because of the stressful nature of this role, women’s expressive and nurturing tendencies should also been used to stabilize and comfort men. This complementary division of labor, springing from a biological distinction between the sexes, would ensure the solidarity of family. Another functionalist perspective on childrearing was advanced by John Bowlby (1953), who argued that mother is crucial to the primary socialization of children. If another is absent or if child is separated from the mother at a young age – a state referred to and maternal deprivation – the child runs a high risk of being inadequately socialized. This can lead to serious social and psychopathic tendencies. Bowlby argued that a child’s well-being and mental health can be best guaranteed through a close, personal and continuous relationship with its mother. He did concede that an absent mother can be replaced by a ‘mother-substitute’, but suggested that such a substitute should also be woman – leaving little doubt about his view that the mothering role is distinctly female one. Bowlby’s maternal deprivation thesis has been used by some to argue that working mothers are neglectful of their children.

Feminist Approaches

The feminist movement has given rise to a large body of theory which attempts to ex-lain gender inequalities and set forth agendas for overcoming those inequalities. Feminist theories in relation to gender inequality contrast markedly with one another. While feminist writers are all concerned with women’s unequal position in society, their explanation for it vary substantially. Competing school of feminism have sought to explain gender inequalities through a variety of deeply embedded social processes, such as sexism, patriarchy, capitalism and racism.

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminism looks for explanations of gender inequalities in social and cultural attitudes. Unlike radical feminist, liberal feminist do not see women’s subordination as part of a large system or structure. Instead they draw attention to many separate factors which contribute to inequalities between men and women. For example, liberal feminist are concerned with sexism and discrimination against women in work place, educational institutions and the media. They tend to focus their energies on establishing and protecting equal opportunities for women through legislation and other democratic means. Legal advances such as Equal Pay Act and the Sex Discrimination Act were actively supported by liberal feminists, who argued that enshrining equality in law is important to eliminating discrimination against women. Liberal feminist seeks to work through existing system to bring about reforms in a gradual way. In this respect, they are more moderate in their aims and methods than radical feminists, who call for an overthrow of the existing system. While liberal feminists have contributed greatly to the advancement of women over the past century, critics charge that they are unsuccessful in dealing with the root cause of gender inequality and do not acknowledge the systematic nature of women’s oppression in society. BY focusing on the independent deprivations which women suffer – sexism, discrimination, the ‘glass ceiling’, unequal pay – liberal; feminists draw only a partial picture of gender inequality. Radical feminists accuse liberal feminists of encouraging women to accept an unequal society and its competitive character.

Radical Feminism

At the heart of radical feminism is the belief that men are responsible for and benefit from the exploitation of women. The analysis of patriarchy – the system domination of females by males – is of central concern to this branch of feminism. Patriarchy is viewed as a universal phenomenon that has existed across time and cultures. Radical feminists often concentrate on the family as one of the primary sources of women’s oppression in society. They argue that men exploit women by relying on the free domestic labor that women provide in the home. As a group, men also deny women access to positions of power and influence in society. Radical feminists differ in their interpretations of the basis of patriarchy, but most agree that it involves the appropriation of women’s bodies and sexuality in some form. Shulamith Firestone (1971), an early radical feminist writer, argues that men control women’s roles in reproduction and child rearing. Because women are biologically able to give birth to children, they become dependent materially on men for protection and livelihood. This ‘biological inequality’ is socially organized in the nuclear family. Firestone speaks of a ‘sex class’ to describe women’s social position and argues that women can be emancipated only through the abolition of the family and the power relations which characterize it. Other radical feminists point to male violence against women as central to male supremacy. According to such a view, domestic violence, rape  and sexual harassment are all part of the systematic oppression of women, rather than isolated cases with their own psychological or criminal roots. Even interaction in daily life – such as non-verbal communication, patterns of listening and interrupting and women’s sense of comfort in public – contribute to gender inequality. Moreover, the argument goes, popular conception of beauty and sexuality are imposed by men on women in order to produce a certain type of femininity. For example, social and cultural norms emphasizing a slim body and a caring, nurturing attitude towards men help to perpetuate women’s subordination. The ‘objectification’ of women through the media, fashion and advertising turns women into sexual objects whose main role is to please and entertain women. Radical feminist do not believe that women can be liberated from sexual oppression through reforms or gradual change.